Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Defining advertising…historically

While the majority of society can generally describe advertising as a paid commercial message transmitted within a mass medium, there is no single definition that describes it today. Historians, sociologists, marketers, and the common citizen all view advertising differently – as an art form, a science, or marketing tool of within our capitalist world.

James Laver, a British historian, broadly described advertising during the 19th century—a time when companies made outrageous claims which could not be proved, and with practically no regulation—as follows:

“Advertising is as old as Humanity: indeed, much older; for what are the flaunting colours of the flowers but so many invitations to the bees to come and “buy our product.” Advertising might be defined as any device which first arrests the attention of the passer-by and then induces him to accept a mutually advantageous exchange.”

In other words, advertising may be described as a mechanism for 1) getting the attention of an individual and then, 2) persuading that individual to engage in some kind of action—ultimately, to buy some type of service or product.

This definition seems almost appropriate in today’s society. A woman listening to her radio at home may learn of a nearby store sale in her town, where she may possibly go to purchase her particular set items for the home. A businessman catching a television commercial for office supplies may be enticed to visit is local supply store. But how could advertising exist without the use of television, radio, even the internet?

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