Great farming opportunities in Virginia, this ad from 1609 proclaims
If you find yourself watching the Fourth of July fireworks on TV, but complaining about the ads, consider this: the foundation of our country rested in part on paid advertisements.
The hearts and minds of early Americans were moved by the arguments in the Federalist Papers, and ads helped.
Those famous 85 essays, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were carried serially by newspapers, which were in part supported by paid advertisements.
Tobacco and tyranny
These articles, which argued for the ratification of the Constitution, were eagerly read by the early colonists who wanted reasons for freeing themselves from the clutches of a tyrannical monarchy.
Ads in these early papers in America and Europe were used to sell tobacco, medicine, and exotic foods from foreign lands. Benjamin Franklin began publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette in Philadelphia in 1729, which included pages of “new advertisements.”
One of the three newspapers that published the Federalist Papers was called the Daily Advertiser.
Advertising, of course, makes possible the publication of various news media today, whether the paper or internet variety. When I worked in the advertising department of the Chicago Sun-Times, advertising made up 60% of revenue. I’m sure today it’s much more for major media outlets.
Jumping to conclusions
So the next time you scroll around those bothersome popup ads, or jump from your couch when a commercial comes on, think of how important advertising was to the founding of America.
