Advertising in some form has existed since man started living in urban environments. A simple sign with a name or title or even just a painted symbol on a door represents an herbalist or a blacksmith or a religious institution inside and is, in effect, an advertisement. However, advertising as we know it today did not really develop until late in the industrial revolution when products began to proliferate and producers needed a way to make consumers aware of and differentiate their products.
The Early History of Advertising
The first modern advertising agency was established in 1842 by Volney B. Palmer. There had been others who sold ad space in newspapers and magazines to companies to announce their new products, but Palmer was the first to approach the idea of advertising systematically and offer a suite of services to companies (from copywriting to finding the best place to run the ads). He was also among the earliest to advocate advertising as a new marketing technique.
Development of Advertising in the Early 20th Century
Palmer's business was successful, but the concept and practice of advertising took a number of decades to develop into what we know today. The first two decades of the 20th century mark the real development of modern advertising and an explosive growth in the industry. The idea of using celebrities and movie stars to promote products burst onto the scene, as did the idea of selling products by sex appeal (that is, having sexy men and women extol the virtues of products).
Advertising and Capitalism
Volney Palmer was among the first to realize and specifically discuss advertising as new tool for businesses and an integral part of the capitalist business model of the modern industrial world. By the 1920s, this view was becoming commonly held by business and the public as well as those in the advertising industry.
Modern Advertising
Modern advertising has grown to become an integral part of today's consumer-oriented economic system. Advertising is everywhere, it has become a part of the fabric of our society, so much, in fact, that we cannot possibly consciously register all of the advertising inputs. In effect, advertising bombards modern consumers for almost all of their waking hours, so they filter out a good bit of it on the conscious level. According to the Kelsey Group, the total global advertising market topped $600 billion in 2007.
Tags: History Advertising, integral part, know today, modern advertising, their products, Volney Palmer