History of Madison Avenue and the Advertising Industry

Introduction: Madison Ave & The Ad Industry

1900

Madison Avenue is more than just a street in Manhattan, it serves as a historical representation of the American advertising industry. This timeline explores the importance of Madison Ave as a physical setting for the ad industry, as well as the broader evolution of the ad industry over time. These two aspects of Madison Ave, the location and the industry at large, are inextricably linked, and anything less than holistic analysis would be a disservice to Madison Ave's extensive history.

The American Association of Advertising Agencies First Headquarters

1917

The American Association of Advertising Agencies’ first headquarters was in the Metropolitan Tower at Madison Avenue and 23rd Street, near many of the Association’s members. That first year, there were 50 4A’s members in New York City; seven of them (14%) were based on Madison Avenue, including J. Walter Thompson. This conglomeration of Ad agencies serves as the beginning of an era for advertising on Madison Avenue. Source

First Radio Commercial

1922

In 1922, the first-ever paid radio commercial was run, a broadcast on New York radio station WEAF which advertised apartments in Jackson Heights. This was the first major leap for advertising as it allowed messages to be dispersed to many people at the same time, giving great potential to the Ad industry. Source

Advertising the American Dream

1923

According to Roland Marchand’s book, Advertising the American Dream, the phrase ‘Madison Avenue’ was first used to denote advertising around 1923, and by the late 1920s, it was both a prevalent and geographically accurate term. Source

First TV Ad

1941

In 1941, the first-ever TV commercial was introduced during a baseball game. This was a benchmark for how advertising would change in the future, and it set a standard that many companies follow to present-day ads. This was a turning point in how ads were made, specifically in how they targeted specific demographics. For instance, appealing to the interests of men who enjoy sports. Source

The Advertising Council

1942

James Webb Young, the co-founder of the Young and Rubicam agency, first articulated the idea of the Ad Council in 1941. He addressed giants of the industry—among them Raymond Rubicam, J. Walter Thompson, and Leo Burnett—to propose an organization that could bring the entire advertising industry together in service of social good. As a result of these efforts, the War Advertising Council was founded on February 18, 1942. Source

First Color Television

1954

The first color TV was brought to market on March 25, 1954. Two major tv production companies, RCA and CBS, were competing to make the first color tv. CBS was the first to get approval around 1951, but there were many flaws, which led to RCA getting the first approval in 1954. The introduction of colored tv added many different dimensions to the advertising world and gave advertisers different creative outlets. Source

Black Pride in Advertising: Ebony Magazine (1970 issue)

1970

In response to the Black pride movement sweeping the U.S., ad agencies sought to capitalize on the political climate. The Johnson published Ebony Magazine was one such outlet for Black advertisement. Ebony was first published in 1945, but the 1970 issue is significant because it signaled advertisers’ emerging emphasis on Black Pride as a strategy for reaching Black consumers, a turning point for advertisements and consumption aimed at Black communities. Source

The First Clickable Web Ad

1993

In 1993, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, a Silicon Valley Law Firm, purchased the first clickable web ad which gave way to a more intimate form of advertisement. This event opened the gates for companies to directly interact with their customers via the internet, and made the web a convenient and popular medium to advertise in. Source

Mad Men Debut

2007

The popular TV series Mad Men gives a portrayal of the advertising industry during the 1960s, illustrating “the lives of the men and women who work in an advertising agency in New York in the 1960s.” This is significant as a nostalgic take on the mid-20th-century ad industry, signaling the end of an era. Source

Y&R Departs Madison Ave

2013

Young & Rubicam, one of the world's largest and oldest advertising agencies, was considered to be the last great symbol of Madison Avenue. Their departure for Columbus Circle in 2013, after 85 years of being headquartered on Madison Ave, marked the end of an era. Source

Conclusion: Madison Ave Today

2021

Ad agencies adapted to changing commercial media over the last century, but ultimately the industry’s diversification and growth proved greater than Madison Ave could contain. Even the commercial relevance of Madison Ave has declined: Bloomberg reported that foot traffic on Madison Avenue was at just 71 percent of its rate from two years prior. Many stores on Madison Ave closed for good due to COVID whereas other popular retail locations have bounced back. Source