Advertising is usually effected by means of the ordinary newspapers, covers and fly-leaves of magazines, or of newspapers and publications specially devoted to the purpose. Advertisements, both printed and written, are still posted on church- doors and other places of public resort, in which case they are commonly called bills or placards. The most formal kind of advertisement, and that which is employed in the case of royal proclamations and the like, is publication in the Gazette (q.v.); but so little is the Gazette read by private persons, that publication in it alone is not a sufficient notice of a dissolution of partnership to free the partners from debts afterwards contracted in name of the company. Public notifications are frequently enjoined by statute; as, for example, under Road and Bridge Acts, the Bankrupt Statutes, &c., and in certain actions—e.g. for the distribution of a succession, or where an entailed estate is being dealt with, the court orders advertisement. It is in England a criminal offence to advertise for stolen property, promising not to make inquiries, or to repay the money advanced by pawnbrokers. Persons advertising a reward for the return of any property stolen or lost, and adding words to the effect that if returned no questions will be asked, are liable to a penalty of £50. The same applies to the printer and publisher of such advertisement. Advertisements by public carriers, railway companies, and the like, are equivalent to offers whereby the advertiser will be bound to those who send goods on the faith and in accordance with the terms of the advertisement. By advertising a General Ship (q.v.) for a particular voyage, the master places himself on the footing of a public carrier, and is bound to receive goods for the port to which the vessel is advertised to sail. A merchant in such circumstances can insist on his goods being received, unless the ship be full, or the entire freight engaged. The contract of affreightment is completed by the advertisement, and the shipping of the goods in conformity and with reference thereto (see CHARTER-PARTY, CARRIER).—A duty on advertisements was first enacted in 1712, and in 1853 it was wholly repealed. In 1833 it was reduced, the duty in 1832 being £170,650; in 1841 it was £131,608; and in 1853, the year of the repeal, it had increased to £180,000, thus exceeding the amount before the period of reduction.
Advertisements were not unknown in ancient Greece and Rome. The ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum afford examples, the walls in the most frequented parts being covered with notices, painted in black and red. Announcements of plays and gladiatorial shows are common; and so are those of salt-water and fresh-water baths. In still earlier times, especially amongst the Greeks, a common medium of advertisement was the public crier; another, in cases of things stolen or strayed, or of injuries inflicted upon the advertiser, was an inscription affixed to the statues of the infernal deities, invoking curses upon the offender. In medieval times, it appears that the advertising shopkeeper's chief organ was the public crier; and it was also customary for most traders to have touts at their doors. One of the very first posters 'ever printed in England was that by which Caxton announced, circa 1480, the sale of the 'Pyes of Salisbury use,' at the Red Pole, in the Almonry, Westminster.' The pye or pica was a table or directory of devotional services.
The early newspapers of the 17th century were slow to admit advertisements; and the first regular advertisers were booksellers, followed by dealers in quack medicines, and merchants. Books and pamphlets were advertised in 1647-48, and the Mercurius Politicus for November 22, 1660, had a quack advertisement which might have appeared at the present time. The Public Advertiser (1657) consisted almost wholly of advertisements, including the arrivals and departures of ships, and books to be printed. Soon other papers commenced to insert more and more advertisements; and by the year 1682 newspaper advertising was well developed, chiefly through the medium of the London Gazette, the only paper that still exists of all those started about the middle of the 17th century. In 1785 was established the Daily Universal Register, which, in 1788, changed its name to the Times. Its establishment marks the beginning of the era of modern advertising.
It is well known that most newspapers and periodicals derive the bulk of their income from their advertisements; and when we remember that there are upwards of 2000 newspapers and 1300 magazines issued in the United Kingdom, the enormous development of advertising may be imagined. In London, the Times and Telegraph absorb the lion's share of the advertisers' money. In the case of the Times, the receipts in the advertisement department are said to be about £1000 a day. When a stamp-duty was enforced on advertisements, the Times paid government, in 1830, the sum of £70,000; calculated on its present sale and advertisements, the sum would now be no less than £450,000.
Advertising is now an art, and great ingenuity and activity are shown in catching the eye of the public. In many places, the finest scenery, rocks, and islands are not held sacred by the ubiquitous advertiser. Unfortunately, advertising is frequently used by unscrupulous persons to puff their wares beyond their desert, and otherwise to mislead the public. The aid of painters, poets, and essayists is called in to make the advertisements attractive; and posters have been designed by Marks and Herkomer. Messrs Pears, who have advertised their soap since the beginning of this century, spend between £30,000 and £40,000 a year in this way. Thomas Holloway, who began to advertise his pills and ointment in 1837, ultimately devoted £1000 a week to advertisements.
American advertising, which now is carried to an enormous extent, began in a humble way about 1788. A great impulse was given to it by the establishment of the New York Sun in 1833, the Herald in 1835, and the Tribune in 1841. To spend £20,000 a year in advertising is now no uncommon thing with many business houses; some patent medicine dealers spend even £50,000. The proprietors of a quack medicine offered a subscription of £5000 towards the gigantic statue of Liberty in New York harbour, provided they were allowed to affix an advertisement upon it for one year. See NEWSPAPERS; also Grant's Newspaper Press (1871); Sampson's History of Advertising (1874); and Hatton's Journalistic London (1882), besides the newspaper press directories.