Advertising has changed over the years. We take a look back in time. The history of advertising can be traced to ancient civilizations.
In 1477 William Caxton printed what could be described as Britain’s
first advert, for a book called The Pyes of Salisbury. But advertising
goes back much earlier than Caxton’s days; almost certainly it emerged
alongside trading. From simply displaying ones wares outside, to
painting murals to entice customers, the roots of advertising run deep.
Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and wall posters. Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.
Wall or rock painting for commercial advertising is another
manifestation of an ancient advertising form, which is present to this
day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The tradition of
wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date back to 4000 BC.
In ancient China, the earliest advertising known was oral, as recorded in the Classic of Poetry
(11th to 7th centuries BC) of bamboo flutes played to sell candy.
Advertisement usually takes in the form of calligraphic signboards and
inked papers. A copper printing plate dated back to the Song dynasty used to print posters in the form of a square sheet of paper with a rabbit logo with "Jinan
Liu's Fine Needle Shop" and "We buy high quality steel rods and make
fine quality needles, to be ready for use at home in no time" written
above and below is considered the world's earliest identified printed advertising medium.
In Europe, as the towns and cities of the Middle Ages
began to grow, and the general population was unable to read, instead of
signs that read "cobbler", "miller", "tailor", or "blacksmith" would use
an image associated with their trade such as a boot, a suit, a hat, a
clock, a diamond, a horse shoe, a candle or even a bag of flour. Fruits
and vegetables were sold in the city square from the backs of carts and
wagons and their proprietors used street callers (town criers)
to announce their whereabouts for the convenience of the customers. Three forms of advertising existed during the pre printing
period.before 15 century.that forms were trade marks(moon,stars
etc),town criers and sign board.
In the 18th century advertisements started to appear in weekly
newspapers in England. These early print advertisements were used mainly
to promote books and newspapers, which became increasingly affordable
with advances in the printing press; and medicines, which were increasingly sought after as modern people rejected traditional cures. However, false advertising and "Quackery"
became common.
In London Thomas J. Barratt was hailed as "the father of modern advertising". Working for the Pears Soap
company, Barratt created an effective advertising campaign for the
company products, which involved the use of targeted slogans, images and
phrases. One of his slogans, "Good morning. Have you used Pears' soap?"
was famous in its day and into the 20th century.
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