The History Of Poster Advertisements

The history of poster advertisements almost dates as far back as the birth of poster art itself. However, the real inception of poster advertisements is a little more specific than the beginning poster art. There are certain folds and 'wrinkle[s] in time' that determine how poster advertisements took off and how they diverged from the early decorative city posters of Paris.

Although early poster-makers created posters that announced major events and sold passersby's ideas about their surroundings, Poster advertisements didn't inundate European urban dwellings until the peak of the Industrial Revolution. Due to their advanced industrialism, European cities experienced poster advertisements earlier than other cities.

Industry and mass production created more commonly used items of daily necessity; this further created an internal need (both within the corporate sector and the general public) spurring consumers to seek options amongst daily goods and companies to communicate information about their product(s). With more people working and procuring disposable income, companies needed advertisement to reach that income; thus it (advertisement) became a prolific demand, supply, and means. Hence, due to the tightening relationship between working people and businesses, poster advertisements spiked near the turn-of-the-century.

At this period, poster advertisements depicted and enticed everyone with images of their daily needs and recreation. There were successful poster advertisements for products of domesticity, such as detergents, household cleansers, food stuffs, elixirs and health remedies, etc. The people in the posters were shiny, attractive and surrounded by complementary decor, communicating that "You to will be just as attractive, healthy, and happy using our products." For those who could afford a little more, poster advertisements sold expensive toiletries and cosmetics, tobacco products, jewelry, and vacation destinations. Much like any other poster, beautiful people could be
seen enjoying decadent chocolates, spritzing themselves with perfume, or lying on the sunny beach of Saint Tropez. The more prominent poster advertisements became the more they meshed their suggestions, temptation, and goods into people's lives.

Two points of significance in poster advertisements reflect the cultural attitudes of turn-of-the-century society. First, the advertisement of alcohol in posters revolutionized notions of an imbibing public and exploded alcohol in poster advertisements. Sex and gender politics changed ideas of women drinking when distillers wanted to sell more spirits. Alluring female images (stylishly drinking) were employed to attract more males. Soon after, the notion of women drinking alcohol as vulgar eroded and became more socially acceptable.

Poster advertisements even aroused intellectual interests. Publishers used them to sell their books and magazines, subsequently driving readership up. This marketing tactic for literature and literacy is much akin to how we market movies today. A book deemed "the blockbuster" depended greatly on how it attracted an audience through lithographic sheets. From the 1890's through the 1920's, as poster advertisements revolutionized, modern society revolutionized.

Today, poster advertisements are not as omnipresent as they once were nearly a hundred years ago, but they remain a viable source of selling. Because there are so many more vehicles of marketing, the history of poster advertisements has become more pronounced in the world of art. With marketing's ever-changing strategies, the survival of poster advertisements is uncertain as well as the state of vintage poster advertisements.