Historical Milestones In Advertising

An examination of the growth of advertising and promotion helps to

clarify, among other aspects, their social and economic functions. With-

out a careful look at the history some of these may seem strange. Efforts

to persuade men to buy or trade something can be traced back thousands

of years; the tools, the specialization, and the institutions to carry out

this intention came later and have been refined to their present state

largely since 1900.

Advertising goes back to the very beginning of recorded history. Ar-

chaeologists working in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea

have dug up signs announcing various events and offers. The Romans

painted walls to announce gladiator fights and the Phoenicians paint-

ed pictures promoting their wares on large rocks along parade routes.

A Pompeii wall painting praised a politician and asked for the people’s

votes.

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Another early form of advertising was the town crier. During the

Golden Age in Greece, town criers announced the sale of slaves, cattle,

and other goods. An early “singing commercial” went as follows: “For

eyes that are shining, for cheeks like the dawn/ For beauty that lasts after

girlhood is gone/ For prices in reason, the woman who knows/ Will buy

her cosmetics of Aesclyptos”.

Another early advertising form was the mark that tradespeople placed

on their goods, such as pottery. As the person’s reputation spread by word

of mouth, buyers began to look for his special mark, just as trademarks

and brand names are used today.

The turning point in the history of advertising came in the year 1450

when Gutenberg invented the printing press. Advertisers no longer had

to produce extra copies of a sign by hand. The first printed advertisement

in the English language appeared in 1478.

In 1622, advertising got a big boost with the launching of the first

English newspaper, “The Weekly News”. Later Addison and Steele

published “The Tatler” and became supporters of advertising. Addison

gave his advice to copy writers: “The great art in writing advertising is

the finding out the proper method to catch the reader, without which

a good thing may pass unobserved, or be lost among commissions of

bankrupts.”

Advertising had its greatest growth in the United states. Ben Frank-

lin has been called the father of American advertising because his “Ga-

zette”, first published in 1729, had the largest circulation and advertising

volume of any paper in colonial America. Several factors led to Amer-

ica’s becoming the cradle of advertising. First, American industry led

in mass production, which created surpluses and the need to convince

consumers to buy more. Second, the development of a fine network of

waterways, highways, and roads allowed the transportation of goods and

advertising media to the countryside. Third, the establishment in 1813 of

compulsory public education increased literacy and the growth of news-

papers and magazines. The invention of radio and later television cre-

ated two more amazing media for the spread of advertising.

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