The History of Advertising

Advertisements and the concept of advertising have been around for hundreds of years. Ancient Egyptians displayed sales messages and posters on pieces of papyrus, while Ancient Greeks and Romans used papyrus to convey lost and found advertisements. Many people in Asia, Africa, and South America used wall and rock paintings as a form of advertising, and it is a form that is still present to this day in some areas. Some ancient Indian rock paintings date back to 4000 BC. [1]

In the 17^th century it was common for advertisements to be strictly images because very few people could read and write. As time progressed and as people began to learn how to read, advertisements began to include words and phrases.[1] Such advertisements could be found in local newspapers that were published on a regular basis. In 1729, advertisements were included in the Pennsylvania Gazette, which was first published by Benjamin Franklin. Thirteen years later (in 1742), the General Magazine, also developed by Benjamin Franklin, included the first American magazine advertisements.[2]

Advertisement for Morton Salt in 1917
displaying the tagline,
"When It Rains, It Pours." [6]

Nearly a century later, the first advertising agency opened its doors in Philadelphia. This agency, which was established and run by Volney Palmer, sold space in newspapers. The companies wishing to advertise in these spaces had to purchase the space from Volney and personally develop their own ads. This changed a couple of decades later when N.W. Ayer and Son was founded. This agency planned, created, and executed advertising campaigns for its customers. [1] A well-known advertisement that N.W. Ayer and Son developed is, “When it rains, it pours” for Morton Salt in 1912. [3]

Radio stations were established in the early 1920s and at first the programs were sponsored by one single business. These programs later realized that they could sell short time slots and could promote multiple businesses throughout their broadcast. This same concept was applied to commercial television in the 1940s and 1950s. Although most television networks sold advertisement time to multiple sponsors, some continued to have single sponsor shows. [1] Cable television was introduced in the late 1980s and early 1990s and specialty channels started to emerge that focused strictly on advertising. Such channels include QVC and Home Shopping Network. The use of Internet marketing and advertising began in the 1990s.

The first television advertisement was broadcast in the United States on July 1, 1941, the same day that the FCC granted NBC and CBS the first commercial television licenses. [4] The advertisement aired before a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. Bulova, a watch company, paid nine dollars for a commercial that lasted 10 seconds. The advertisement was an image of a Bulova watch placed over a map of the United States. A voiceover then said the company’s slogan, “America runs on Bulova time!” [4]

An article from the Philadelphia Inquirer discusses the lives of account executives of advertising agencies in the 1950s and 1960s. Chet Harrington, a man who started his advertising career at N.W. Ayer and Son, said, “We were more genteel than New York. We were cordial but competitive. It was a hardworking life, but a lot of fun.” [3] Another man, Gene Shay, said that it was a very competitive industry. During this time period, women were not hired on as account executives. If they were working for an advertising agency, women were copywriters, artists, or secretaries. Allan Kalish, cofounder of Kalish & Rice Inc., said that during those times “there was a kind of tension between the account executives in the suits, and the crazy people in creative.” It wasn’t until the 1970s that both sides began to truly work together to develop advertisements.

Advertising history has even influenced the production (and success) of a television show. One of the most popular shows on television today is Mad Men on AMC. This dramatic series is about an advertising agency in New York City. The main character of the show, Don Draper, is the creative director for the firm. The show focuses on his life inside and outside of work, as well as the changing moods and popular styles of America in the 1960s. This show has won many awards, including the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series consecutively over the past four years. Many people involved in the advertising business during this time, including some of the men mentioned earlier, have said that the show is rather historically accurate. Here is a promotional video for the first season of Mad Men to give you an idea of the series and its storyline. 

[5]

Advertising plays a large part in society today, as it has for hundreds of years. Although methods have changed and technology has been updated, the purpose of advertising has remained the same. It displays a company and its products for consumers in a way that store shelves cannot. It seeks out potential customers before they seek out the product. Without advertising, the world as we know it would be completely different.

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[1] Advertising. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 20, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising

[2] Unknown. (2005). Advertising history timeline. Retrieved from http://adage.com/century/timeline/

[3] Schaffer, M., & Timpane, J. (2010, August 8). How mad were philadelphia's own mad men?. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved from http://articles.philly.com/2010-08-08/news/24971625_1_smoking-agency-ad-executives

[4] Manning, C. (2007, July 1). Seen any commercials today? [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.productivitygoal.com/2007/07/see_any_commercials_today.html

[5] (2009). Mad men - promo season (saison) 1. (2009). [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfuMhXcLa-Q

[6] Vintage ads. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mortonsalt.com/heritage/vintage_ads.html