What is the impact of advertising on society and the impact of its evolution from its beginnings?

The History and evolution of Advertising

The History of Advertising in a Nutshell 

Imagine brainstorming an advertising campaign with no MacBook, no artisanal coffee and no WiFi! Although this may sound like a terribly tiny tale of fiction, it is not because it actually happened. How? That’s because this brainstorming session is taking place over 2,000 years ago in the middle of a desert in ancient Egypt. Advertising has its earliest origins in ancient Egypt and ancient China on papyrus. The printed word first came into existence in medieval Europe in circa.1440. If you still haven’t figured out the subject, let us help you out! We are going to talk about the history and evolution of advertising and some big shifts in online advertising and marketing.

Advertising has a history going back millennia. In fact, the origins of advertising go back to ancient times or even earlier, right to the stone age! From rock carvings and papyrus to the radio and T.V. and the latest addition of online advertising, the journey of advertising has been a most metamorphic one.

The Mercurial Nature of Advertising

Along with these mediums, the thinking, approach and attitudes toward advertising have changed as well. Advertising today is smarter, sharper and consumer-driven, unlike the advertising approach four or five decades ago which was product-driven.

Thomas Hutchings, Creative Director of Emotive Brand, a California-based advertising agency makes interesting observations on the modern world of advertising. Today, advertising has a large number of competitors — both clients and agencies. The days of a handful of ad firms that had leverage due to their exclusivity are long gone.

Today if you’re not good enough, you can be easily replaced in an instant. He states that today brands are looking for the “weird and wonderful” and not the typical run-of-the-mill large advertising agencies that dictate terms to the client. He adds, “branding is getting more interesting, more experimental and less corporate”.

If Customer is King, Client is Commander

This is why some big clients approach smaller agencies. Secondly, newer and younger players entering have made the ad-world a diverse hiring realm. Also, there is an interesting role reversal. “The agency has become the client and the client has become the agency”, says Hutchings.

Even one-person companies are springing up as there is easy access to the internet, picking up ideas is no biggie, free design and software tools are in abundance and basic design skills are easily attainable through free online courses. So where does that leave the big agencies?

Emotive Brand’s founding partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Tracy Lloyd believe that agencies cannot be dictators like before. Instead, the client and agency need to become collaborators.

In order to stay relevant and be in business, advertising agencies are happily allowing the client to be the commander of the ship. It also helps that clients today are more intelligent and know exactly what they want. This has forced agencies to gradually fade into the background, being present but, the client is the ultimate showrunner.

Online Advertising: The Big Shift from Product to Consumer

The advent of online advertising was perhaps the biggest paradigm shift in the field. 

Tintup, a digital marketing agency opines “the internet has revolutionized advertising”. The manner in which advertisements are made and broadcast and the reaction of consumers to them has undergone a complete metamorphosis.

Traditional mediums of advertising although outdated still exist. However, online advertising forms are “in” and garner more attention and have a bigger outreach. Clients and agencies have understood this. Now advertisements and promotions are delivered right to your virtual mailbox or your e-mail. Every corporate has social media platforms such as YouTube but also social media and networking platforms such as Facebook and Instagram where consumer engagement and interaction is the strongest.

Consumers are no longer shy to express pleasure or disgust about their favourite product and corporates are taking every little feedback seriously. The days of calling a toll free number to register consumer complaints are long gone. Today, a video shot by a consumer on her phone can either be a boon for the brand or be a recipe for disaster. Customer is King and corporates are focusing on what the consumer wants and not what the big fat overbearing ad agency wants. It is not about the product, it is about the consumer.

Advertising: Getting bigger and bigger

Above all, advertising budgets have skyrocketed. The stakes are high. Let’s take the example of the movie business. Gone is the time when handpainted posters of the biggest filmstars adorned the facades of movie theatres or small poster prints lined up the walls on the side of the streets and lamp posts. Fifty years ago no one thought that corporates from the crude oil or retail industries would be “partners” with film production houses investing in the movie business. A real-world example would be the recent Bollywood films like “Krissh” or “Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo” that had a brand of chocolate and a jewellery brand feature their brand and products respectively. 

In short, advertising has undergone a total makeover. It is bigger, better, more dynamic and competitive than its ever been. Clients and their agencies are leaving no stone unturned in getting ahead in the fast-changing world of the advertising business. The history and evolution of advertising takes you through the journey of how things were monetized appropriately. It also showcases the big shifts in online advertising that has gone through a metamorphosis. 

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