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3000 BCE
Art of writing
When the art of writing was invented, the knowledge was greatly extended, and advertising gradually become an art to be
cultivated. -
2000 BCE
Criers
People hired to proclaim the virtues of a product.
Streets of Babylon (an ancient city in Mesopotamia; 2nd millennium BC) they were criers selling carpets, tapestries and
spices. -
Period: 2000 BCE to
Prehistory
Impossible to give any exact idea as to the period when the first advertisement of any kind made its appearance … BUT…
there is no hesitation in ascribing the origin of advertising to the remotest possible times.
Advertising is the oldest trade in the world.
As long as there has been a world there have been advertisements.
It is safe to say that advertisement has been around for as long as:
- goods to sell
- a medium to talk them up -
1200 BCE
Papyri
Very soon after the invention of writing in its rudest form, advertising started: rewards for and descriptions of runaway
slaves, written on papyri more than three thousand years ago, have been exhumed from the ruins of Thebes (Greek name
for a city in Ancient Egypt, natively known as Waset, located in the south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river
Nile within the modern city of Luxor). -
500 BCE
Kerux
A common mode of advertising, about the same time, was the public crier or kerux (official spokesman, selected for his
loud or penetrating voice).
His messages could be political, religious or commercial, but they were always well said.The Greeks had oratorical power. Sometimes, the messages were not humorous but sophisticated, written by poets. -
79 BCE
Praeco, album, graffiti and signa
Verbal ads were done by the praeco, who announced public notices Written ads appeared in album (painted wall panels) and graffiti (quick messages in red or black), found in Pompeii and Herculaneum Graphic ads used signa, shop signs with symbols like ivy for taverns, mule for bakeries, and goat for milk shops -
Period: 475 to 1499
Medieval advertising
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1050
Medieval guilds
Associations of craftsmen or merchants. Started strictly regulating the development of handcrafts. Workshops were grouped by streets * in the end of the streets they hung wooden or metal signs with the symbol of the guild. Ended up giving the street its name: painters, cutlers (Cuchillería), barbers, etc. -
1100
Peddler
Charlatans or puppeteers were, however, the chief medium of intercommunication in the
Middle Ages. They loudly advertised their products on the street or shows, and it is not hard to imagine how welcome their appearance
must have been in those days (no roads, travelling was very difficult). -
1447
Printing press
Appearance of the printing press and movable type, and invention generally credited to German former goldsmith Johannes
Gutenberg. -
Period: to
17th century
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La Gazette
Théophraste Renaudot, physician to Louis XIII and friend of Richelieu, founded La Gazette in 1631, the first weekly newspaper in France. To help the poor, he had earlier created a job office in 1630. He is considered the first French journalist and the inventor of the personal ad. In 1633, he also launched Feuille d’intelligence, the first ad-based newspaper. -
Public adviser
It continued the idea of using print to share public notices, job offers, and advertisements. Inspired by earlier initiatives like Renaudot’s in France, it marked an early step toward organized public communication through the press, though still limited by lack of journalistic freedom. -
James White
Englishman (at the beginning of the 19th century, the United Kingdom was the world's first economy), and
created his agency in 1800. It was not an advertising agency, but a mix, a news agency and an advertising agency. -
Charles Louis Havas
French and created his agency (Agence des Feuilles Politiques) in 1832. Old banker and he
created a famous agency, Havas, which will become one of the most powerful advertising groups in the world.
At first Havas was a news agency, which carried news from London to Paris in six hours. How did they get that? Using what?
Messenger pigeons. -
Illustrated magazines
National magazines first resisted ads, fearing they’d upset elite readers. In 1883, Cyrus Curtis and his wife Louisa turned a farming magazine into Ladies’ Home Journal, focusing on women and accepting ads. This allowed low subscription prices and wide reach, helping it grow to over a million readers by the 20th century. -
Charles Duveyrier
Frenchman, created in 1845 the first true French advertising agency: Société des Annonces. -
Patent medicines
Nonprescription remedies made of secret ingredients (magic elixirs).
Popular cures that were not tested or traditionally used in medicine (tonics, pills, potions, and ointments everywhere during
the 19th century).
They were neither effective nor safe. -
Period: to
Birth of advertising
America’s population continued to grow (1815- 1860, nearly 5 million new immigrants arrived from western Europe) and
crowded the nation’s eastern cities. -
Ferdinand Haasenstein
Created in 1855 in Hamburg Haasenstein und Vogler, an agency that would soon have branches
throughout Germany and Denmark. In 1898 it was the first European advertising agency to open a branch in Spain, in
Barcelona. He disappeared with Nazism. -
Atilio Manzoni
created in 1863 in Milan a company that sold health products. This company will
become Manzoni Pubblicitá, which is still alive today and is one of the largest advertising agencies in Italy. In 1888 he made
his first national publicity campaign, the launching of the Santa Caterina mineral water. -
J. Walter Thompson
Women’s magazines. He said to the bankers that he was a war hero, and a naval officer of high rank (he was known
as The Commodore). During the Civil War he had been a drainer on a steamboat. He was a unionist, he opposed
secession (with Lincoln), and he won. -
Harper’s Bazar
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Vanity Fair
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N. W. Ayer and Son
Founder Francis Wayland Ayer. Ayer brought transparency to the business of buying and selling space in the
newspapers, charging advertisers a fixed commission of 12.5 per cent. This later rose to 15 per cent, which
remained the standard commission fee for advertising agencies for many years. -
Phineas T. Barnum
Invented the modern advertising campaign: a well-planned program of tricks, speeches, posters, parades, and publicity
efforts used to build excitement about a new product or event.
Barnum was a master showman and an expert at promoting his thrilling circus. -
Lord and Thomas
Pioneering American advertising agency known for introducing scientific advertising methods and creating one of the first full-service agencies, shaping modern advertising practices. -
Period: to
The consolidation of advertising
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Art nouveau 1880 - 1910
Art Nouveau (“new art”) appeared in a wide variety of fields throughout Europe and beyond: decorative and graphic arts,
architecture, glassware, furniture, pottery, jewlry, metalwork, textile
AIM: modernize design, escape from the eclectic historical styles that had previously been popular. -
Cosmopolitan
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National Geographic Magazine
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Vogue
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John E. Kennedy
In 1904, John E. Kennedy revolutionized advertising by defining it as "Salesmanship-In-Print" to Albert Lasker of Lord Thomas. He also introduced "Reason-Why Advertising," fundamentally changing how products were sold and making Lord Thomas a pivotal training ground for the industry. -
ASSOCIATED ADVERTISING CLUBS OF AMERICA
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Helen Lansdowne Resor
In 1908, Stanley Resor opened JWT’s Cincinnati branch and hired Helen Lansdowne, a pioneering female copywriter. Lansdowne’s innovative ads for Woodbury’s Soap, using subtle romance and free samples, boosted sales by 1,000% in eight years. She targeted women, creating an editorial ad style that built brand trust. Lansdowne and Resor married in 1917 and led JWT to become the first agency to bill over $100 million by 1947. JWT remains a leading US agency, now part of WPP. -
The consumerism revolution
Mass society mainly affected the upper bourgeoisie. Big posters and department stores lowered prices, displayed products, and allowed free entry for browsing. Happiness became linked to comfort, not afterlife. Department stores created spaces for women, supported by magazines and catalogs. -
Earnest Elmo Calkins
The first art director, but he started out in advertising as a copywriter. He was deaf due to childhood measles but
blessed with a heightened visual sense. Frustrated that he could not improve the look of the ads that bore his copy,
Calkins took evening classes in industrial design.
He had concluded that fancy copy was no longer enough: consumers need to be assailed by visuals that stopped
them in their tracks. -
ADVERTISING WOMEN OF NEW YORK
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War advertising
During WWI, ads and posters were used to recruit soldiers and raise funds, using emotion and patriotism. Iconic examples include Uncle Sam’s “I Want YOU” and Lord Kitchener’s poster. These campaigns were highly effective. -
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ADVERTISING AGENCIES
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It's toasted
Lucky Strike's "It's Toasted" ad campaign highlighted their tobacco's unique toasting process, implying better taste and reduced irritation to differentiate the brand. This successful strategy subtly shifted focus from health concerns, boosting sales by promoting a perception of quality and safety. -
Alex Osborn, Roy Durstine and Bruce Barton
They founded an advertising agency named BDO was founded, which quickly acquired significant clients and later merged with the George Batten Company in 1928, becoming one of the industry's largest firms with $32 million in billings. -
Scientific advertising
Claude Hopkins believed ads should sell and be backed by research. He used dramatized selling and preemptive claims to highlight unique product features. Famous for campaigns like Schlitz beer and Pepsodent, he helped popularize Kotex and Kleenex, shaping modern advertising. -
Period: to
The expansion of advertising
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Radio
In the 1920s radio was seen as a powerful instrument that could educate, inform, and enlighten the public.
The idea that radio could also have advertisements disturbed some Americans, specially teachers, civic leaders and social
reformers. -
Raymond Rubicam (Young & Rubicam)
Despite his unconventional hiring of "talented freaks," Rubicam insisted on "Ideas founded on facts," integrating strong research, notably by hiring George Gallup. Gallup's work revealed that appeals to quality, vanity, and sex-appeal resonated more than those emphasizing economy, a research-driven creative approach that sustained YR's success. -
Art déco
Art Déco, named after the 1925 Paris Exposition, was a decorative and modern style that flourished between the world wars. It blended luxury, exotic materials, and geometric forms influenced by movements like Cubism, Fauvism, and Futurism. Though meant to be modern, it often drew on past traditions. Popular in architecture, design, and art, it peaked in 1925 but declined in the 1930s with the Great Depression, giving way to more classical styles. -
Theodore Macmanus
As a copywriter, he revolutionized advertising with his work on advertisements for luxury cars by General
Motors, including Cadillacs. In 1927, he started his own advertising company, the MacManus agency. His best
known advertisement, written in 1915, is called The Penalty of Leadership. Later, Elvis Presley hung it on a wall in
his Graceland mansion, suggesting it described him well. -
Nord express
Promotes a luxury train that connected Paris with northern Europe. The design uses sharp geometric lines and perspective to create a sense of speed and movement. The composition is bold and modern, reflecting the power and efficiency of industrial travel. With minimal color and stylized typography, the poster became a symbol of the Art Deco style and revolutionized railway advertising. -
Vu
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Wall street crash
The Great Depression had devastated America, with unemployment hitting 8 million and salaries, even at top firms like Lord Thomas, plummeting. The public, unable to afford goods, grew resentful of advertising. Despite this bleak outlook, the era saw the emergence of new, significant agencies, notably Leo Burnett (opened 1935) and Young Rubicam, signaling a shift for the industry. -
Normandie
Created to promote the French ocean liner SS Normandie. The poster shows the ship from a dramatic low angle, making it appear monumental and powerful. Using bold geometry, symmetry, and minimal text, Cassandre captured the spirit of modernity, speed, and luxury. The design became iconic for its striking simplicity and is considered a masterpiece of graphic design and modern advertising. -
Life
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Period: to
Creative revolution of advertising
After World War II, Americans had money saved and wanted to buy things. Ads on the new television helped them decide what to get, from new houses like those in Levittown to goods for their growing families (the "baby boomers"). Advertising in the 1950s promised a good life and turned America into a huge shopping nation. -
Rosser Reeves (Unique selling proposition)
The 1950s saw two major advertising successes: Anacin, using Rosser Reeves's USP (Unique Selling Proposition) with constant repetition to emphasize its "combination of ingredients," and De Beers, which, via N. W. Ayer's campaign, created the iconic "A Diamond is Forever" slogan, linking diamonds to enduring love and boosting their value. -
Television
Television rapidly grew in popularity after WWII, becoming a powerful advertising medium due to its sight and sound capabilities. Initially, sponsors fully controlled programs, leading to the "Golden Age" but also censorship demands. This shifted to spot advertising, where networks sold shorter commercial slots to multiple companies, making TV ads more accessible and monitored by Nielsen ratings. -
The Hathaway Man
David Ogilvy launched the Hathaway Shirt campaign, creating the memorable "Hathaway Man" with an eye patch to brand a simple product with sophistication, ultimately defining his influential approach to advertising. -
Political advertising
In the 1950s, television revolutionized political campaigning when Rosser Reeves created the first-ever TV spot ads for Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1952 presidential election, marking a pivotal shift in how politicians reached voters. -
Malboro man
Leo Burnett created the iconic Marlboro Man, transforming Marlboro cigarettes from a feminine product to a symbol of rugged masculinity through the image of an idealized, silent cowboy with a distinctive tattoo. -
Think small
DB, under William Bernbach, revolutionized 1950s advertising by selling the Volkswagen Beetle through honest, original campaigns like "Think Small." This approach, prioritizing truth and simplicity over repetition, significantly boosted sales and reshaped industry norms. -
Madison avenue and the creative revolution
By 1960, Madison Avenue symbolized the U.S. advertising industry, housing major agencies and controlling half of the nation's ad spending. This era, seen as glamorous but ethically flexible, was revolutionized by William (Bill) Bernbach, David Ogilvy, and Leo Burnett, whose "creative revolution" set new standards for advertising. -
Period: to
Advertising in the last third of the 20th century
The 1980s marked a golden age for TV advertising, characterized by expensive global campaigns and London's creative influence. This period fostered an extravagant agency culture focused on lavish entertainment and, ultimately, profit. -
Bartle Bogle Hegarty
BBH gained fame for its impactful Levi's 501 jeans TV ads like "Launderette." Chiat/Day (1968, California), self-described as "pirates," created the groundbreaking "1984" Super Bowl ad for Apple, directed by Ridley Scott, which dramatically boosted Mac sales and became a cultural event. -
Shock advertising
Shock advertising or Shockvertising is a type of advertising that "deliberately, rather than inadvertently, startles and
offends its audience by violating norms for social values and personal ideals". -
New trends
Today’s advertising is, above all, varied, miscellaneous and heterogeneous, in the sense that it mixes everything. That is
its main characteristic. The second, that sometimes, and only sometimes, it tries to assume its social responsibility. The
third is that it is truly creative. Only creativity, imagination, novelty matter. It is varied because it mixes sophistication with
guerrilla marketing techniques.