American Advetising

200 years of American advertising Preliminary facts • a study of cultural history • a major educator of technology • no foundational theory • some tactics that work • products that have stood the test of time The History of Advertising From the founding of the Republic to World War I (1789 ­ 1914) 1789 ­ 1800 • advertising already well established and imported from England • 43 weekly newspapers • 80% of ad copy was for land, slaves, and transportation • 20% of ad copy was local • newspapers were made of “rags” • 16 column format ­ no design 1789 ­ 1800: Consumer profile • very little discretionary income • 90% rural dwellers and subsistence farmers • demand for products was substantial, especially for staples such as coffee, salt, hardware, clothes, and tools 1800 ­ Civil War (1861 ­ 1865) • Communities grew and got wealthier • most products advertised and sold locally • coffee, sugar, liquor, and patent medicines were transported and were the first nationally advertised products • 1850 technological innovation: wood pulp, chlorine • 1868 emergence of first advertising agencies 1800 ­ Civil War (1861 ­ 1865) • Major problems after 1868: managing demand managing production capacity distribution of products • Nature of ads: creative billboards and posters newspaper legal format • By 1861 growth of : magazines and readership Civil War to World War I 1865 ­ 1914 1865 ­ 1914: Major Happenings • Wartime shortages a catalyst for developments in technology • Women enter the labor force in substantial numbers • The appearance of BRANDING: 1866 Borden’s Eagle Brand 1869 Campbell’s Soup 1873 Levi Strauss 1879 Ivory Soap 1903 Coca Cola 1865 ­ 1914: Major Happenings • Bulk packaging (“Cracker Barrel”)gave way to trade marking: Heinz 57 varieties Kellogs Post • 1896 radio was invented • Photographic innovation A special focus on patent medicines The importance of patent medicines • the identification and development of advertising locations and target marketing • the birth of the American magazine • the birth of catalogs, e.g., Montgomery Ward in 1872 • regulation of advertising rates • regulation of advertising content • development of creative advertising By 1914 everything we