The History of American

AdvertisingAnd its Relationship

to Nature

By: Monica DeStefano and Molly Shea

1704

The Boston News-Letter publishes the first ever newspaper advertisement. The ad featured a real estate announcement for an estate in Oyster Bay, Long Island.

1729

Benjamin Franklin begins publishing Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Gazette, which includes pages of news advertisements.

1843

The first advertising agency, formed by Volney Palmer, opens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1873

The first advertising convention is held in New York City.

1880

John Wanamaker, founder of Wanamaker department stores, hires the first full-time advertising copy writer, John E. Powers.

1882

Procter and Gamble begins advertising for Ivory Soap with an unparallel budget of $11,000.

1893

The price of Munsey’s Magazine decreases to 10 cents and the subscription raises to $1. This was the first attempt to keep a magazine alive on advertising revenue.

1911

Woodbury Soap invents its “skin you love to touch” campaign, marking the first use of sex appeal in advertising.

1929

After the stock market crash, advertising fell from its high of $3.5 billion to $1.5 billion by 1933.

1942

The War Advertising Council is formed to prepare voluntary advertising campaigns and promote war efforts. The Council gains $350 million in revenue from their public service announcements.

1944

“Smokey the Bear” becomes the mascot for the United States Forest Service.

1954

Marlboro Cigarettes begins their advertising campaign featuring “Marlboro Man.”

1960

Doyle Dane Bernbach introduces the "creative team" approach of combining a copywriter with an art director to create its "Think Small" campaign for Volkswagen.

1964

After the U.S. surgeon general determines that smoking is "hazardous to your health," The New Yorker and other magazines ban cigarette ads.

1967

Mary Wells is the first woman to head a major advertising agency.

1970

The first Earth Day was held. Ad campaigns began utilizing environmental awareness by making their products seem “Green.”

1971

Congress prohibits broadcast advertising of cigarettes.

1976

The Supreme Court grants First Amendment protection to advertisers.

1981

Advertising agency N.W. Ayers and Son creates a recruitment campaign for the U.S. Army, with the slogan: “Be all that you can be.”

1986

Needham Harper Worldwide, BBDO International and Doyle Dane Bernbach merge to create Omnicom Group, the largest advertising company in the world.

1993

The Internet becomes a reality as 5 million users worldwide get online.

1994

In the largest account switch in history, IBM Corp, yanks its business from scores of agencies worldwide and consolidates the entire account with O&M.

1998

Interpublic combines its Western International Media with Initiative Media in Paris to create the world's largest media management shop with $10 billion in billings.

1999

Internet advertising breaks the $2 billion mark and heads toward $3 billion as the industry, under prodding from Procter & Gamble, moves to standardize all facets of the industry.

2004

The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report connecting fast food advertising that targets children to childhood obesity in the U.S.

2007

BP, Tesco and Marks & Spencer have the highest profile “green” publicity campaigns, and considered most guilty of “green-washing” in terms of coverage

2007

The global mobile advertising market is reported to be $2.2 billion.

2008

The Federal Trade Commission states that it will reevaluate its guidelines for environmental claims in advertisements in order to reduce “green-washing.”

IBM Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSNFE6eUjfY&feature=player_embedded

Ford Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMNECJpUepQ

BP Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thXeYv-Zxr4&feature=player_embedded