Outdoor advertising seems to have been around forever, strategically placed on highways and streets. We've all had a favorite one, and one that has left a lasting impression on us, even if we only saw it once a year or even less.
Billboards, as we know them today, have been around for over a hundred years, but the inspiration for today's advertising began in the 1400s. In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented a type of movable advertising that gave rise to the idea of the world's first advertisement.
It was a simple flyer, which inspired slightly larger posters and eventually large displays like those of today. Banners first appeared in the 1830s and basically consisted of enlarged posters that were placed on the exterior walls of buildings.
Businesses purchased these to attract people passing by on foot or horseback. The campaigns were local, and the advertising was usually located near the business itself.
The incentive to use this was the roads.
With the construction of roads, the advertising business grew to such an extent that it became what it is today, but before reaching this point, the process took several decades, and after the industrial revolution, billboard rentals were commercialized in 1867.
It was in the 20th century when many changes occurred in advertising and advertisements became more standardized. Before World War II, companies began to use outdoor advertising to create different advertisements, and at the same time, the use of cars became normal, and not just a luxury, so it was much easier to be exposed to advertising.
Photo taken from: Mexico in Photos
https://anunciart.com/marketing-verde-una-necesidad-para-las-marcas/
The first advertisement on a billboard
The first billboard is believed to have been placed in New York in 1835. It was located at the intersection of Pearl Street and Maiden Lane and advertised Barnum's circus.
This billboard had a picture of an elephant with the text: "The great and only white elephant in South America. Only seen in South America!"
In those days, billboards were made by hand, painting on fabric, and placed in strategic locations to capture the public's attention. As technology advanced, the materials used improved.
Today's outdoor advertising is a popular and effective medium, used worldwide to promote products and services in an eye-catching and visual way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOX4K7M5SzE
Spectacular vintage Coca-Cola
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=IL9aJLcBY7A
This way of creating messages and expressing them dates back to ancient times. All cultures and peoples used walls to express themselves, and messages were also exchanged on tablets, which were used for communication.
The first outdoor advertising billboard recognized in Spain
It can be said that within the history of outdoor advertising, the first advertising poster in Spain recognized by the Ministry of Education and Science is a bullfighting poster from 1737 that announced festivities for September 19 and 30 of that same year in the Plaza del Soto Luzón, located next to the river at the current end of Calle Embajadores.
The first registered advertising agency
1786 was an important year in the history of advertising, as the first registered advertising agency,William Taylor, was founded in England. It was dedicated to buying and selling advertising space in the media. In 1800,it was followed by theJem Whiteagency,also in England.
And that concludes the most relevant aspects of the history of outdoor advertising from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age. In part 3 of the history of outdoor advertising, I will tell you about how things were from 1789 onwards, the beginning of the contemporary age.
To create this content, I consulted various books and studies on the sector, but above all the website on the history of advertising, which I invite you to visit. I also recommend following the Instagram account @pasajesdepublicidadexterior, where curious and interesting images from the history of this advertising medium are shared.
