History+of+Advertising

Colonial advertisements were a lot different compared to todays. President Benjamin Franklin's //Pennsylvania Gazette// included advertisements that reached out to its audience. They were strategically placed next to editorial material. But, advertisements back then were not always about consumer goods. Many advertisements were for the sales of captured escape slaves. As we move forward in time, advertisements barely changed in the early to mid- nineteenth century. Newspaper advertisements kept away from illustrations, keeping the width of an ad at one column. Patent medicine ads were the most well-known ads due to the colorful, dramatic advertisements that made large outrageous promises. In the 1880's, more industries joined the advertising world. There were ads of soap, cigarettes, to canned food and department stores. Due to this factor, total advertising grew in the United States from $200 million in Although advertising generated some anxiety about its social and ethical implications, it did not stop people from buying the products advertised. Not only did the advertisements up the sales of goods, the expansion of credit and leisure time also contributed. Because of advertisements, people branched out to try new things. Some say because of advertisements, a consumer would buy a loaf of Jewish rye bread instead of the expected all-American white. Currently, advertising expenditures are eighty times greater than in the 1920's. With the development of television, the Internet and advanced radio, advertisements are presented in ways today that were almost unheard of in 1920.
 * **** What is Advertising? ** What exactly is advertising? Dictionary.com defines it as the act or practice of calling public's attention to one's product, service, need, etc. especially by paid announcements in newspapers/magazines, over the radio or television, etc. It is also defined as a paid announcement that attempts to persuade its audience to purchase a good or a service. Some advertising, like political advertising, is not asking for a purchase, but for a vote. Advertising has brought a big change to business demands, media technologies, cultural contexts, and Americans everyday life. With the technology in today's society, it is unavoidable.
 * [[image:advertising_billboard_250x251.jpg align="left"]]History of Advertising**
 * [|Advertising]** 1880 to $3 billion in 1920. Along with this growth, advertising agencies designed new methods to most attract the buyers attention. This let them expand from just advertising in newspapers and occasionally magazines.

**[|Advertising in the 18th Century]**