Harry Truman is quoted as saying “there is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.” Yesterday, I was reminded how true this is when I read a school paper about advertising that my mother-in-law wrote 75 year ago. I have posted it below because I thought you would enjoy it as much as I did and be astonished at the relevance of her comments to today’s advertising business despite all that’s happened in the last three quarters of a century.
Advertising (by Betty Becker, November 14, 1932)
A source of profit to the businessman, and a vocation employing thousands of men and women is that of advertising. People thus employed must have the ability to set forth advantage and special inducements of which their product offers, in such language that the public’s eye will be caught and its interest, desire or curiosity aroused. In short, advertisement has become an art. It may take any form from personal letters, magazines, and gifts of dollar bills, to the widely condemned, lofty billboards. The methods used to make products known to the world are as diverse as the products themselves.
Radio advertising, one of the latest and most profitable methods, can at times be very annoying, especially when a long, tiresome discourse interrupts entertainment. Everyone is also well aware of the disadvantages of the billboards, but there are instances where a colorful picture covers a dull spot in the city. One of the most beautiful advertising displays is the electric sign. While it may not yield a quick return, it is a source of pleasure to the onlooker. Nothing presents a gayer scene, or is more expressive of life and adventure than an avenue of bright lights.
On the whole, the people are the benefactors of this advertising business. The rivalry of radio-program sponsors can only tend to create a higher standard of entertainment in the field. Magazine advertisements are often composed of reproductions of paintings by famous artists, acquainting us with masterpieces of art. Great works of literature, too, become more familiar through allusions found in ads. The public has come to expect originality, better quality, and something of art and beauty in advertisements, and above all, advertisers expect huge profits in increased sales. Gladstone said, “Only a mint can make money without advertising.” Realizing the truth of this statement, advertisers seek to inform the public of their products in a manner which will appeal to it, and gain approval of intelligent people.
So when someone asks you “what’s new?” You can now respond with authority, “not much.” Advertising is a much of an art form today as it was 75 years ago. “Bright lights” still dazzle us from Times Square to Tokyo’s Ginza. The “rivalry” of program sponsors has arguably created a “higher standard of entertainment” if not simply a wealth of options. The public “has come to expect originality, higher quality and something of art” from advertising–consider for a moment how Superbowl advertising has become an event in and of itself. Most significantly to this blogger, Betty intuitively understood the notion of Marketing for Good, noting that advertising could not only yield “increased sales” but also be beneficial to “intelligent people” by engaging, enlightening and entertaining.