Time Machine

Sell and Spin: A History of Advertising

From the earliest days of literacy to the high-speed world of the Internet, manufacturers and sellers have tried to entice the public to buy their products. Using a combination of information, entertainment, chicanery and chutzpah, advertisers bring these products to the consumer's attention, and hopefully the consumer's wallet. Advertising is as much a part of our history as any other cultural phenomenon. It reflects our society's social, economic, political and cultural values and mores, and, like other aspects of media, preserves them in a unique cultural time capsule. The print, audio and video ads of yesterday are not only nostalgic—they are indicators of life in the United States at a specific moment in time.

Sell and Spin: A History of Advertising would be useful for classes on American History, Media Studies, American Culture, Political Science, and Economics. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

OBJECTIVES

Students will explore the history of advertising and the relationship between advertising and American consumer culture. They will analyze the impact of print, audio, video and Internet advertising on Americana life and mores, as well as examine the role of advertising in their own economic, social and political lives.

NATIONAL HISTORY STANDARDS

Sell and Spin: A History of Advertising fulfills the following National Standards for History for grades 5-12: Chronological thinking, historical comprehension, historical analysis and interpretation, historical research capabilities, historical issues-analysis and decision-making for Eras 2, 3 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

• Anathema
• Demise
• Dubious
• Exploitation
• Icon
• Narcissistic
• Nascent
• Nefarious
• Oracle
• Purport
• Quandary
• Vestiges
• Virility

Discussion Questions

1. An advertiser's goal is to grab the attention of the consumer. Why is it necessary to get and hold a consumer's attention? What happens if the advertiser fails to do so?

2. Consumers buy products that they need or want. How do advertisers

3. What are the origins of the word

4. Americans are bombarded with advertisements every day. What are some of the places that you see advertisements on a daily basis?

5. What is the

6. In order to sell a product or a service, advertisers create personalities that are linked with products and services. How do they do this? What are some examples of advertising personalities?

7. In the 1920s and 1930s, Marlboro cigarettes were aimed at women. How and why did Marlboro change its advertising strategy to aim its product at men?

8. How did Johanne Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in the 15th century change advertising?

9. Today we associate products with

10. What is

11. Advertisers frequently use a

12. Why is radio often called

13. How did the invention of the radio help advertisers reach a whole new market of consumers?

14. Discuss racism and sexism in some of the earlier print, audio and video advertisements.

15. Discuss the impact of television on the twentieth century, not only in advertising, but in all areas of life and culture.

16. What is McCarthyism? How did advertisers help to foster an atmosphere of fear during this era?

Extended Activities

1. Pick any product or service of your choice, and create an advertisement for that product using the advertising techniques of the past.

2. Write a script or a storyboard for a commercial for a product or device of your choice. If you have access to video equipment, film your commercial and show it your classmates.

3. Create a personality or icon for a new product.

4. Create an advertisement for a political candidate.

Air Dates

• May 18, 2005
• May 19, 2005