Personalities and Products: A Historical Perspective on Advertising in America (Contributions to the Study of Mass Media and Communications)

192 Pages·1998·0.88 MB·English

by  Edd Applegate

Personalities and Products:
A HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE
ON ADVERTISING
IN AMERICA
Edd Applegate
GREENWOOD PRESS
Personalities and Products
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Personalities and Products
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
ON ADVERTISING IN AMERICA
Edd Applegate
Contributions to the Study of
Mass Media and Communications, Number 53
GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Applegate, Edd.
Personalities and products : a historical perspective on
advertising in America / Edd Applegate.
p. cm.—(Contributions to the study of mass media and
communications, ISSN 0732–4456 ; no. 53)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–313–30364–9 (alk. paper)
1. Advertising—United States—History. I. Title. II. Series.
HF5813.U6A67 1998
659.1'0973—dc21 97–26893
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright 䉷 1998 by Edd Applegate
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 97–26893
ISBN: 0–313–30364–9
ISSN: 0732–4456
First published in 1998
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
TM
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is for Eva.
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
1. Advertising in Colonial America 1
2. The First Advertising Agents 31
3. How P. T. Barnum Helped Change the Course of
Advertising 55
4. Advertising Patent Medicine: The Rise of Lydia
Pinkham 75
5. John Wanamaker and His Influence on Retail
Advertising 87
6. Albert Lasker and the Lord and Thomas Advertising
Agency 103
7. Procter & Gamble and Advertising Cleanliness: The
First 100 Years 117
8. The Springs Cotton Mills Advertising Campaign of
the Late 1940s and Early 1950s 141
Bibliography 157
Index 171
Preface
This book is about certain individuals who, in some instances,
not only made considerable fortunes in their lifetimes but con-
tributed greatly to advertising.
In Chapter 1, printers who published newspapers and maga-
zines in the American colonies are discussed. The discussion pri-
marily concerns the differences between the printers, their
respective newspapers or magazines, and, of course, the adver-
tisements that they accepted for publication.
Chapter 2 examines the first major advertising agents, specif-
ically Volney B. Palmer, George P. Rowell, and Francis Wayland
Ayer, and their contributions to advertising as a profession.
Chapter 3 concerns P. T. Barnum’s life and his contributions
to advertising and marketing. Part of this chapter was presented
in 1993 in different form at the Popular Culture Association’s
National Convention, which was held in New Orleans.
Chapter 4 discusses Lydia Pinkham, the advertising of her
controversial but supposedly effective vegetable compound, and
the journalistic campaign against the patent medicine industry
by certain muckrakers.
Chapter 5 examines John Wanamaker, who was responsible
for one of the largest retail stores of his day. Wanamaker’s suc-
cess was due partly to his ability to create effective advertise-
ments and innovative forms of promotion.
Chapter 6 focuses on Albert Lasker and the Lord and Thomas