Advertising History

The History of Advertising

Long Long ago….

…in 3000 BC, it all started in the city of Babylon

The first form of advertising appeared in the form of clay tablets which bears the

inscription of an ointment dealer, a scribe and a shoemaker...

…and in Pompeiiwhere a clay tablet of a butcher shop was

retrieved.

The 3 periods of Advertising

• The Pre Marketing Era

• The Mass Communication Era

• The Research Era

The Pre - Marketing Era

Days of Barter system

• Ancient: Papyrus - Ad for slaves• Greeks: Town Criers - Arrival of ships

• Romans: Inn signs

The Pre - Marketing EraDays of Print

• 1438 : Johann Guttenberg invents the movable type

• 1478 : William Caxton printed the first paper

• 1523 : First printed Advertisement• 1622 : 1st printed Newspaper - London

‘The Weekly Newes of London’• 1625 : 1st Ad in an English Newspaper

• 1704 : 1st Ad in an American Newspaper‘Boston Newsletter’

• 1890 : Birth of Magazines

The Mass Communication Era

From the mid 1700’s advertisers reached mass audiences through the print

media and later with the invention of the Radio

The Research Era

Last 50 years advertisers have methodically improved the techniques

of identifying and reaching their audiences with specific messages

Great assistance with Electronic Media and now the Internet

The Evolution of the Agency

• The Space Salesman

• The Space Wholesaler

• The First Rate Directory

• From an Agency to the Creative Inputs

• The Curtis No-Rebating rule

The Space Salesman

• In 1840, Volney B Palmer contacted publications and sold advertising space

for a commission of 50%, but often settled for less

Palmer was very successful and soon opened up offices in Philadelphia, New

York and Boston

The Space Agent - Agency

The Space Wholesaler

• In 1850, George Powell bought large blocks of spaces and sold them in the

form of ‘squares’ - one column wide and sold them at a retail price, his own ad

read...

‘An inch of space a month in 100 newspapers for one hundred dollars’

The First Rate Directory

• In 1869, Powell shocked the advertising fraternity by publishing a directory of

Newspapers and their rates along with the estimation of their circulation

Agency to Creative Inputs

• Charles Austin Bates, a writer, began writing and selling his service to whoever wanted

them.

• In 1867, ex-Navy man James Walter Thompson sold space and from the

commission he would write copy for the Client.

Agency to Creative Inputs

• Calkin and Holden did more than write, they brought in copy, art and planning all under one roof paving the way for

an agency to function.

The Curtis No-Rebating Rule

• In 1891, Curtis Publishing Company, USA announced that it would pay commissions to

Agencies only if they agreed to collect the full price from the Advertisers

Agency Commission ranged from 10-25%

• In 1917, this got fixed to 15% which stands true till date

Advertising is all about Great Ideas

and behind all of them are some great minds and their reasons and philosophies

The Advertising Heroesand their ground

breaking work

Arnold Lasker

Had a talent for spotting talent, responsible for making people see that

creating advertising is a talent and needs passion

Claude Hopkins

‘If you want people to buy a product, you’d better give them a very good

reason why.’Driven towards Rationality

James Walter Thompson

Father of one of the largest agencies in the World today (JWT) - sold his

business to his employees Stanley and Helen Greser for US$ 10,000 in 1920

John Watson

Propounded the theory ...If Consumer attitude X changes to Y due to a

Advertising Stimulus then there will be a difference of Z in Sales Turnover

Stimulus most important

Gerard Lambert

Was one of the founders to address the issue of creating category need

advertisingAdvertising in 1924 did create a cure but

first it had to create the disease.

Michael Gallop

Formalized the first ever commercial market research and tracking

consumer behaviour

Leo Burnett

Deviated from the Watson TheoryIntroduced Image Advertising as

opposed to reason whyThis theory failed initially...

Rosser Reeves

Proposed that the human mind needs to focus on one single parameter of a product - the

theory of rationalityAs choices grew this theory also had its

limitations

David Ogilvy

~ Tried to balance Reason and Emotion create BrandingPick up insights from people

William Bernbach

~ Whilst you need to balance emotion and reason,

the advertisement must entertain.

George Gribbin

Must get people interested in your advertising for the brand

to be successful. This requires ingenuity. Saying it differently yet simply.

Alyque Padamsee

An Advertiser is a Performer

Liril GirlKama Sutra

Surf - LalithajiCherry Charlie

What is Advertising ?

‘Advertising’ originates from the Latin Word ‘ad

vertere’which means ‘to turn the mind towards’

There are many definitions to ‘Advertising’ including the one in the dictionary, but the all

time favourite is ….

‘Advertising is the use of media to inform consumers about something and/or to

persuade them to do something in effect. It brings products/brands and

consumers together and then modulates the relationship between them’

- The Economist

In short...

… Advertising is a key part of Marketing, but far from being (as is often assumed)

the sum total of it.

The Advertising Agency

Manages products (in the from of Brands) and Consumers