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Period: 2000 BCE to 1500
🏺Prehistory of Advertising
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500 BCE
Axon
The axon was a rotating wooden pillar with inscriptions used in Ancient Greece to display public messages. It was a form of early poster advertising. It represents one of the earliest forms of public information display. It's a unique blend of function and physical design in early advertising. -
50
Signa
Signa were wooden or metal signs hung outside shops in ancient Rome to indicate what was sold inside. Since many people were illiterate, images and symbols helped customers recognize stores. This is an early example of visual branding and symbolic communication in advertising. It shows how people creatively solved communication issues in a time without print. -
Period: 500 to 1500
🏰 Middle Ages
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1200
Criers
Criers were public announcers who walked the streets shouting out news or commercial offers. Since many people were illiterate, this was a crucial way to spread information. They represent one of the earliest forms of verbal mass communication. Demonstrates the power of voice and repetition in early advertising. -
1400
Guild Signs
Guilds used recognizable symbols on buildings to show which trade was practiced there (e.g. blacksmith, tailor). These served as visual ads and quality guarantees. They combined branding and trust, core elements in modern advertising. It illustrates early use of logos and professional identity. -
Period: 1447 to
🖨️ Printing Press
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Copper engraving
Replaced woodblock prints in advertising with more detailed images and elegant visuals. This method made ads more attractive and precise. It improved the quality and effectiveness of visual communication. Shows the shift from simple to more artistic and persuasive print ads. -
Feuille d'intelligence (Renaudot)
The first printed newspaper with job ads and commercial information. Created by Theophraste Renaudot. It's considered the origin of printed classified ads. A milestone in the history of paid media and job advertising. -
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⚙️ Industrial Revolution
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P.T. Barnum promotions
Used posters, newspaper ads, and parades to promote his circus. His campaigns were flashy and attention-grabbing. He pioneered the multi-platform advertising campaign. A perfect example of showmanship and early brand spectacle. -
Charles Havas agency
Charles Havas founded one of the first advertising agencies in Paris, which helped create and distribute ads. He professionalized the ad industry and laid the groundwork for modern media agencies. It's a clear starting point for organized commercial advertising services. -
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🌸 Art Nouveau / Modernism
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Moulin Rouge poster
This bold, colorful poster for the famous Parisian cabaret combined modern illustration with nightlife culture. It marked a shift toward lifestyle branding and visual storytelling. An iconic blend of entertainment and visual advertising. -
Bières de la Meuse
Alphonse Mucha designed this iconic beer poster using natural forms, flowing lines, and elegant fonts. Turned advertising posters into respected art. Shows how beauty and design became part of branding. -
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🪖Wartime
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Wartime: Uncle Sam
Created by James Montgomery Flagg during WW1 to recruit American soldiers. One of the most iconic propaganda posters in history. Represents emotional and persuasive nationalistic advertising. -
Scientific Advertising: Schlitz Beer ad
Hopkins visited the Schlitz factory and wrote ads explaining their pure filtration process, even though all beer brands used similar methods. He turned technical details into persuasive selling points with his “reason-why” copy style. A classic demonstration of how storytelling and logic can elevate a brand. -
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📻 Expansion of Advertising
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🧬Scientific Advertising
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🎨Art Deco
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📚Illustrated Magazines
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🎙️Radio Advertising / Jingles
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Scientific Advertising: Lucky Strike campaign
Lasker created a campaign for Lucky Strike with the slogan “Reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet,” promoting cigarettes as a diet aid. It combined advertising psychology with health and beauty concerns, especially targeting women. It's a bold early example of targeted messaging and emotional manipulation in advertising. -
Art Deco: Nord Express
This iconic travel poster used bold lines and geometric forms to promote the luxury train Nord Express. It captured speed, modernity, and elegance in pure Art Deco style. Helped define the sleek visual language of modern transport ads. It's a textbook example of how Art Deco aesthetics influenced commercial design. -
Illustrated Magazines: National Geographic
Known for high-quality images and maps, National Geographic attracted advertisers who wanted to associate with prestige and discovery. It was one of the first to link advertising with global lifestyle and education. A great example of how image-rich media shaped brand perception. -
Art Deco: Dubonnet poster
A famous poster series using repetition and stylized characters to advertise Dubonnet aperitif. The slogan “Dubo, Dubon, Dubonnet” became instantly recognizable. Blended typography, humor, and visual rhythm into a memorable campaign. One of the earliest examples of brand identity built through visual repetition. -
Illustrated Magazines: Life Magazine
Life magazine combined powerful photojournalism with mass-market advertising. It featured vivid visuals that brought brands and news to life. Set the standard for integrating visuals with storytelling in media. Helped turn visual design into a major element of advertising. -
Radio Advertising: Palmolive Soap
This ad promoted Palmolive as a medically endorsed product, claiming that most doctors recommended it for skin care. It used medical authority to gain consumer trust, demonstrating how radio ads appealed to logic and credibility. -
Wartime: Rosie the Riveter
This wartime poster encouraged women to join the workforce during WW2. Empowered female audiences and became a feminist icon. It's a landmark in gender-targeted advertising. -
Radio Advertising: Cigarettes Jingle
Winston launched a catchy jingle—“Winston tastes good like a cigarette should”—which became an earworm across America. The jingle helped solidify brand identity through repetition and melody, making it a perfect example of how sound branding works in radio. -
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📺 Creative Revolution
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Tony the Tiger
Tony the Tiger became the face of Frosted Flakes, appealing especially to children through character branding. Created by Leo Burnett, he helped humanize brands and foster emotional connection with consumers. -
Think Small
This minimalist and witty campaign by DDB broke all conventional ad rules and made the small car desirable. It redefined the tone, style, and honesty in advertising, becoming an icon of the creative revolution. -
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🕶️ Eighties Extravagance
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Apple Super Bowl Ad
Directed by Ridley Scott, this ad used a dystopian theme to introduce the Macintosh and aired only once. It revolutionized event-based advertising and proved how commercials could feel cinematic, bold, and rebellious. -
Levi’s 501 Launderette ad
In this iconic commercial, a stylish man walks into a laundromat and strips down to his underwear to wash his Levi’s 501 jeans, set to a retro 60s soundtrack. The ad transformed everyday denim into a symbol of effortless sex appeal and turned Levi’s into a fashion statement. It captured the spirit of 80s advertising with cinematic flair and cultural confidence. -
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💥 Shock Advertising
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Calvin Klein Brooke Shields ad
Sixteen-year-old Brooke Shields posed in this ad with the line “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins,” hinting at sexual undertones. It blurred the lines between youth, sex appeal, and marketing—sparking debate and making waves in fashion advertising. -
Benetton AIDS ad
This ad depicted a dying AIDS patient surrounded by his family, confronting viewers with raw human emotion. It brought taboo subjects into mainstream media and marked a shift toward provocative social messaging in branding. -
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🌐 Digital Age
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Google AdWords launch
AdWords introduced pay-per-click and audience targeting, letting advertisers track clicks and conversions in real time. It transformed ad buying into a measurable, data-driven process, marking the digital era’s true beginning.