History of Advertising

"HISTORY OF ADVERTISING"

EMERGENCE OF ADVERTISING:

In early times advertising was no more than signs painted on walls and town criers, who were hired by merchants to praise their goods (outdoor advertising). Gutenberg was the one who invented moveable type printing press in 1450. This invention resulted in the mass production of posters and circulars. In 1472 the first advertisement was printed as a handbill in English. (1) About 200 years later, an Englisher printed the first ad in the newspaper (1&2). The ad was about rewarding anyone who found twelve stolen horses (1). 17th century was the beginning of the appearance of classified ads in England's newsweeklies (1). In 1625 the first newsbook was published which contained ads (2). By 1657 the reach was up to 500,000 people and it was in this year that the first public adviser appeared. The first ever ad that was placed was by a Monarch in a newspaper- Charles II, in the Mercurius Publicus in 1660. A copy of this ad can be found in the book of E.S. Turner called "The Shocking History of Advertising" (2). The first advertising agency was established in 1841 by Volney Palmer in Boston. It was this agency that provided the businesses the commission system. In this the businesses were offered a 25% discount on ad space in a newspaper. N.W. Ayer & Son was the first full-service agency established in 1869 (1). One of the most successful and earliest advertising campaign was launched by the Pears soap. Thomas Barratt, known as the father of modern advertising, launched a series of ads in the late 19th century. These ads featured children, women, animals and flowers which were used to promote company's products (1).

USES OF ADVERTISING:

During World War I, advertising was popularly used as a medium for propaganda. Some of these propagandas included the efforts of the governments to try to persuade the citizens to join the military. During the World War I, the ads became costly as mechanization of the industry increased (1).

EMERGENCE OF MASS MEDIA (RADIO AND CINEMA):

It was the first part of the 20th century when mass media, such as radio and cinema, were made available. The advertising industry was quick to take advantage of their reach, spread and popularity through this opportunity. Advertising industry was expanding rapidly but all of this stopped in 1929 because of the Wall Street Collapse. This was followed by the Great Depression and then the World War II. In the initial stages of new mass media only a single business sponsored one radio program. The purpose was to get an opportunity for the mention of the business on the radio program for just a brief moment. Later the trend changed and the sponsorship rights of one program were made available to multiple businesses (1).

EMERGENCE OF TELEVISION:

Because of the heavy