The History of Advertising

The analogy I always use to companies when they ask what the difference is between advertising and marketing is fishing. Advertising is me sticking a worm on the end of a hook and dangling it in front of the fish, hoping they bite. Marketing is the strategy that led me to the lake, the kind of boat, the tackle, the rod, the reel, the line, the hook, the bait, the time of day and the kind of fish that I’m trying to catch… as well as how many of them. Advertising is the event, marketing is the strategy (that often incorporates advertising).

Do you know that the first print ad was created in England, and it was for a prayer book? Or that the first official TV commercial was in 1941 for Bulova watches? Bet ya didn’t know that the first keyword ad was “golf”! The evolution of advertising has experienced milestones such as the printing press and television which impacted advertising format immensely. However, the internet has revolutionized advertising perhaps the most, and we believe that In-Text advertising is the next generation of advertising. So it was important to review where advertising began in order to better understand we are headed!

Advertising has been around for quite a long time… in fact, a lot longer than I had ever realized according to this infographic by Infolinks: