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Most modern advertising can essentially trace its roots to the invention of the Gutenberg printing press with moveable type back in 1441. The rest of it is almost a natural evolutionary process. With new inventions come new ways to advertise. So the next time you sit down with that paper, realize that it was print advertising that revolutionized the way things are done.
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It was an announcement about a house for sale in the Boston Newsletter.
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In 1729, our forefather, Benjamin Franklin began the advertising tradition in America. His Philadelphia Gazette had a full page of advertisements.
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Ben Franklin also started magazine advertising in 1749 with his General Magazine.
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The first successful “penny newspaper” founded by Benjamin Day. Revolutionized distribution by selling lots of 100 to boys to sell on the street. By 1837, circulation reached 30,000!
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The first Advertising Agency opened in 1843. It was also in Philadelphia! A man named Volney Palmer was the first true ad agency man. He was in charge of brokering space for advertising more than for the actual creation of the ads.
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In 1873, there was a convention of advertising agents in New York. A few years later, James Walter Thompson created the position of “account executive” for himself and went into the business of general magazine advertising. This was the beginning of creative advertising in this country.
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In 1880, department store founder John Wanamaker became the first retailer to hire a full-time advertising copywriter, John E. Powers who is considered the father of modern creative advertising.
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In 1882, the first “big budget” client spent $11,000 on advertisements. This company’s main product was soap! Selling soap was big business in America!
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In 1893, a cola company got the first registered trademark. The company bookkeeper came up with the original first mark for the brand. His name was Frank Robinson.
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In 1900, N.W. Ayer started a “Business Getting” Department in their agency. This department was based on the marketing needs of their clients. Marketing in America now had a name. “Business Getting” was what it was all about.
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In 1906, the first million dollar advertising client was born.
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In 1916, outdoor billboard ads were mostly under the control of a group of representatives from many different agencies that formed a new entity. The National Outdoor Advertising Bureau controlled about 75% of all outdoor ads during this time.
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The first sponsored radio show aired in 1923. In 1924, other companies began sponsoring radio programs, and the age of radio advertising was in full swing.
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Advertising revenue plummeted from a high of $3.5 billion. Stock Market revenue only reached $1.5 billion by 1933.
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In 1936 a magazine published over $100 million dollars in ads. It was the most financially successful magazine the country had ever seen, primarily due to ad revenues.
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Advertising Media changed again in 1938. Radio surpassed magazines as the dominant form of advertising.
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It was an ad for a watch that ticked for 60 seconds. 7500 televisions in New York were tuned in to see it... the thrill of watching a watch on TV.
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Color came into the picture, and the world was set on its ear. Everyone had to have a color television! Which station do you think was the largest advertising medium in the world at this time?
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In 1967, Mary Wells became the first woman to head a major advertising agency. In the heat of the Women’s Movement, we saw the impact of women having a great deal of influence on the direction advertising was taking in America.
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In 1971, Congress banned cigarette advertising via broadcast media. Cigarette companies felt the bruises from the advertising restraint and re-channeled all of their ads into magazines and billboards.
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Music TV debuted in 1981. A new, frenetically paced style of television advertising tried to emulate the music videos that young people were coming to expect.
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1993 brings the Internet to over 5 million people worldwide and changes the way ads are delivered yet again. Ads pop up, pop under, and become a general nuisance to most computer users. Special software programs are written to help eliminate unwanted ads from the computer screen.
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This occurred as billings for internet advertising neared the $3 Billion mark.