Throughout time, companies, websites, and businesses have been using many different strategies of advertising to spread their popularity. Advertising has been around for many years with no intentions of going away. Since the 1600s, advertising has become the foundation of a successful business and have improved techniques by finding new means of advertisement in order to promote products. Although advertising can be both positive and negative at times, it is a significant part in American culture that benefits society.
The entire purpose of advertising is to make money out of attracting a wider public. Techniques of advertising have been altered as time has passed. The earliest forms of advertising were first seen as graffiti and posters. Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable printing press in 1447. As a result, mass distribution of posters and circulars was possible ("Advertising Timeline"). Later, radio and newspapers were important parts of advertisement among individuals. The 19th century saw the skills of the advertiser come to the forefront (“A Brief History of Advertising”). As advertisers came up with new ideas and were able to reach more families, businesses, and individuals, advertising became more effective and began to see results. During the early part of the 12th century, governments began to recognize the power of advertising to get their message across to their consumers (“A Brief History of Advertising”).
Since the production of goods started, businesses have been advertising. From the 1760s to the 1850s, the Industrial Revolution made advances in technology and a rise in the production of consumer goods ("Advertising Timeline"). Once magazines began to advertise, individuals were fascinated. Magazines were able to show pictures in order to persuade their audiences. In 1893 Munsey's Magazine became the first magazine to stay afloat on advertising revenue rather than newsstand sales ("Advertising Timeline"). Politicians began to wonder how they could gain popularity other than the normal poster advertising they had been using. In 1928 the United States aired the first political campaign commercials ("Advertising Timeline"). Today, it seems to us that television commercials and advertising have always been around. Advertisers had to come up with the techniques we see today and figure out how to make them happen. The first television advertisement featuring a Bulova watch aired in 1941 ("Advertising Timeline").
Advertising has progressed throughout the years. Most of the advertising during World War I was deliberate propaganda. It was used to enlist soldiers and enforce government policies. Many of the ads use techniques of psychological manipulation which now seems cruel and unfair to us (“A Brief History of Advertising”). Advertising was a large, well established industry in 1914 and it continued to expand after the First World War. Between 1923 and 1930, sixty percent of American families acquired a radio set. Radio became a...
