ADVERTS THROUGH TIME

SOAP ADVERTISING THROUGH TIME

1890'S

Early advertisements had a lot of writing. Advertisements in the 1890s were published in newspapers and sometimes magazines. The main focus of advertising during this period of time was to prove the quality and authenticity of the product its selling. This is why it was common for advertisements to mention doctors and professors in the text. The professionals were mentioned in order to back up that the product is what it says it is and does what it says it does. Some of the adverts during this time didn't include images and included paragraphs of text and instructions. Similarly to the advertisements today, these adverts also included a logo of some sort, a slogan for the brand and a tagline to describe the image. The aim of these adverts is mainly to improve people's lives and make them feel better in themselves.



1900'S

Advertisements from the 1900s moved more towards beauty and increasing women's looks, which meant that they marketed towards women more than men. Soap was being advertised so that it was made known that it improved complexion. Women care about their complexion a lot more than men so this would make women the target audience. The adverts were hand-drawn in black and white. The adverts started using words such as 'wholesome' and 'pure', presenting the product as something that is natural and good for people.



1910's

In the 1910s, there was use of more scientific language. There is still a lot of text on the advert, but much less, disincluding unnecessary parts that did not help promote the product. The focus of the advertisement is that the product needs to fill a need - promoting and protecting the health and age of skin. The desire to have younger, healthier looking skin still continues today, through the language advertising uses to discuss the topic  has changed greatly from the early 1900s. 




Advertisements from the 1920s were for the most part hand-drawn. However there is more in the wa of colour than ever seen in adverts before, although it was not as common as colour advertisements seen today. Soap advertising started to become more focused towards women than its ever been. They began using words such as 'dainty' and 'pretty' were used to catch the target audience's attention. Soap is now starting to be advertised as a beauty product that will improve the lives of women.



1930s

Youthfulness is a trend that continued in the advertising of soap well in to the 1930s. It's in this decade that we see the first instance of a celebrity being used to advertise a product. The aim is so that the audience notice and recognise the famous person and aspire to look and be like them. The text started to diminish and the focus moved more towards pictures. The language of science is still used to support the claims, however it is the celebrity that is the centre of attention, not the text.



1940s

In the 1940s, colour advertisements became a lot more common than black and white ones. Celebrities continued to be used to promote the brand and product and confirms the advertisers claims rather than the use of scientific language. Numbers are now being used to show how many other celebrities are using the product in an attempt to increase desire in the public. The audience starts being given tips on how to use the product for the best results while presenting solutions to a particular problem



1950s

Advertisements from the 1950s features both hand-drawn and photo content. There is also a combination of scientific proof as well as a firm call to action asking the audience to try the product out themselves. In addition, advertisements started to emphasize economical value and product use benefits as part of their claims of validity.




1960s

Advertisements from the 60s feature a lot more colour. Images become the focus as opposed to text as seen in previous decades. However the amount of text is still a lot more than what we see in adverts today, it's much less than that from the 1900s, with one phrase larger than the others and the rest smaller. In this decade, the audience focuses on the images of people and the product.



1970s

Images increased in size and importance during the 70s. This decade featured contests as the call to action. This allowed companies to embark on a permission based marketing approach to further advertise to their audience. Text is that advertisements were mostly there to explain the contest itself, not the product. The text describing the product is less than seen in previous decades, taking up minimal space in comparison to the product.



1980s

The 80s showed the inclusion of coupons. While there is still a fair amount of text, the image is completely the focus of the advertisement. The text is used to further explain the product. Sexualised content began being used a lot more, for example, this Neutrogenia advertisement below features the naked back of a model as opposed to her face. The ad still promotes beauty, just in a more sexualised way.



1990s

Text is further reduced during the 90s. The image takes up at least 75% of the page. Text is very minimal, reduced to being point notes more than complete sentences. The larger images is intended to be more eye-catching, drawing the audience's attention to the image of the product or logo rather than the paragraph explaining what the product is and does. Images are very colourful and vibrant and have a clear centre point to draw in the eye.



2000s

Advertisements from the 2000s show a lot more skin and sexualisation of products than ever seen before. The image, again is the main focus of the advert and the text has decreased even further - some ads simply had a couple of words on. Logos are typically smaller than the text but still stand out which then becomes the feature which the audience recognise and identify with rather than the product itself. The target audience is clearly indicated by what models appear in the adverts.



2010s

Advertising today is a lot more eye-catching. Increasing competition and volume of advertisement content has forced advertisers to consistently look for new ways to get audience attention. Interactive advertising, such as the scratch and reveal advertisement is one way Dove increased product and audience interaction. Just like advertising in past times moved from hand-drawn to photographic, today's advertisements show a move towards graphic design and away from photographs.

"Times have changed. Advertising has changed. Gone are hand-drawn ads. Gone are ads with scientific claims or tips on how to improve your life. Gone are ads that focus on how one product is better than another. Advertisements have had to adapt to societal values and changes in audience taste to stay relevant, which is why advertisements from even twenty years ago seem so strange to audiences today. Elements of advertisements from previous decades live on, like the use of a celebrity to be the face of a product, as well as the language that promotes a product as naturally good for the consumer. However, the use of sexual images has increased over the years, with the idea that “sex sells” informing the decisions of  advertisers for their campaigns.

Increasingly, advertisers have had to vary their forms of advertising to engage and appeal to their audiences. This includes viral marketing, such as feel-good ads like this one from Coca-Cola in 2014, and experiential marketing, where the audience experiences the product first hand rather than through advertisers, such as this ad from Belgium TV Channel TNT from 2012. What is most interesting about the advertisements through the ages is that they reflect the cultural and social issues of that time as well as what methods have been used in the past to promote a product to the intended audience. Examining advertising through the ages allows marketers and advertisers to see what has worked in the past, which is instrumental in deciding what methods should and should not be used to effectively market and promote products today."