A Brief History of Advertising

 Advertising is one of the oldest segments of business, save for currency and trade. Once products and services arose, so did the need to make them known.


The oldest confirmed piece of advertising dates back to 3,000 B.C. Technically, it was a print ad from ancient Egypt promoting the capture and return of an escaped slave.


Incidentally, the ad also mentioned the slave owner’s shop — a rug business — which inherently advertised his storefront, too. The slave was never caught, but the rug owner did discover a brand new method of bringing in traffic: advertising.


Let’s fast-forward about 4,000 years. Here’s a brief look at the past five centuries of advertising:


1472: The first poster advertisement is placed on church doors in London.


1650: The first newspaper ad — a reward for 12 stolen horses — is published. (What’s with these reward-based advertisements?)


1704: The Boston News-Letter prompts its readers to place ads in its paper.


1870: The Powers style of ad copy is born. This style packed a punch — it was short, to-the-point, truthful, and convincing. Powers said the focus should be on why the consumer should buy your product or service — a message that still resonates for good reason today.


1880: Postcards become one of the hottest new ways to reach customers.


1902: Unilever creates the “longest client-agency relationship in advertising history” when it hires J. Walter Thompson Company to advertise its Lifebuoy Soap.

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