"The best way to cook a lobster so that it won't protest is to to place it, live, in a pot of cold water, then to heat it." (Anon)As we know, the term 'advertising' covers a multitude of sins, but it does still deserve to be defined today. However, let us first consider the history of this informational process, which existed probably as long ago as 3000 B.C., with 'advertising' for Theban slaves and later for Roman games, in the sense of purpose-based public information. Town criers (think of the sandwich-boards of today) were to follow over the centuries, communicating others' pronouncements verbally and directly to the populace.
After the age of manuscripts, we also know that, post-Gutenberg (circa 1450), posters and print appeared, notably in15th century England and France. Catalogues followed in Venice, 'bureaux d'adresse' in 17th century France (Th. Renaudot) and press advertising in England (1622).The Great Fire of London in 1666 ultimately served to stimulate local shopkeepers' need to re-establish contact with their customers in the wake of the disaster.
The 18th century was witness to the iniquitous slavery posters of America e.g. for '30 strapping males under 20', or 'To be sold. . .a cargo of 170 prime young likely healthy Guinea slaves, Savannah,1774.' (2) This same century also witnessed the development of newspaper advertising in America and England, as well as street poster advertising in France (J-Michel Papillon, 1744). It is interesting to note also that the 1789 French Revolution was to encourage an explosion in communication of all sorts, the pamphlet and the poster in particular.
The first advertising agency was created in England in 1812, although Montaigne's1580 idea (in his 'Essais') of bureaux d'adresse could be considered as a forerunner. These same places were later to be banned, qualified as 'places of vice and iniquity'.
America's first ad agency (Palmer & Hooper) opened in 1840, J. Walter Thompson's in 1864. The famous French 'colonnes Rambuteau', for street advertising, appeared in 1842 in Paris. (1)
In 1868, the painter Manet did his first advertising poster (Champfleury), Jules Chéret (Parfums Roger et Gallet, 1875) followed, as did Toulouse-Lautrec (Moulin Rouge, 1891) Mucha (Bières de la Meuse, 1897) and Bonnard ('L'Estampe', revue d'art, 1897).
1922 saw the first radio advertising in the USA, 1930 in France on Radio Normandie. Motivation research began in the USA in 1943 witnessed the first TV advertisements in 1947, 1955 in the U.K. The French are still arguing about this question...
In 1955, CBS in America became the largest advertising medium in existence, the Marlboro Man appeared and in 1957, Vance Packard's 'Hidden Persuaders', an all-out attack on advertising, was published. Subliminal advertising was banned and Bill Bernbach's famous VW Beetle print ad was created. In 1966, the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) came into being (Rosser Reeves). Saatchi and Saatchi was created in 1970. Congress in the USA, in 1971, banned broadcast advertising for cigarettes. Ted Turner's CNN came on air in 1980 and MTV in 1981, creating a whole new visual youth medium. (3)
Finally, the Internet appeared on the radar in 1993 in the USA (2015 in France). By 2000, in the USA, this new medium was already worth almost 3bn dollars in advertising (9.50FF in France).
NOTES :
(1) in 'Histoire de la Publicité', Ph. Schuwer ;
(2) Library of Congress website ;
(3) see the Musée de la Publicité website ;
(4) consult Advertising Age's website, History Timeline ;
(5) photo credits : 'Lost in minefield'/www.flickr.com
Next : an attempt at a definition
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