The Business of Advertising (RLE Advertising)

Clarence Moran

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136669934
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business generale
• Index: Business

The Business of Advertising outlines the practice of the advertising trades, some of the more important restrictions on advertising, and a few of the questions which arise in connexion with the business.

First published in 1905.

THE BUSINESS OF ADVERTISING

CHAPTER I

THE BUSINESS OF ADVERTISING AND ITS UTILITY

“Yes, sir, puffing is of various sorts; the principal are, the puff direct, the puff preliminary, the puff collateral, the puff collusive and the puff oblique, or the puff by implication. These all assume, as circumstances require, the various forms of Letter to the Editor, Occasional Anecdote, Impartial Critique, Observation from Correspondent, or Advertisement from the Party.”–MR. PUFF in The Critic.

FEW will deny that Mr. Puff's scientific treatment of the art and practice of puffery is as applicable to these latter days as to those of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Doctor Johnson wrote in The Idler in the year 1759: “The trade of advertising is now so near to perfection that it is not easy to propose any improvement.” But the puff direct pervades every phase of modern life in a way the eighteenth century dreamt not of, and if it had, would never have permitted. From a breakfast-table laden with an encyclopædia of puffery the man of business passes to his work in a railway carriage lined with enamelled puffs, through fields that bear an iron crop. At every stage in his journey he passes stations which Rudyard Kipling once described as “Stores Catalogues in a nightmare.” At the office he is met by the puff oblique. The learned professions are not exempt. The puff collateral is not unknown amongst promoters nor the puff collusive amongst dramatic critics. The practice amongst the clergy of puffing their sermons on a bill-board is becoming more prevalent–in fact, no trade, profession, class, or condition of life is free from puffery. In the words of a writer in the Edinburgh Review as long ago as 1843:–“The grand principle of modern existence is notoriety: we live, move, and have our being in print. Hardly a second-rate Dandy can start for the moors or a retired Slopseller leave London for Margate without announcing the fashionable movement in the Morning Post, and what Curran said of Byron, that he wept for the Press, and wiped his eyes with the public, may now be predicated of everyone who is striving for any sort of distinction. He must not only weep, but eat, walk, talk, hunt, shoot, give parties, and travel, in the newspapers. People nowadays contemptuously reject the old argument, whom not to know, argues yourself unknown. The universal inference is that if a man be not known, he cannot be worth knowing; and any attempt to couple merit with modesty is invariably met with the well-known aphorism of the Reverend Sydney Smith, that the only connexion between them is their both beginning with an m. In this state of things it is useless to swim against the stream, and folly to differ from our contemporaries: a prudent youth will purchase the last edition of The Art of Rising in the World, or Every Man his own Fortune-maker, and sedulously practise the main precept it enjoins–never to omit an opportunity of placing your name in printed characters before the world.”

But we are only concerned to present an outline of the business of advertising and of some of the questions which arise in connexion with it. With the less reputable forms of puffery these pages will not deal. An advertisement may be best defined as an announcement which is the expression of a want, with in most cases a suggestion or inducement towards its satisfaction, by appealing to the want of another. An advertisement, then, is primarily the expression of a want. In the great majority of cases the want expressed is that of money, and the expression is usually effected by vaunting the merits of a commodity in the market. But this is not always so. Sermons are advertised on billboards and humane societies publish companion pictures of the comfort and torture of animals. A man often advertises for services, or occasionally for barter, as in the Exchange and Mart. But most frequently the want expressed is that of money. The producer or seller must advertise–to use the word in its widest sense–if he wish to secure a sale. The consumer or purchaser can generally effect a sale and satisfy his want without further resource to publicity. Where, however, through any cause supply is limited and decreasing, or a market is lacking, as, for instance, in the case of first editions, the services of domestic servants, and articles of vertu, the purchaser may be induced to publish his needs. It is obvious that the business of advertising–of expressing a want–is in the main the means of procuring a market, and one of the processes in the distribution of produce. An advertisement may or may not be a puff. A simple announcement, such as the style of a degree or the name of a shopkeeper, is, or may be, an advertisement; it is the expression of a want, but it is not a puff. A puff is an expression of opinion, and wherever the announcement is coupled with a question-begging epithet there we have the puff. But in both cases, whether a mere announcement or a puff, an advertisement is simply the direct expression of a want. There is little of the puff oblique about an ordinary advertisement. It is true the phrasing or the expression of an idea may be original, as, for example, in the following case, taken more or less at random from a daily paper:––

CHRISTMAS.––Lonely gentleman or lady can give great pleasure by coming for short or permanent visit; most comfortable, large, well-built house; lovely garden; ponies to drive. Young People's Christmas made quite unhappy for the sake of a little ready money; by coming they could have a happy time, and the Gentleman or Lady would have a quiet happy time. Address––

But this only pretends to be an advertisement for a paying guest, and nothing else. Or to take another example:––

Wanted, permission to EXERCISE Gentleman's HORSE (near Russell Square), will pay a little for privilege.

No one is deceived. The advertiser's want is to hire a horse at a slight expense. The combination of the qualifications of chevalier and groom is solely with the view of attracting attention. Even in the case of the fashionable journal which invites the insertion of paragraphs announcing “marriages and arrivals and departures” at 21s., exceeding six lines 5s. for each extra line, and which will publish “fashionable and miscellaneous paragraphs … by agreement, subject to the approval of the editor,” the advertisement is the direct expression of a want. Whether the announcement is designed as likely to meet the eyes of friends or as a social puff, it is as much the expression of a need as any other advertisement. Neither does the hyperbolic expression of the ordinary puff deceive anybody. Simplex commendatio non obligat. The puff is not a warranty, and the advertiser uses superlatives to attract notice and not to affirm that his particular commodity is the very best of the kind which ever has or ever will be produced.

Many large firms maintain a separate advertising department. With these we are not concerned. Advertising with them is subsidiary to their main function–the production or sale of goods. The business of advertising, when carried on as a separate trade, is the subject of these pages. There are three businesses in the trade: the business of advertising by circular, the business of advertising in the Press, and the business of mural advertising, including in that term the business of all those who advertise on any structure which can be viewed by the public, from the flying machine to the stones of the pavement. The three trades differ fundamentally in their methods of effecting publicity. It is true that of late years American methods of advertising in newspapers have been introduced into this country, and the eye is often forced to read a particular advertisement by the boldness of the type or the extent of the space occupied. But in the main the newspaper advertisement is only read by the person who intends to read it. The initiative is taken by the public when the paper is purchased. The advertisements in the Press are for the most part classified: a different column must be scanned for a book, a seat at the play, a house, or a servant. This, again, implies initiative on the part of the public. The person for whose eyes the advertisement has been written will not see the notice unless he takes one or more steps, which imply that he intends, or at all events is not unwilling, to receive the information. But the mural advertiser imparts his information to every passer-by. There is no initiative on the part of the public. He that runs must read, and occasionally he who reads must run. This essential difference is of great importance, not only to advertisers but to the public generally.

It is probable that the classification which pervades advertising in the Press will increase amongst mural advertisements. Railway stations already maintain some sort of order and regulation amongst their affiches, and the bills of the railway company are confined to separate hoardings. From the point of view of the advertiser, the distinction means much. A bill when posted is purely local in its effect. Only those who pass by take notice, but nearly all those who pass by, or pass by constantly, must take notice. The result is that bill-posting on a large scale gives general publicity and is of special use in promoting the sale of any article of universal consumption. Every person who sees the notice may purchase the article. On the other hand, a commodity intended for a single class of consumer is seldom puffed upon the hoardings. It is a sheer waste to bring to the notice of people a commodity which they would never buy. A monograph written for the delight of the student would be advertised in the journals of the student and not upon the streets.

The daily paper of to-day, thanks largely to the practice and support of advertisers, gives wide publicity, but owing in the first place to the classification generally adopted, and in the second to the fact that different classes of men read different papers, whilst every trade, profession, or pursuit maintains a separate journal, special advertising, or the advertising of an article amongst a class likely to purchase, can be more easily obtained by advertising in the Press.

Bill-posting can effect this specialisation to a certain extent, as, for instance, by a display in business or in residential quarters or by posting in places frequented by a class. But the principle of bill-posting is to attract the notice of every passer-by. How that notice is and should be attracted will be dealt with hereafter. It is, if successful, the most comprehensive agent of publicity, and is therefore the means used to puff articles most widely consumed.

It is true that many articles of universal consumption are never advertised on the hoardings, as, for instance, meat. The reason appears to be that there is little differentiation–the variety or species is not sufficiently marked – and the demand is often met by local supply. The article must be proprietary. Where the meat has been converted into a meat extract the differentiation is marked, it is intensified by a label and trade mark, the supply from a single entrepôt is spread over a larger area, and an advertisement appears on every hoarding. The distinction between the two trades tends to the conclusion that if the commodity to be advertised is one which every man may buy, it is advisable to advertise on the hoardings, but if the commodity is one desired only by a limited class, a large part of the publicity paid for will be wasted if the hoardings are ûtilised. In such a case the newspaper directories should be consulted for the best means of advertising for that particular class.

This is the fundamental distinction between the two trades from the point of view of the advertiser. On the other hand, the distinction is important in the eyes of the public. No one need buy a paper, but everyone must keep his eyes open, if he would walk securely in the streets of a town. As a result, although the law of England will recognise no right to a view, local restrictions on hoardings and posters abound. But advertising in the Press is uncontrolled, save for a few restrictions on advertisements of lotteries, betting-houses, advertisements for the recovery of stolen property, and, of course, in those cases where the general law of the country has been infringed. The restrictions and regulations, in deference to the policy of the law, which refuses to safeguard the amenities of life, as distinguished from the comfort of the citizens, are for the most part based on reasons of public health and safety. But a few, as, for instance, Clause 5 of the Advertising Stations (Rating) Act, 1889 (see post, p. 144), and section 42 of the Dover Corporation Act, 1901 (see post, p. 185), were clearly passed mainly on æsthetic grounds. Local legislation has asserted the principle that the rights of the eye must be respected. The questions of public art and of disfigurement, which arise in connexion with bill-posting, do not affect advertising in the Press, to any large extent, though ingenuity in the phrasing and setting of advertisements is infinite. One other matter should be mentioned before concluding a comparison of the two trades. Our Press is largely supported and maintained by the volume of its advertisements, and the advertiser in its columns has the satisfaction of contributing to one of the widest educational influences of the day.

The business of advertising by circular is the best vehicle for special advertising or the advertising of a limited class. By advertising in the weekly or monthly Press, considerable specialisation can be effected and the wants of the reader can be gauged from the tone of the periodical, and its price. Few men who read the Times and the Monthly peruse halfpenny papers and lower-class magazines. The trade journals offer a particularly useful medium for specialised advertising. But in the distribution of circulars the advertiser or his agents selects each one of the members of the public who are to read his announcements. Only those are advertised who are likely to fulfil the need expressed–to satisfy the advertiser's want. The vendor of a warship would confine his outlay on advertising to a small number of circulars, addressed to those Powers that can afford the luxury of a navy, though the instance is obviously a case where the purchaser would be the first to publish his need. This means of publicity is undoubtedly expensive, for every individual advertised costs the advertiser paper, printing, envelope, labour, and the price of transmission. On the other hand, the waste of publicity is small. To effect the sale of articles desired by a very limited class, the advertiser should turn his attention to those who make it their business, by a careful study of the various social and professional directories, to transmit circulars into those channels where the advertiser's need is most likely to be satisfied.

In every case an advertisement must attract the attention of the public in such a way, that when the person to whom the advertisement is directed desires to make a purchase, the commodity advertised should instantly be brought to his mind. The daily paper is the usual vehicle for the satisfaction of immediate wants, such as houses, situations, and lost property. It is also peculiarly the advertising medium of the purchaser. But the aim of the great bulk of advertisers of the sale of goods is so to affect the mind of the public, that by the association of ideas, the want will bring to their recollection a particular commodity. The satisfaction of future wants is more especially the function of the mural advertiser, and of the advertiser in the weekly and monthly Press. It is difficult to explain why the public prefer to purchase an article which has been advertised to one which has not. The purchaser not only pays for the article but also for the advertisement, though it by no means follows that he could obtain the article for a less price if it were not advertised. It has been suggested that the purchase of the article advertised is in large part due to the innate hostility between the purchaser and the retail vendor. The shopman suggests a particular brand or description, and the purchaser feeling that the suggestion comes from one who has an adverse interest, decides at once to reject the possibly well-meant advice, and names the first species that occurs to his mind. To associate in the mind of the purchaser his own particular species with the genus desired is the aim of the advertiser for the sale of goods.

This may be effected in one or two ways–the one artistic, the other inartistic. The first is the expression of an idea. The second is persistent reiteration. The idea must necessarily be repeated, but reiteration without the idea is surely inartistic, and if carried too far will end by annoying, and so defeat the advertiser's purpose. Examples will readily occur, the constant repetition of a plaque, bearing the name of a commodity advertised, or the column of a newspaper devoted to the repetition of four words. At the present time the end desired is achieved with the bulk of the community: the species is associated with the genus, and recurs to the mind at the moment of purchase. Sully in his Outlines of Psychology, in discussing the subject of memory, writes:–“A single impression rarely suffices for a lasting representation. Images tend to grow faint and indistinct, hence they need to be reinvigorated by new impressions. Every new repetition of an impression, provided the interval since the last is not long enough to produce effacement, tends to render the image more distinct and more stable. Repeated impressions, even when not very interesting, as for example, those of ubiquitous advertisements, manage by their importunity to stamp themselves on our memory.” As soc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Original Title Page
• Original Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• Chapter I The Business of Advertising and Its Utility
• Chapter II The History of Advertising
• Chapter III The Business of Mural Advertising
• Chapter IV The Business of Advertising in the Press
• Chapter V The Business of Advertising by Circular
• Chapter VI Art and Advertising: The Pictorial Poster
• Chapter VII The Bill-Posters' Associations and Their Censorship Committees
• Chapter VIII The Taxation and Rating of Advertisements
• Chapter IX Restrictions on Advertising
• Chapter X The Problem of Control
• Appendix
• Index