What is the History of advertising?

The origins of advertising lie thousands of years in the past. One of the first known methods of advertising was an outdoor display, usually an eye- catching sign painted on the wall of a building. Archaeologists have uncovered many such signs, notably in the ruins of ancient Rome and Pompeii. An outdoor advertisement excavated in Rome offers property for rent, and one found painted on a wall in Pompeii calls the attention of travelers to a tavern situated in another town.

As much as some three thousand years ago Papyrus sheets were used in Thebes in Egypt for announcing the reward for return of runaway slaves .The first advertisement was somewhat in the form of stenciled inscriptions. which were found on earthen bricks prepared by the Babylonians about three thousand years before Christ. The bricks carry the name of//  the temple in which they were used and the name of the king who built it, just as a modern public building which contains a corner stone or stone tablet with the names of officials in office when the structure was erected. The method was to cut a stencil in hand stone and with it each brick was stamped while the clay had been in its son stage. The kings who did this had advertised themselves to their  subjects which could be read in hieroglyphics" .

In medieval times a simple but effective form of advertising was very popular. Merchants employed the so called "town criers" who shouted the praises of the merchants' wares and the arrival of trade-ships . 

Printed advertising played no big role until the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1445. Now the printers and later the merchants used little flyers to advertise their products These flyers often contained characteristic symbols of the guild members and the tradesmen and were also used as a

poster on walls. This form of advertisement lasted for a very long time. In the olden days, advertisements were more passive and extremely limited in scope. The earliest forms of advertisements were sign - boards and writings on the walls of prominent buildings. Broadly speaking the history of advertising might be divided into six periods or stages as follows:

a. Pre-printing period, prior to the Fifteenth century:

The 'Town crier' was the first means of supplementing sign advertising during the Pre-printing period. The 'criers' had charters from the Government and were often organized in a sort of union. Their numbers were usually restricted. In the province of Berry, in France, in the year 1141, twelve 'criers' organized a company and obtained a charter from Louis VII giving them  the exclusive privileges of town crying in the province . The Power of commercial criers grew until they were able in some instances to obtain an edict from the ruler of the land forcing shopkeepers to employ a 'crier'.

b. Early printing period from the Fifteenth century to about 1840: 

The invention of the printing press and the revival of learning meant much to business. It had led to the production of advertisements in large quantities for wide distribution. The first printed English advertisement was a  'handbill' or 'poster' announcement written by William Caxton in 1472

c. Period of expansion, from 1840 to 1900.

This period includes, roughly, the sixty years between 1840 and'  1900. It was during these six decades that the great changes, which had a vital  influence on the business of advertising, were witnessed in the United States.  By 1840, railroads in the United States were recognized as an efficient means of transportation. This had led to the broadening of markets and had resulted in an increase in the number of advertisements in magazines, which served large territories. The growth in the numbers and the circulation of magazines were mainly due to the development of rapid and long distance  transportation. This parallel movement is rather striking, while it does not prove a casual relationship between the growth of long distance transportation and advertising media, it is logical to believe that the increase of transportation facilities did have a definite influence on the rapid rise in the number of  publications. In fact, the increased revenue from the sale of advertising space encouraged a growth in the number of publications and their wider circulations. Advertisements during that period were mostly trade advertisements in nature, announcing the arrival of shipments of Coffee, Tea, Silk cloth, etc. Advertisements at that time were also designed specially for  dealers in consumer goods as well as grocery or dry goods . Advertisements were mostly handled by printers and publishers of newspapers , who used to sell advertisement space to procure necessary finances for their survival and growth. Many of the advertisements during this period were the classified variety, which had carried classified business information. 

d. Period of consolidation from 1900 to 1925: This period stretches over a period of 25 years from 1900 to 1925.  Printers Ink. Inc., the Curtis Publishing Company and other organizations led the fight to reduce or eliminate the use of gross exaggeration, false testimonials and other forms of misleading and  untruthful advertising'. It was also during this period that trust - busting, expose and reform programs became popular. It is not surprising that advertising was caught up in this clean up movement. The Associated Advertising clubs of America helped in launching a campaign to promote truthful and ethical 

advertising. Later several advertising organizations and groups like the Advertising Federation of America. American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers, Audit Bureau of Circulations, Direct Mail Advertising Association. Out door Advertising Association and various publishers associations were formed or became active as a result of these changes. These groups tended to give a semi-professional character to the advertising business. They have had some influence in solidifying the business and in raising the ethics some what above the levels of previous periods. 

e. Period of scientific development, from 1925 to 1945: 

This period saw the application of the scientific methods to resolve the problems of advertising. Knowledge was systematized to a much greater degree than before; and facts were observed, recorded and classified through the application of various scientific devices. 

There were a few "radical" advertising men who were so bold as to suggest that advertising be subjected to tests to prove or disprove its ability to work the wonders claimed for it. Not until the depression, starting in 1929, did these men get much of a hearing. But with advertising appropriations receiving liberal cuts, both professional advertising men and advertisers set out to test the effectiveness of advertising as a selling tool . Consequently, emphasis began to be placed on consumer research with a view to making advertisements more meaningful and ethical. Efforts in this direction include the Audience Research 

Institute formed by A.C. Nielsen and George Gallup in order to evaluate the advertisements on psychological basis, which had enabled the businessmen in improving considerably the quality of advertisements. 

Today, advertising is wide- spread all over the world in different countries. But advertising trends vary from country to country. The turbulent environment of the 20th century, with rapid changes in technology, products, processes, methods. cut throat competition and emergence of new marketing challenges only indicates the significant role of advertising, which is expected to play in the survival and growth of business units

Origin of commercial advertising in India

The origin of commercial advertising in India is relatively recent. ' B. Dattaram and Co.' was the first advertising agency promoted in the country in 1905 25. The growth of lndian advertising too has been slow with the pre-independence era. Only a few companies were engaged in the business of advertising on an unprofessional basis and had remained almost confined to the media buying services with Very little creative work. Until the outbreak of the World War 1 (1914-1918), most of the advertising was planned and placed by the foreign manufacturers. During the First World War, the newspaper circulation was increased as the people were interested in hot news of war affairs. During the post war period lndian market was flooded with foreign goods that gave a lot of spurt to newspaper advertising so that more and more space had been reserved for advertising.

After the First World War, the lndian agencies failed because of the acute competition, mostly from the British and the American agencies. The lndian agencies had a tough time but could learn the importance of agency business as a rich source of employment and earnings. It made them to try the outdoor advertising media as many of the newspaper media were under the control of foreign agencies.

ln 1918, the first professionally managed modern advertising agency, 'Tats Publicity' was started by Lastromach a British army officer in Bombay, followed by D. Jekey More's operation in 1929.

The 'Swadeshi' movement made a turning point in the history of advertising in lndia as this movement had led to the increased appearance of advertisements in the country with a view to popularize lndian goods against the imported stuff. 

The first full-fledged Indian advertising agency was set up in 1931. The increased competition demanded a thorough improvement in the quality of advertising work and services. To improve the art-work and copy illustration, Indian agencies used to send their employees abroad for special training. The All India Radio started telecasting various programmes in 1936. In 1939, The Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society was founded to protect and promote the legitimate interests of the newspapers and to deal collectively with the Government, agencies and the advertisers . In 1941, Indian Languages Newspapers Association was formed to deal with the problems of Indian language newspapers.

In 1945, the Association of Advertising Agencies of lndia  was formed to raise the standard of advertising and regulation of advertising practices through a code of conduct. In 1948 Audit Bureau of Circulations of India  was started on the lines of A.B.C of America. 

In 1952, The Indian society of Advertisers was formed to promote the interests of advertisers so as to raise the standard of Indian advertising. After independence, the Five Year Plans were implemented and several factories and large - scale projects have emerged. Consequently, production and transportation facilities have increased tremendously. These spurts in various activities enabled the distribution of products anywhere in the country and this marked the beginning of the 'Golden Age' of advertising in lndia

Advertisements in the lndian print. media achieved a considerable importance only from the beginning of the Twentieth century. Educational development and the popularization of media had also contributed much to the expansion in the field of advertising in lndia.  The telecasting of programmes through TV had commenced in lndia on 15th September 1959 at Delhi.  Film Advertising has also attained popularity among the advertisers and the consumers alike in lndia to a large extent as these could be exhibited through cinema theatres even in the remotest hamlets in the country by many advertisers. 

Radio Advertising has been introduced by the All-India Radio at Bombay from lSt November 1967 .

The television set up in lndia was delinked from the All lndia Radio on lst April 1976 under its new name 'Doordarshan'. a separate department meant for the full development of the medium and specialized skills peculiar to television. 

The year 1976 -77 was a turning point in the history of Indian advertising. It was in this year that the Doordarshan (DD) started accepting advertisements.. Commercial advertising on television was introduced in a small way on 1st January, 1976 and the revenue from commercial advertising has shot up at an astronomical rate, leading to a flooding of sponsored programmes and the opening of a second channel in Delhi and Bombay.

The first burst of public sector advertising was in the 1980's but what catapulted the industry on to a higher plane was the landmark launch of colour television on August 15. 1982. Colour printing in Newspapers and Magazines also brought about a new hue to their readability. To proclaim the serious role of advertising in competitive scenarios, the Advertising Standards Council of lndia (ASCI) was born . The 1980's also witnessed the first round of sponsored television programming.