The ad agency and ad content in the 1840s

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Department/School

Communication, Media and Theatre Arts

Publication Title

Journalism History

Abstract

Volney B. Palmer, the father of the American advertising agency, introduced the idea of systematic advertising in the 1840s, beginning a new chapter of the newspaper advertising business. This study compared advertising content and form in two newspapers in the 1840s, one with Palmer as an ad agent and one without, to explore the impact of advertising agencies on newspaper advertising in ad agencies’ early days. This study content analyzed 827 advertisements from twelve issues of two newspapers in 1840, 1845, and 1849 and documented the differences in advertising amount, product categories, advertiser types, locations, and designs over time and between the two newspapers. While the results show significant changes in advertising amount and advertiser types, limited evidence was found to support the ad agency’s impact on growing advertisement size, expanding outreach to regional and national markets, and adopting more illustrations in design. The findings call into question generalizations made in the advertising history literature.

Comments

Y. Li is a faculty member in EMU's School of Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts.

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