The history of the ads
Today you find it everywhere, on the way to university, reading the newspaper even in the supermarket products. This makes me think, since we have so many ads? And basically what is an ad?
According to Wordreference.com An advertisement between the various definitions is the action and the result of giving news or notice of something. In our case in specific are the corporations giving the news of a new product or notifying some offer. This is done in the ways that we know how, on television, radio and "billboards" but this can also be achieved in unique and different ways such as social media, songs, the auspices of some project are some of these ways.
Now the question fit, since when we start using ads commercially? Well so far the first announcement seems to be a melody which was played with bamboo flutes. This was to attract the attention of children and thus sell sweets between 11th to centuries.C and 7 A.C. Also in China is the first printed announcement which announced a needle store. If we go further we can see that India, around 1300 to.C Puds were used, which had some printed image. These were the first logos which differentiated the product from the competition.
Upon arriving at the Middle Ages, the population portion which knew how to read and write. As a result, signs were used, which announced the presence of a store or some service such as the shoemaker, blacksmiths and markets. In addition, people were used to walk through the town and give advertisements of some product, similarly as on the radio on television they appear. It should be stressed that in ancient Greece, China, Egypt among other civilizations used the papers and temporary ads which positioned themselves in front of their stores and thus announce any offer offered by the merchant.
Already in the 16th century the ads were more prevalent thanks to the invention of the modern printing press. It is known that these began in Venice and from there they continued spreading. Also at this time, around the 18th century is that “Business Cards” began to be distributed as a way to advertise towards a possible employer. In the 19th century, ads began to leave newspapers as a way of lowering prices being more accessible to the general population. This became more prevalent thanks to the growth of the middle class caused by the industrial revolution. Mostly these ads did not present stores or services, but medications, food and drinks and several other products. Also at the end of this era companies were founded, which specialized in announcing the products of other companies.
For the 20th century, the radio was being established as the way to inform and entertain itself worldwide. Similarly as in the printing press, the companies took advantage and began to make their ads through this medium. In addition, governments, especially in the United States, used the space that advertisements had on the stations to inform the population. After World War II, radio ads became more and more prevalent, until they reached the point that with only ads the stations could pay everything and make money without charging their radioLeons.
Already in the middle of the 20th century, television began to popular and behind these several companies which wanted to announce. The first announcement on television was made by a jewelry brand called Bulova in 1941. Later between the 70’s and the 90’s the companies produced more complicated ads which painted a ‘history’ of the product or the company.
Finishing the 20th century begins the computer revolution, that is to say the Internet. This has been an incredible opportunity for the world of commercial ads. Counting on an infinity of ways of announcing a product these have become part of our daily living. Internet platforms are looking for a way to make money without charging the consumer selling their data other corporations. It is still very early to say if this is feasible, but it can be seen that the future of the ads goes in this direction.
After so many centuries, commercial ads have evolved with us. From clay pieces to interactive videos, the ads have been with us for a long time and apparently they will stay with us while we modernize as a society.
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