ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF ADVERTISING

It has been wrongly assumed that the advertising function is of recent origin. Evidences suggest that the Romans practiced advertising; but the earliest indication of its use in this country dates back to the Middle Ages, when the use of the surname indicated a man’s occupation. The next stage in the evolution of advertising was the use of signs as a visual expression of the tradesman’s function and a means of locating the source of goods. This method is still in common use.

The seller in primitive times relied upon his loud voice to attract attention and inform consumers of the availability of his services. If there were many competitors, he relied upon his own personal magnetism to attract attention to his merchandise. Often it became necessary for him to resort to persuasion to pinpoint the advantages of his products. Thus, the seller was doing the complete promotion job himself.

Development of retail stores, made the traders to be more concerned about attracting business. Informing customers of the availability of supplies was highly important. Some types of outside promotion were necessary. Signs on stores and in prominent places around the city and notices in printed matters were sometimes used.

When customers were finally attracted to the store and satisfied with the service at least once, they were still subjected to competitive influences; therefore, the merchant’s signs and advertisements reminded customers of the continuing availability of his services. Sometimes traders would talk to present and former customers in the streets, or join social organizations in order to have continuing contacts with present and potential customers.

As the markets grew larger and the number of customers increased, the importance of attracting them also grew. Increasing reliance was placed on advertising methods of informing about the availability of the products. These advertising methods were more economical in reaching large numbers of consumers. While these advertising methods were useful for informing and reminding and reminding, they could not do the whole promotional job. They were used only to reach each consumer personally. The merchant still used personal persuasion once the customers were attracted to his store.

The invention of hand press increased the potentialities of advertising. By Shakespeare’s times, posters had made their appearance, and assumed the function of fostering demand for existing products. Another important event was the emergence of the pamphlet as an advertising medium. The early examples of these pamphlets disclose their sponsorship by companies want to generate goodwill for their activities. The low cost of posters and handbills encouraged a number of publishers to experiment with other methods.