History of Advertising

By adri_qt

  • First newspaper advertisement

    The first newspaper advertisement, an announcement seeking a buyer for an Oyster Bay, Long Island, estate, is published in the Boston News-Letter.

  • General magazine prints

    Benjamin Franklin's General Magazine prints the first American magazine ads.

  • Religious magazines

    New York agency Carlton & Smith begins buying the right to place advertising in religious magazines.

  • General magazine advertising

    James Walter Thompson buys Carlton & Smith from William J. Carlton, paying $500 for the business and $800 for the office furniture. He renames it after himself and moves into general magazine advertising. Later, he invents the position of account executive.

  • First agency to open an office in the U.K

    J. Walter Thompson Co. is the first agency to open an office in the U.K. Campbell Soup Co.makes its first advertising buy. The Association of American Advertisers, predecessor to the Association of National Advertisers, is formed.

  • Groups formed

    The Associated Advertising Clubs of America, a group of agencies, advertisers and media representatives, is formed.

  • Association of New York agents

    A group of large agencies forms the Association of New York Agents, predecessor to the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

  • The agency is complete

    The American Association of Advertising Agencies, the first agency trade association, is established with 111 charter-member agencies.

  • First Radio station to inform the results of presidential elction

    KDKA, Pittsburgh, becomes the first radio station in the U.S. and is the first to broadcast the results of the 1920 presidential election.

  • Radio cop

    Radio Corp. of America buys New York radio station WEAF from AT&T and renames it WNBC. It forms the first radio network with 19 stations within the year, and the National Broadcasting Co. is launched.

  • One of the biggest shops

    Lintas (Lever International Advertising Services) is formed as a house agency for Unilever in England, Holland and Germany. Barton, Durstine & Osborn merges with the George Batten Co., forming Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. With billings of $32 million, it becomes one of the biggest shops.

  • Chicago

    Advertising Age is launched in Chicago.

  • First edition

    Life publishes its first edition. It later becomes the first magazine to carry $100 million annually in advertising.

  • First baseball game

    NBC experiments with a telecast of TV's first baseball game, Princeton vs. Columbia.

  • Pepsi and cola war

    "The Pepsi Generation" kicks off the cola wars.

  • first woman to head a major agency

    Wells, Rich, Greene is established. Mary Wells is the first woman to head a major agency.

  • Interpublic combines

    The Wells agency shuts its doors. Cigarette makers and state attorneys general draft a $206 billion deal that curbs marketing and settles lawsuits to recover Medicaid costs. 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.

  • Last event

    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.