Advertising through the ages

Advertising, an essential component in the marketing of any business, has been around for a long time. There has been found some advertising relics that archaeologists have unearthed in ancient Arabia, China, Egypt, Greece and Rome. The Egyptians used papyrus to create posters and flyers, while lost-and-found advertising was common in both ancient Greece and Rome. Posters, signs and flyers were widely employed in the ancient cities of Rome, Pompeii and Carthage to publicize events such as circuses, games and gladiatorial contests.

People have been trying to influence other people since the dawn of human existence, utilizing whatever means and media they had at their disposal at the time. The human voice and word of mouth, of course, came first. Then someone picked up a piece of stone and started etching images

on a cave wall: enduring images that told stories, communicated ideas and promoted certain ways of doing things.

The first advertising? That is debatable, but these images, some of which are around to this day, certainly demonstrate an early recognition of the power of images and messages to influence the perception and behavior of others. 

The development of printing during the 15th and 16th centuries heralded a significant milestone in advertising, making it more cost-effective for marketers to reach a much wider audience. In the 17th century, adverts began to appear in early newspapers in England, and then spread across the globe. The first form of mass-media advertising was born. 

The 18th and 19th centuries saw a further expansion in newspaper advertising, and alongside it the birth of mail-order advertising. The 20th century saw the dawn of another new advertising age, with the advent of radio offering a completely new medium through which advertisers could reach out to prospective clients. Then came television, which shifted the advertising landscape yet again, and towards the end of the century a new force – the internet – began moving out of the realm of ‘techies’ and early adopters to become a valuable business and communication tool for the masses. The era of digital marketing was born.