26 lines
5.7 KiB
Markdown
26 lines
5.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Advertising"
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chunk: 3/10
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source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising"
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category: "reference"
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tags: "science, encyclopedia"
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date_saved: "2026-05-05T15:17:24.147481+00:00"
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instance: "kb-cron"
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---
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In the early 1920s, the first radio stations were established by radio equipment manufacturers, followed by non-profit organizations such as schools, clubs, and civic groups who also set up their own stations. Retailers and consumer goods manufacturers quickly recognized radio's potential to reach consumers in their homes and soon adopted advertising techniques that would allow their messages to stand out; slogans, mascots, and jingles began to appear on radio in the 1920s and early television in the 1930s.
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The rise of mass media communications allowed manufacturers of branded goods to bypass retailers by advertising directly to consumers. This was a major paradigm shift that forced manufacturers to focus on the brand and stimulated the need for superior insights into consumer purchasing, consumption, and usage behavior; their needs, wants, and aspirations. The earliest radio drama series were sponsored by soap manufacturers and the genre became known as a soap opera. Before long, radio station owners realized they could increase advertising revenue by selling 'air-time' in small time allocations, which could be sold to multiple businesses. By the 1930s, these advertising spots, as the packets of time became known, were being sold by the station's geographical sales representatives, ushering in an era of national radio advertising.
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By the 1940s, manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers were developing personal relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological sense. Advertisers began to use motivational research and consumer research to gather insights into consumer purchasing. Strong branded campaigns for Chrysler and Exxon/Esso, using insights drawn research methods from psychology and cultural anthropology, led to some of the most enduring campaigns of the 20th century.
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==== Commercial television in the 1950s ====
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In the early 1950s, the DuMont Television Network began the modern practice of selling advertisement time to multiple sponsors. Previously, DuMont had trouble finding sponsors for many of their programs and compensated by selling smaller blocks of advertising time to several businesses. This eventually became the standard for the commercial television industry in the United States. However, it was still a common practice to have single sponsor shows, such as The United States Steel Hour. In some instances the sponsors exercised great control over the content of the show – up to and including having one's advertising agency actually writing the show. The single sponsor model is much less prevalent now, a notable exception being the Hallmark Hall of Fame.
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==== Cable television from the 1980s ====
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The late 1980s and early 1990s saw the introduction of cable television and particularly MTV. Pioneering the concept of the music video, MTV ushered in a new type of advertising: the consumer tunes in for the advertising message, rather than it being a by-product or afterthought. As cable and satellite television became increasingly prevalent, specialty channels emerged, including channels entirely devoted to advertising, such as QVC, Home Shopping Network, and ShopTV Canada.
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==== Internet from the 1990s ====
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With the advent of the ad server, online advertising grew, contributing to the "dot-com" boom of the 1990s. Entire corporations operated solely on advertising revenue, offering everything from coupons to free Internet access. At the turn of the 21st century, some websites, including the search engine Google, changed online advertising by personalizing ads based on web browsing behavior. This has led to other similar efforts and an increase in interactive advertising. Online advertising introduced new opportunities for targeting and engagement, with platforms like Google and Facebook leading the charge. This shift has significantly altered the advertising landscape, making digital advertising a dominant force in the industry.
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The share of advertising spending relative to GDP has changed little despite large changes in media since 1925. In 1925, the main advertising media in America were newspapers, magazines, signs on streetcars, and outdoor posters. Advertising spending as a share of GDP was about 2.9 percent. By 1998, television and radio had become major advertising media; by 2017, the balance between broadcast and online advertising had shifted, with online spending exceeding broadcast. Nonetheless, advertising spending as a share of GDP was only slightly lower – about 2.4 percent.
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Guerrilla marketing involves unusual approaches such as staged encounters in public places, giveaways of products such as cars that are covered with brand messages, and interactive advertising where the viewer can respond to become part of the advertising message. This type of advertising is unpredictable, which can cause consumers to buy the product or idea. This reflects an increasing trend of interactive and "embedded" ads, such as via product placement, having consumers vote through text messages, and various campaigns utilizing social network services such as Facebook or Twitter/X.
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In some instances businesses will obtain media by providing equity. This is known as media for equity, where advertising is not sold, but is instead provided to start-up companies in return for equity. If the company grows and is sold, the media companies receive cash for their shares. This practice started in Europe but has become increasingly popular in the US, with businesses such as Uber, Airbnb and Pinterest achieving global growth by using such tactics. |