an advertising timeline from 2000bc to 2011

1. Advertising
timeline
By Megan Tweed

2. Ganicentegypt.shrxukwzhovf
hcgrxtueszyrxtcyouvbhyvtft
the Egyptians invent
outdoor advertising,
carving public notices
in steel.
2000bc

3. qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm,
abcdefghigklmnopqrstuvwxyz
700bc
In ancient Greece, the first sonic logo is
created when ladies of the night tap
nails into their shoes to produce “come
hither” sound effects.

4. 1472
The first print ad is created in
England; the handbill announces a
prayer book for sale.

5. 1661
The fist product
branding is
developed, for
Dentifrice Tooth
Gel.

6. The birth of the automobile
fuels the rise of billboard ads
in the U.S
1835

7. The first product placement
occurs when transport and
shipping companies are
mentioned in Jules Verne's novel
Around the world in 80 days.
1873

8. The first electric sign is lit, in
New York’s Times Square.
1882

9. Direct marketing is born
when Sears sends out 8,000
handwritten postcards and
receives 2,000 orders.
1892

10. The first celebrity endorsement occurs
when silent-movie miscreant Fatty
Arbuckle offers “conclusive proof” that
Murad cigarettes are the preference of
men of cultivated taste.
1905

11. The first “sex sells”
slogan is used by
woodbury soap
company.
1911

12. The American
Association of
Advertising Agencies is
founded.
1917

13. In his garage in the outskirts of
Pittsburgh, Frank Conrad founds
KDKA, the worlds first
commercial radio station.
1920

14. Consumerism of
nonessential products s
encouraged via rampant
advertising during the
roaring ‘20s.
1925

15. The Wheeler-lea Act of 1938 is
established to curb false advertising,
proclaiming that “unfair or deceptive
acts or practices in commerce are
hereby declared unlawful”
1938

16. Advertising is chock
full of world war II
propaganda
1939

17. The first official TV
commercial runs for Bulova
Watch; the company pays $9
for a 20-second spot aired
before a baseball game
1941

18. The first political TV ad
airs for Gov. Dewey of New
York
1950

19. Contests and giveaways
become popular forms of
advertising; Dial Soap
gives away an actual oil
well!
1950

20. Phycologists start working in
advertising to formulate
more effective ways of
wooing the American public
1955

21. The birth of the longest-running TV ad
jingle occurs with Mr.Clean which is still
used today
1957

22. David Ogilvy ushers in the modern
advertising age with this quote; “The
consumer isn’t a moron; she is your
wife
1963

23. The birth of the
infomercial takes place,
selling homes in San Diego
1970

24. Calvin Klein sparks controversy with a
sexy ad featuring 15-year-old Brooke
Shields saying “Want to know what gets
between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”
1980

25. The network MTV launches
advertising music artists 24/7;
consumers tune in for advertising
message instead of a by-product
1981

26. Apple sets a precedent at the
Super Bowl with the most
expensive TV ad: Directed by
Ridley Scott, the Macintosh
promo costs $900,000.
1984

27. HotWired site launches
with the first banner ads
from AT&T, Sprint, MCI,
Volvo, and others.
1994

28. Pay-per-click keyword
advertising at GoTo.com
(now a part of Yahoo!). It is
widely mocked.
1994

29. Thefirstkeywordad,“Golf,”
iscreatedbyYahoo!
1995

30. The first mobile ad is launched. A
Finnish news provider offers free
news headlines via SMS sponsored by
advertising
1997

31. Billions invested
($8.2billion) in online
ads. The dot com bubble
soon pops.
1995-2000

32. Google rolls out Adwords, a pay-per-
click service. Adwords makes
performance-based ads mainstream
and now accounts for 95% of
Google’s revenue.
2000

33. Pop-up and pop-under ads fill
user’s screens. They peak in
2003 at 8.7%of all online ads,
earning 13 times more clicks
than banners.
2001

34. The most expensive ad
campaign is purchased by Pepsi.
The 90-second Britney Spears
commercial costs 7.53 million.
2002

35. Youtube launches as we see the
birth of video advertising,
including in-video ads,
participatory video ads, pre-roll
ads, and more.
2006

36. Twitter’s real time, global
community makes viral
marketing/ advertising fast
and free
2006

37. Facebook introduces the
concept of behaviour-based
advertising by specifically
targeting users’ social
interactions.
2007

38. In-text advertising appears, matching double-
underlined keywords within sites’ content to
relevant ad bubbles.
2008

39. Viral advertising overtakes traditional
modes as an ad campaign with Old
Spice Guy receives 30 million views
the most successful of the year.
2010

40. Online advertising becomes a
clear No.2 in terms of budget
priority for advertising
worldwide, typically at the
expense of print and radio.
2011