A History of Advertising: The First 300,000 Years

Advertising has always been a uniquely influential social force. It affects what we buy, what we believe, who we elect, and so much more. We tend to know histories of other massive social forces, but even people working in advertising often have a tenuous grasp of their field’s background.

This book slices advertising’s history into a smörgåsbord of specific topics like advertising to children, political advertising, people’s names as advertisements, 3D advertising, programmatic buying, and so much more, offering a synopsis of how each developed and the role it played in this discipline. In doing so, many firsts are identified, such as the first full-page color magazine advertisement, and the first point-of-purchase advertisement. This book also reaches back farther in search of the earliest advertisements, and it tells the story of the variety of techniques used by our ancestors to promote their products and ideas.

Part textbook, part reference, the book is an advertising museum in portable form suitable for all levels of students, scholars, and arm-chair enthusiasts.

(Please note that the hardback and eBook formats of this book feature full-color printing. The paperback is grayscale.)

Jef I. Richards has served as chair of the Department of Advertising & Public Relations at Michigan State University, and as chair of the Department of Advertising at the University of Texas, the two largest and most influential university advertising programs in the United States. He is author or co-author of more than 90 published books, book chapters, and articles about advertising, marketing, or communications. He is on the advisory council of the Institute for Advertising Ethics (of the American Advertising Federation), on the board of directors for the Advertising Educational Foundation (of the Association of National Advertisers), and a panel member of the National Advertising Review Board (of the Advertising Self-Regulatory Council). Richards also is former president of the American Academy of Advertising, is a named fellow of that organization, as well as a recipient of its prestigious Ivan L. Preston Outstanding Contribution to Research Award. He is the inaugural inductee into the Rowan University Advertising Hall of Fame.