Exploring the evolution of American advertising, the book delves into its role as both a reflection and shaper of society. It traces the journey from colonial newspaper ads to contemporary viral marketing, highlighting how advertising has influenced product promotion and cultural trends. The narrative is structured chronologically and interweaves themes of art, industry, culture, and technology. Richly illustrated with various advertisements, it offers a visual and historical perspective on the impact of advertising throughout American history.
The book explores the dramatic transformation in personal hygiene practices over the last century, highlighting how soap evolved from a luxury for the wealthy to a widely embraced symbol of purification and progress by the end of World War I. It delves into the societal changes and historical events that influenced this shift in attitudes toward cleanliness and hygiene, examining the cultural implications and the broader context of civilization's advancements.
Most of the workers in advertising, the media, retail, and fashion are women. Holding key marketing and advertising positions, women shape the basic promotional appeal of almost every consumer product in America. How did the advertising business go from a handful of women in a man's world to women working in virtually every mass consumer goods industry in America in the space of the twentieth century? Ad Women tells the story of how women have risen to the top of the advertising profession. Juliann Sivulka, a former marketing communications manager and now an advertising educator, describes how, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the recognition of women as primary consumers resulted in the hiring of more women to promote products aimed at the women's market. At that time manufacturers began to emphasize color, fashion, and style, while advertising embraced a new language of persuasion aimed at women consumers. Soon agencies were recruiting an ensemble of businesswomen-copywriters, product designers, merchandisers, fashion and beauty experts, home economists, editors, and publicists. Through close collaboration with manufacturers, mass media, and retailers, they participated in developing strategies to convince women to buy goods and wove their selling messages into women's reading, shopping, housework, and leisure activities. --From publisher description
