The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-11-03
KEEP IT BEFORE THEM!
HOW THE BRITISH Guido AMER
leans IN ADVERTISING.
Enormous sums Paid In England for Adj
vertising 800. 900 for advertising
Privileges" In Ono year-A BIN stickci
Makes %. 900, 900.
LsrccIal Corre.pondenoe.l

we can we'll afford 10 acknowledge 1t
In the matter Of advertising, for in
stance, we are in the habit OF thinkin;
that we Of the United States discoun
every other nation, and II asked whcr'
the greatest advertisers are TO be foun'
nine people out of ten would uGdoubied
~ say in this country. Bat IL IS not true
Great blowers Of our own horn as w
are, the Englshmen. and even th'
Frcnchmcn, can give us points in TIN
matter. Our business men are withOu
doubt skillful and cntcrprising in thcii
way, but as yet they are only students
Of an art in which their brethren OF Eng
land are past masters.
One Of the first things that strike ar
observing American setting foot in Liv
crpoOl is tho number. variety and inge
nuity Of street advertisements. Tho hors'
cars, or tram cars, as they call then
over there, are literally moving sigi
boards. These tram cars are two stor,
houses on wheels. Tho advertisement
cover every inch Of space, inside aud ont
which is not required for seating The
passengers. Looking upon the bcwilder
ing of proclamations Of the vir
tues Of soaps and matches and announce
ments Of current amuscments, 1t is sim
ply impossible for the stranger TO tell Tho
destination or route Of the car. Omni
buses are decorated in the saline way,
and the drivers have mud curtains, um
brcllas and waterproof coats all en-
blazoncd with advertisements.
Sandwich men" arc neither few MOI
far between. We have them here, bat
in English cities there are hundreds to
our dozens. They 60 about over there II
companies Of twenty-five, struggling in
single file along the gutters-for they arr
not allowed on the sidewalks-and when
ono company passes another the sight
has the effect Of procession OF UNI
formed men. A few years ago | crossed
the Atlantic with great American man.
ufacturcr who was going over TO teach
the Old Country how business might be
built up by novel advertising. His SOAP
had conquered the United States, and he
proposed 10 wash all England with if.
lie got 10 further than Liverpool, and
had been but one day on English sol
when he confidcd tome that although nc
had come TO teach he would stop to learn
awe do not know the alphabet Of the art
Of advertising" said he, land as 10 soap
well, hereafter ] shall substitute carry
soap TO England for the provorb carry
Goals 10 Newcastle To my mind it il
more expressive"
a railway station, whether surface OF
underground, is the paradise of the out
door advertiser. The bill poster fairly
rcvcls in the opportunity which IL af-
fords for the display Of illuminated pa
per and the painter keeps him company.
The biggest letters of all are employed
in displaying the name of the great bill
posters of the United Kingdom, and it j.
not uncommon for the stranger to mis-
take these names for the first three on
four times that he secs them for th,
names of stations. To find the latter IN
this Wilderness of signs requires eX-
pcrience rs well as keenncss of sight. Tn
general recollection of them is a confused
mingling of bright color and paint, but
now and then catchwOrd from FIRE
qucnt iteration fingers in the MUD.
One placard in flaring red and blach
letters two feet long reads, "What il
costs TO kill cat The rest of the no
iice was in much smaller type, and a
often as scanned the legend | am still
In ignorance as to what the awful pen
atty of felicide may be. | am not argu
ing in favor of this sort of Advertising
on the contrary my inclination is against
its utility 1t is an open question how
many of these railway signs are eve,
read except by the few people who are
waiting over for trains and have neither
newspaper nor books in hand for time
killing. The spaces in the tomb lik
underground pOrches ought TO be mor
valuable, since while shut into them you
are obliged to read what stares You il
the face.
| have n number Of these advertise
mcnts, together with notices to the pas
scngcrs, quite by heart. If you look all
Your compagnons de voyage they glare
back at you with an air which accuses
YOU of all sorts of evil intentions, and
rather than encounter their suspicious
or tho lurking accusation of imperti-
hence You must perforce commit &c
memory the tributes of respect to COW
slip wine and Bass ale, as well az th,
records of convictions for stealing rides
nnl nuuonlftpo pacuapoenra on ssirgl
trains" On the other hand the most
useless of the promiscuous bill sticking
would seem 10 be that on the pavement.
where all day long forlorn figures crouch
IN the slush just outside of the curb
stone FASTING bill after bill on the we
stones TO be obiterated by the feet O
the throng, scarcely one of whom pause
10 glance at the paper on which he
trcads
4 few random figures obtained from
authentic sources without a view TO pub.
lvation impress the idea Of the whole
sale way in which the British advertise.
goes about his business. William II
Smith, who is known TO the world oil
politics as the first lord of the treasury
and the Conservative leader in the hous
OF commons, and 10 the stage as Sir 10
seph Porter, X. &. b., of "H. NJ 5. Pin
afore," is also the lessee of the adyertis
ing privileges ON the railways of fh
United Kingdom. Tho income Of Nh
Smiths firm from CHS source must b
rs large as from tho newsdealing busi
ness, Of which he has the monopoly, O
as that Of Spiers & Pond from their res
taurants.
At all events. l have it from very hisf
authority that last year his advertising
privileges yielded him 81 500, 00o Thai
TO say, over seven million dollars.
would find this hard TO believe If l did
not know that my informant himself, a
soap promoter, pays Smith q Son
fl6. 900 for handling and displaying a
single advertisement. Willing and Part |
ington divide the bill posting business Of
London between them. Each began life |
with brush in one hand and a paste pot |