The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-25
THE ART OF ADVERTISING.


Of the millions of people who read the
daily papers published in the United
States, from New York to Indianapolis and
from Indianapolis to San Francisco, a very
large majority give more or less time to
reading the advertisements Some do this
because they wish to find particular thing
or are interested in some particular line of
business; others because their eye is caught
by a good display; others to see how bust
ness is; others in search of bargains, ard
so on. The regular patrons of paper, its
home readers, read the advertisements al
most as regularly as they do any other part
of the paper, and if regularly followed up
they are good picture and reflex of the
times. "A daily newspaper without it's reg
ular grist of advertisements changing ev-
cry day in the year and giving with every
change Kaleidoscope view of trade with
it's reflected lights of social life, would be
very poor sort of paper.
The evolution of the art of advertising is
as interesting as that of any other feature
Of modern life In the infancy of the bust
ness there was no art about it and not
much business. It's value was not appreci-
ated either by advertisers or publishers
and probably it had not as much value in
former times relatively as it has now, be-
cause it took time for people to become
educated up to reading advertisements as
they do now. One reason why they are so
much more read now than formerly is that
they are so much more readable. They are
not only better worded but fresher and,
being changed so much oftener, are much
more a reflex of the times. A badly worded
advertisement is almost as bad as none at
ALL and stale advertisement one that
shows on it's face that it is out of date, is
as offensive to readers as it should be to
publishers and advertisers. To be effective
an advertisement should be we'll construct
ed, adroitly worded, right to the point and
changed as often possible. No doubt one
reason of the great growth of advertising
in recent years is that business men, hay
ing learned to appreciate it's value. are
more careful than they used to be in keep
ing faith with the public and living up to
their advertisements. In these days of
sharp competition a merchant who should
break faith with the public by advertising
one thing or one price and offering another
would soon find the public letting him Sc
verely alone. A shrewd advertiser would
almost as soon let his note go to protest as
not to live up to his advertisement. Shrewd
advertisers, too, look carefully to the word
ing of their advertisements. and if no one
in the establishment is. skilled in that di-
rection they hire somebody else to do it,
In all cities now there are professional
writers of advertisements, who do nothing
else and receive large salaries. The bust
ness has grown enormously in every direc-
ton, giving employment to a. great many
people, maintaining large and costly agen-
cies, and involving the expenditure of hun
dreds of millions of dollars annually. The
art of advertising has been progressive
from the beginning. 1t has never expert
enced any check-except bank checks-and
it is as expansive and progressive to-day as
it ever was. This is the best possible proof
that it pays.