When large scale colour printing became available in the 19th C, the idea of 'creative' advertising became a reality.
"Advertising - the most fun you can have with your clothes on!"
Notable examples of creative advertising:
Robin Wight - 'the future's bright, the future's orange', '118 118'
William Hesketh Lever (1851-1925) the Lever Bros
Port Sunlight - the sunlight vision.
The Lever Bros
James Darcy & William Hesketh Lever (formed 1885) now Unilever, own over 900 brands. They probably wouldn't be where they are today without the help of creative advertising.
Port sunlight- a town commissioned to be built by Lever:
George Cruikshank, 'All the world going to see the great exhibition', 1857.
Colour printing was developed for the great exhibition of 1851. On exhibition there were the 1st shopping mall blueprints, 3d technology and the first photographs.
Cereal companies such as Kelloggs figured out how to print, fold and fill cardboard boxes mechanically.
Advertising was aided by tax cuts on newspapers in 1855 and paper in 1861.
The big printing boom of the 1880s meant there were more pictoral adverts being seen in magazines.
The 1890s saw contemporary paintings of the time being used in magazines for advertising (the Lever Bros)
International trade routes established as the first multinational largest corporation in 1930s Britain was Unilever.
Soap company's extensive use of contemporary painting in their advertising. For example, 'the new frock' (1889) by William Powell Frith was used in a Pears' soap advert.
At a time when infant mortality rates were high, an image of a happy healthy child signified joy, blessings, purity and innocence of life and so were often used in advertising.
'A dress rehearsal', (1888) by Albert Cherallier Tayler was used for 'as good as new' by Lever. It was emotive in that even though it was an advert for soap, it shows the dreamful day a bride shows her wedding dress to her close family:
- passing down the beauty of a family treasured wedding dress
- heritage
- emotional strategy
- naturalism - the advert didn't look like an awkwardly posed everyday advert
The painting was purchased by Unilever from the Royal Academy, the message of the product was told in an interesting and innovative way. By adding their own slogans they changed the meanings which was distinct from advertising before. They even included vouchers with the product for printed artwork of the advert- after all, they were commercial pieces of art.
Fast forward to modern day. Axe advertising uses the same strategies of the Unilever Bros but appealing to contemporary audience.
Advertising agencies of the late 19th C were nothing more than salesmen for spaces in magazines and newspapers. The customers themselves would design the adverts or find artists themselves and the agencies would print them.
At the turn of the century, the agencies became more creative, and saw benefits in providing these more creative services, thus creating more chances for growth and innovation in the advertising market.
The 1st global campaigns:
Sunlight soap - 1st product placement
Innovative events:
The washing competition of 1889 in Lake Geneva hosted not only a product demonstration but a banquet and a reception for interested customers. It proved to be a fun day for all the family.
Royal Endorsement from 1892 - 'the soap providers to Queen Vic' Democratisation - the appeal that everyone can afford to have same quality as queen.
They expanded their audience to children when they included paper toys in their packaging in the 1890s.
Lifebuoy soap started producing coupons that would engage their audience in inviting to collect them.
Unilever spent £2million in the first 2 decades on advertising, a monumental amount for the time. In 1899 they purchased Philadelphia soap and constantly expanded their company.
When Sidney Gross became the new director of Unilever, the company saw a surge in their creative advertising, Gross' strong point.
They became choosey of where their adverts were placed, they didn't want them in newspapers because of the poorer print quality.
'The power of the truth... the trick is to tell the truth but make it interesting'
Many early adverts emphasised that Sunlight Soap would save women from drudgery. This (unfortunately) spoke directly to working class housewives. Their imperial mission: to civilize the great unwashed British working classes.
Into the 20th C saw the Unilever company using different international agencies. The idea of British patriotism proved to be popular among all audiences (the British empire). This was one of the first successful global campaigns because it had a feel good strategy. Advertisers almost had to become psychologists to get into the minds of their consumers and tell them what they want to hear.
'Where the British flag flies, Dunlop tires are paramount' (1902)
Procter and Gamble sponsored O'Neils - thus became the name of the 'Soap Opera'.
the Unilever series was art dependant on advertising commissions and is now a respected collection.
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