Newspaper Advertising

The first newspaper ad was published in 1704. It was an announcement seeking a buyer for an Oyster Bay, Long Island, estate. It was published by Boston News-Letter, which was also the first continuously published newspaper.

18th Century

1704

This is the first ad that came out on newspaper, advertising a house for sale. This ad is pretty basic and contains no visible visual persuasive techniques. The print is impossible to read.

Weasel Words (Pathos)

Uses font size to draw attention to the word free

Mid 1700s

This ad appeals to the consumer's logic. By saying that the carrots have healthful vitamins and that they are easy to grow, the advertiser is making the consumer want to buy the carrots. Why wouldn't someone want to buy carrots that are easy to grow and that are healthy? However, there is no proven fact or study on either of those points.

Uses font size to draw attention to the word Tavern.

1771

Makes font size bigger to bring attention to occupation and name.

All capital letters for imported goods.

This ad mainly uses font size to draw attention to certain things. The goal was to tell the consumer what the advertiser provided and to make sure the consumer saw the goods instead of skimming over it.

Location is in italics. At the time, Liverpool was a big merchant city.

In the 18th century, products were only advertised through the newspaper. Because of this, sellers used font size to catch the consumer's attention and advertised to customers by appealing to their logic.

19th Century

1829

Testimonial (Pathos)

Snob appeal (Pathos)

This newspaper is advertising haircuts to men. They draw pictures of men with nice haircuts to show off the style. In addition, they use words like elegant and flattering to make it seem trendy.

1854

This ad's focus is on the person lying sickly on a bed. This ad uses fear to manipulate the consumer into buying life insurance. This is an example of fear appeal.

Fear appeal (Pathos)

1892

Big fancy font throughout to draw attention

Glittering generalities (pathos)

This ad uses fancy fonts to draw attention to itself. "The Greatest Invention of the Age" is a subjective statement with no evidence to back it up.

Over the 19th century, we see a transition from simple statements to an effort to make consumers want to buy their products. There are more pathos related persuasive techniques, and the ads are simpler but more showy.

20th Century

1931

Red is a warm color that makes you feel more connected

Confirmation from Santa testimonial (Pathos)

Glittering generalities (pathos)

This ad uses the testimonial persuasive technique by using Santa to endorse their product. This was a way to show that coca-cola was also made for the winter times. In addition, the red colors create warm visuals that is more pleasing to the eye.

1952

Credibility (ethos)

Testimonials from celebrities (Pathos)

Bandwagon (Pathos)

This ad depicts a doctor smoking a cigarette which uses his credibility as a doctor to present the idea that Camels' cigarettes are harmless. There is also the use of celebrity testimonials. This could lead someone to smoke Camels just because a celebrity smokes.

1970s

Persuasion using ideal body image

Using a warm red color for car

Using a warm red color for shirt

This depicts a pretty model holding up car wax. Although it may seem that they are advertising women's attire or makeup, they are actually advertising a car wax. This ad uses the transfer pathos persuasive technique. They use the model to generate a warm feeling. That feeling is then "transferred" to the product being sold. This makes you feel that same warm feeling towards the car wax.

In the 20th century sellers began to incorporate testimonials into most of their ads. The goal was to influence consumers by using a pretty model or an influential person. With the addition of colored print, ads were more showy. This allowed people to incorporate certain colors to make a person feel a certain way.

Conclusion

One thing that has stayed constant through the centuries is the manipulation of font size. Changing fonts, sizes, placement, and color helps to draw in the consumer. In addition, sellers have targeted pathos for pretty much all three centuries. In the beginning, ads were more like statements. As America grew, people looked to the luxuries of life rather than having just enough to survive. It was no longer "do we have a roof over our head." Instead, it was "can we have a bigger house?" As this became more common, sellers had to find ways to advertise their wares in the most appealing manner to consumers. They used pathos persuasive techniques the most. Among them, the most common were testimonials, weasel words, and glittering generalities.

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