history of advertising

　　The origins of advertising go back to ancient times. One of the fi rst known methods of advertising was the 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.
　 　In medieval times word-of-mouth praise of products gave rise to a simple but effective form of advertising, the use of so-called town criers. The criers were citizens who read public notices aloud and were also employed by merchants to shout the praises of their wares. Later they became familiar fi gures on the streets of colonial American settlements. The town criers were forerunners of the modern announcer, who delivers radio and television commercials.
　 　Although graphic forms of advertising appeared early in history, printed advertising made little headway until the invention of the movable-type printing press in Europe about 1440. The trademark, a two- or three-dimensional insignia symbolizing a company or industry, dates from about the 16th century, when trades people and guild members posted characteristic symbols outside their shops. Among the best-known trademarks surviving from early modern times are the striped pole of the barber and the three-ball sign of the pawnbroker.
　　In terms of both volume and technique, advertising made its greatest advances in the U.S. In the early stages of American advertising nationwide promotion was impractical because the nation itself was underdeveloped and lacked transcontinental transportation, distribution, and communications systems. Eventually, however, certain types of manufacturers conceived the idea of bypassing wholesalers and retailers and reaching the consumer through direct advertising, mainly by means of catalogs. The pioneers in this field were seed companies and book and pamphlet publishers. Mail-order houses appeared on the scene as early as the 1870s. To the present day they have continued to expand their businesses through direct-mail catalog and fl yer advertising, although some of the biggest houses sell also through retail outlets.
　　Late in the 19th century many American firms began to market packaged goods under brand names. This development initiated a new era in the history of advertising. Previously, such everyday household products as sugar, soap, rice, molasses, butter, milk, lard, beans, candy, candles, and pickles had been sold in neighborhood stores from large bulk containers. As a result, consumers had seldom been aware of, or infl uenced by, brand names.
　　During World War II the American advertising industry founded the War Advertising Council, a non-profi t public-service organization that employed the resources of modern advertising to strengthen the American war effort. After the war the organization continued, as the Advertising Council, to function in the public interest. It has conducted, for example, nationwide drives to increase the sale of U.S. savings bonds, prevent forest fi res and traffi c accidents, and encourage aid to higher education. Print and broadcast media contribute millions of dollars worth of advertising time and space to such projects every year. Many advertising agencies contribute their creative services to all the council campaigns.