History of Advertising

The following is a selected list of book titles related to the history of advertising. (Two Web sites are listed below. To find more titles available at the Penn State Libraries, search the CAT using the search terms "advertising" and "history". You may focus your search by changing "Keywords Anywhere" to "LC (Library of Congress) Subject Heading":

To limit your search to advertising in the United States, simply add "United States" to your search query.

Series: All-American Ads (edited by Jim Heimann):

• 1900-1919 : All-American Ads

  A far cry from the agressive ads we've become used to, American print advertisements from the first two decades of the 20th century were almost shockingly pleasant. This exhaustive compendium of ads from the period—many of which haven't been seen for over eight decades—is a fascinating reminder of surprisingly simpler times and a rediscovery of a forgotten age in advertising history.

• 20s : All-American Ads

  Speakeasies, luxury cars, women's liberation, and a booming economy kept the country's mood on the upswing. It was the roaring twenties in America: a singular time in history, a lull between two world wars, and the last gasp before the nation's descent into the Great Depression. Forging the way into the future like a modern ocean liner in a sea of antiquity, advertising in the twenties sought to mainstream the avant-garde.

• 30s : All-American Ads

  At the dawn of the 1930s, the general trend of literal, uninspired print ads was shaken up by new,stylized, symbolic, and even abstract advertisements that relied more on aesthetics than copy. These techniques were overshadowed, however, by the need for the country in the grips of the depression for hard-sell, shirt-sleeve advertising; subtlety and irony could hardly sell products to a nation struggling to feed itself. Instead, advertisers strove to paint an optimistic picture of affluent American family life, revealing nothing of the hard times. Cheerful and colorful, these ads played an important role as morale boosters, promising happiness and success to a country in crisis.

• 40s : All-American Ads

  Dominated by the prospect and eventual realization of World War II, print advertising in the first half otf the 1940s reflected America's preoccupation with the war effort. Ads for tanks and cannons replaced those of automobiles and washing machines as consumers gave their all for Uncle Sam. Emerging victorious from World War II, America by the mid-1940s was dominated by unprecedented pride and prosperity, and nothing better mirrors the post-war psyche, technological progress, and growing consumerism of this period than its advertisements. From Western Electric communication tools (for "the Modern battlefield") to Mason sea liners ("Toward a richer tomorrow") to Seagram's whiskey ("For men who plan beyond tomorrow") to the Hoover Vacuum ("For every woman who is proud of her home"), optimism and affluence were the running themes throughout the decade in the flood of ads extolling a seemingly endless array of products and services available to consumers. The decade's racist and sexist undercurrents are reflected in ads that now seem disturbing, yet surprisingly, some of America's all-time favorites, such as wholesome Campbell's soup, remain familiar over the years.

• 50s : All-American Ads

  As McCarthyism swept through the United States and capitalism was king, the U.S. enjoyed a feeling of pride and security that was heavily reflected in its advertising. Flooding society with visual information via an endless variety of mass-market magazines, companies in the 1950s promoted everything from vacations in Las Vegas, during which guests could watch atomic bombs detonate, to cigarettes as healthy mood-enhancers, suggested by a baby claiming his mother feels better after she smokes a Marlboro! With the Cold War escalating throughtout the decade, American families geared up for the technological age, pushing consumerism—and advertising—to new limits. From "The World's Finest Automatic Washer" to the Cadillac which "Gives a Man a New Outlook", you'll find in this anthology a colorful variety of classics as well as forgotten 1950s American advertisements.

• 60s : All-American Ads

  With the consumerist euphoria of the fifties still going strong and the race to the moon at its height, the mood of advertising in the sixties was cheerful, optimistic, and at times, revolutionary. The decade's ads touted perceived progress (such as tang and instant omelets—"just add water") while striving to reinforce good old American values. Stars like Sean Connery, Woody Allen, Salvador Dalí, and Sammy Davis Jr. endorsed everything from bourbon to handmade suits in an attempt by Madison Avenue to urge Americans to open their wallets and participate in one giant consumer binge. Social change at the end of the era brought psychedelic swirls and liberated women and minorities to a newly conscious public. Keep an eye out for some of the more surprising and controversial ads—such as Tupperware billing its storage container as a "wifesaver". From forgotten cars such as the Dodge Dart, to cigarettes ("This Christmas give cartons of Luckies") to food (mmm! TV dinners!) and much more, this colorful collection of print ads explores the wide, wonderful world of 60s Americana.

• 70s : All-American Ads

  The best ads from the decade that spawned glam rock and The Brady Bunch. A fascinating study of mass culture dissemination in a post-hippie, television-obsessed nation, this volume delivers an exhaustive and nostalgic overview of seventies advertising.

• 80s : All-American Ads

  With the Cold War ebbing and move star-turned-president Ronald Reagan launching a Star Wars of his own, the eighties did not seem likely to become one of the most outrageous and prosperous decades of the 20th century. Wall Street's "greed is good" mantra spawned the power-dressing, exercise-obsessed "Me Generation" of Yuppies—high on cash, cocaine, and Calvins. To all those who still hear the echoes of "I want my MTV", this book says, just do it!

Advertising in America : The First 200 Years, Charles A. Goodrum and Helen Dlarymple

From Publishers Weekly: "Goodrum (Treasures of the Library of Congress) and Dalrymple, Library of Congress staff member, here announce that they have set out to chart—but not necessarily to debunk—the phenomenon that for 200 years has amused, shamed and seduced us into buying products we may or may not need. Their well-organized, if simplistic, book is an encyclopedia of the print advertising image, with a skeletal timeline delineating influences, styles and techniques, later fleshed out with analyses of why the advertising industry has flourished."

Soap, Sex, and Cigarettes : A Cultural History of American Advertising, Juliann Sivulka

"This book is an examination of how American advertising both mirrors society and creates it. From the first newspaper advertisement in colonial times to the latest Web sites for advertising agencies, Soap, Sex and Cigarettes explores how advertising grew in America, how products and brands were produced and promoted, and how advertisements and agencies reflect and introduce cultural trends and issues. The threads of art, industry, culture, and technology unify the work. The text is chronological in its organization and is lavishly illustrated with advertisements." (Amazon.com)

The Mirror Makers : A History of American Advertising and Its Creators, Stephen R. Fox

"Anybody who ever worked, or ever want to work a day in the advertising business must read this book. Media, account and creative people will enjoy it equally. You will gain tremendous insight and respect for our industry — understanding where we've come from — and appreciation of where we are today. Extremely entertaining. Full of wisdom and fascinating stories about the advertising forefathers and legends. Rightfully the most quoted book on advertising." (Robert Fleege — fleege.com)

From Submarines to Suburbs : Selling a Better America, 1939-1959, Cynthis Lee Henthorn

"During World War II, U.S. businesses devised marketing strategies that encouraged consumers to believe their country’s wartime experience would launch a better America. Advertisements and promotional articles celebrated the immense industrial output that corporations achieved during the war. These commercial messages positioned wartime technologies and corporate expertise as the means to streamline America and invent a socially hygienic future free from poverty, slums, drudgery, filth, and — for some businessmen — the New Deal administration. From Submarines to Suburbs surveys the development, strategy, and effect of these campaigns over a span of twenty pivotal years. Cynthia Lee Henthorn takes a close look at how pre-fabricated suburban houses, high-tech kitchens, and miracle products developed from war-related industries were promoted as the hygienic solutions for establishing this better America, one led by the captains of free enterprise. As Henthorn demonstrates, wartime advertising and marketing strategies tying consumer prosperity to war were easily adapted in the Cold War era, when a symbiotic relationship between military standing and standards of living intensified in a culture dependent on defense spending. Were the efforts to engineer a better America successful? Using documentary evidence in the form of numerous advertisements, From Submarines to Suburbs stands as a significant contribution to understanding how today’s "better" America evolved." (Amazon.com)

50 Years of Advertising as seen through the eyes of Advertising Age : 1930-1980, compiled and edited by Allan Marin

"A half century is a long time in the life of a business publication, especially one in the highly volatile field of advertising and marketing. Advertising Age, the only international magazine in this all-important area of communications, marks its 50th anniversary with this book on ads, pictures, personalities, campaigns, products and trends." (from the editor's foreword)

Web sites

The Advertising Archives
"The Advertising Archives was established in 1990 by Larry and Suzanne Viner and is the largest and most comprehensive resource of its kind in Europe. Our collection comprises over 1 million catalogued images – 50,000 of which are searchable online." This site includes British and American press advertisements from 1850 to the present, British TV stills, and magazine cover artwork, and lots more.

Finding and Using Digital Images - Advertising
University of Washington Libraries Web page with links to various sites that explore the history of advertising.