Advertising in America

The following are potential resources that will assist you in your search for information on advertising from the 19th century on.

 Print Resources

Twenty Ads That Shook the World (659.1 TWI)
Examines the ads and ad campaigns—and their creators—that have most influenced our culture and marketplace in the twentieth century. P. T. Barnum’s creation of buzz, Pepsodent and the magic of the preemptive claim, Listerine introducing America to the scourge of halitosis, Nike’s “Just Do It,” Clairol’s “Does She or Doesn’t She?,” Leo Burnett’s invention of the Marlboro Man, Revlon’s Charlie Girl, Coke’s re-creation of Santa Claus, Absolut and the art world—these campaigns are the signposts of a century of consumerism, our modern canon understood, accepted, beloved, and hated the world over.

 

 Accept No Substitutes: The History of American Advertising (659.1 MIE)
Examines how American advertising went on to both reflect and shape the American character.  Features period advertisements and other primary source material the author explains how advertising "grew up" with the penny press, magazines, radio, TV and how Yankee peddlers fine-tuned the "art of persuasion."


 Online Databases

  Student Resource Center Gold - Offers more than 1,100 full-text periodicals and newspapers, primary sources, creative works, and multimedia, including hours of video and audio clips and podcasts

 

 Internet Resources

General

American Advertising - A Brief History: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/ads/amadv.html

The Emergence of Advertising in America: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/index.html

19th & 20th Century Advertising: http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~el6/presentations/pres_c2_hoa/19thand20thadvertising.htm
 

19th Century

Ad Access: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/ Searchable database of ads from 1911-1955.

Ad Age - The Advertising Century: http://adage.com/century/rothenberg.html

50 Years of Coca Cola: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ccmphtml/colahome.html

Harp Week - 19th Century Advertising: http://advertising.harpweek.com/

History.com Encyclopedia - Advertising: http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=200292

Ninteenth Century American Trade Cards: http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/19th_century_tcard/

19th Century Camera References: http://www.antiquewoodcameras.com/ads.htm

Sivorn's Apothecary Collectibles: www.apothecarycollectables.com/shop/printed-materials/trade-cards/cat_12.html
 

Today

Adflip: http://www.adflip.com/ "The world's largest archive of classic print ads" from 1940 to the present."

Advertisement Ave: http://www.advertisementave.com/

The End of Advertising?: http://www.mediamatic.net/article-5814-en.html
 


If you don't find what you're looking for in any of the sites above, try your 
own keyword search using the following tips...

Internet Search Tips

  1. Type the URL (web site address) of a search directory/engine in the address box: ex: www.yahoo.com, or www.google.com, etc.
     
  2. (Be sure to type the address exactly the way you see it, including any uppercase letters and punctuation).
     
  3. Type in keyword(s). (If your keyword has two parts such as: "19th century", be sure to put quotes around it so that the search engine only finds the Internet sites about the 19th century as opposed to all of the sites containing the word 19th, plus all of the sites containing the word century.
     

  4. If you would like to search for something specific about the 19th century, try a combined keyword search by adding a comma followed by a space and your other search term. For instance; if I wanted to find out about the 19th century and the techniques used in advertising, I would enter the following:
     

    "19th century", advertising, techniques
     

  5. Hit Enter on your keyboard, or click on Search, then scan the description of the "hits" (entries) and click on the links that sound best.
     
  6. Be sure to evaluate each Internet site for the following:
    • Authority: Can you tell if the author is credible (believable)?
    • Objectivity: Is the information objective (honest and free of bias)?
    • Currency: Is the information recent and up-to-date?
    • Design: Is the site designed in a clear and user friendly way?
    • Navigation: Is the site easy to navigate through, and are all links current and usable?

     

  7. Remember: if you choose to use any information (text or graphics) found on an Internet source, 
    you must include it in your bibliography.

Remember:  YOU MUST CITE EVERY RESOURCE YOU USED to gather information on your 
Works Cited (Bibliography) page.  Use the Works Cited Guide to access MLA format.
 

Created by Liza Zandonella, Library Media Specialist.