The Rise of Advertising in the United States: A History of Innovation to 1960 [Paperback]

In this unique work of scholarship, Edd Applegate surveys the key figures and events that transformed the American business landscape from its colonial beginnings to that Mad Men moment when advertising went professional. In The Rise of Advertising in the United States: A History of Innovation to 1960, Applegate traces how the explosion of newspapers in the American colonies laid the groundwork for the first advertising agents, leading to Americas first class of professional marketers. This entrepreneurial class of new white-collar professionals thrived on innovation in the quest for more publicity, larger clients, and greater sales. Some of the thought-leaders in what remained a novel, ever-changing form of communication include:

P. T. Barnum, master of the advertising gimmick
Lydia Pinkham, queen of the patent medicine cure
John Wanamaker, progenitor of modern retail advertising
Albert Lasker, the formulator of reason why advertising
Stanley Resor, the consummate market researcher
Elliott White Springs, the groundbreaking purveyor of the sexual innuendo

Applegate records the achievements of these individuals and others up until 1960, when advertising underwent a remarkable change, becoming a post-war subject of study and scholarship in Americas colleges and universities. Written for those interested in learning about a select group of movers and shakers in this key area of American business, The Rise of Advertising in the United States should appeal to anyone interested in American business history.

Edd Applegate has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in advertising and mass communications for more than thirty years. He has written extensively about advertising, including several books, numerous chapters and entries for other books and encyclopedias, and several articles for refereed academic journals and conference proceedings.Advertising is as American as apple pie, dating back to the 17th century anlC+