History of Advertising.

After discovering the diamond industry used a concentrated twenty to thirty year advertising campaign to  , I wondered how long advertising has been around.  Its something we see in print, on the television, or hear via the radio.  Its what is used to finance these businesses but how or when did it all start?

Someone said there has been advertisements as long as people have had something to sell but its rather difficult to find information on it from a long time ago.  What I do know is that the first advertisement published in a newspaper in the United States occurred back in 1704, when a real estate ad appeared in the Boston Letter-News.

The Boston Letter-News started publishing on April 24, 1704 as a one page weekly paper filled with British News. The local postmaster published the paper.

In 1742, The General Magazine published by Benjemin Franklin carried the first magazine ads here.  Over the next few years, more print avenues began publishing and newspapers soon went daily instead of weekly.  By 1843, the first advertising agency opened in Philadelphia and by 1873 enough advertising agencies had opened to hold their first convention in New York City.

Advertising had made enough strides for a department store to hire its first copywriter in 1880. Two years later, Ivory soap began the largest advertising budget ever.  A whole $11,000.  Print advertising continued growing over the following years but when radio began, a new media for advertising opened up.  In 1922 a New York City radio station offered 10 minutes of radio time for $100 and a real estate company took them up on the offer thus becoming the first advertisers via this medium.

Two years later companies began sponsoring radio programs as a way to increase their advertising reach. Unfortunately, the depression forced many companies to decrease their budgets. By the end of the 1930's, television is making its appearance in the landscape on the east coast.  In 1941, the first television ad hit the air during the opening and closing times of a New York station.  The ad?  a 60 second spot showing a ticking watch to all 7,500 viewers. 

Fast forward to 1954 when CBS became known for being the largest advertising medium.  Two years later, advertisements went from live to prerecorded so all advertisements could be created in advance and shown.  At the same time, companies began creating "images" associated with products as a way of making people feel a connection.  One of the more famous ones is the Marlboro Man, a cowboy who showed that real men smoked and it wasn't just a women's thing.

Since its introduction in 1994, the internet has changed the face of advertising with banners, ad sense, etc.  Companies began using the World Wide Web for advertising in 1997.  The internet has changed the way companies advertise because there are social media sites, blogs, companies, etc. 

Advertising has come a long way since the first ad appeared in the United States back in 1704.  Let me know what you think.

Are Diamonds a Girls Best Friend?

  My father talks about his actress from when he was younger.  A lady who was known for performing the song about diamonds being a girls best friend.  So I wondered if that song is true.  Are diamonds a girls best friend?

Its only been in the last 50 years or so that diamonds have become a regular part of societal acceptance.  Up until about 1870, only a few pounds of diamonds were produced each year but then, someone made a huge discovery of raw diamonds.


This discovery caused diamonds to become more plentiful and to avoid protect prices and production, mine financiers formed a single corporation known as De Beers.  This new entity protected both diamond production and pricing due to having a monopoly.  Now they had control, the next step was to convince people they wanted, no needed to have diamonds.

So in the 1930's, De Beers met with a New York city advertising company to create a campaign designed to create that desire for people to have to own diamonds.  The main suggestion?  To use the rapidly growing film industry by backing films willing to create a story line which included a diamond ring, add a song or two to a musical,  or have the female character flash her diamond ring and necklace.

In addition, they paid to have fashion designers appear on radio shows to discuss the sparkling of the gem.  The company pushed both newspapers and magazines to increase the number of pictures with popular actresses sporting diamonds.  During the 1940's they hosted a series of lectures held in high schools, community halls, etc to talk about the diamond engagement ring.  They hoped this would help build desire for the consumption of diamonds.

By the 1950's the idea of a diamond engagement ring had become part of the culture.  It was considered the perfect item to show the world a boy and girl were now engaged. but De Beers didn't stop there.  In the 1960's they turned their sights towards Japan where only five percent of women wore diamond engagement rings.  By the mid 1970's, almost 50 percent of the female population wanted diamond rings.

So now the diamond has a connection to love.  If a man really loves a woman, he will make sure she has the biggest diamond he can get to "show" his love.   If he doesn't present her with a diamond, its obvious he doesn't really love her, or at least according to the advertising.  If you watch commercials around Valentines day, you'll see an increased number flooding the airwaves as a way of showing your love.

I do not own any diamonds, mostly because they've never appealed to me.  I prefer rubies, emeralds, amethyst or other colored gem because they seem so much warmer.  Diamonds feel too cold.

Let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

Better Than Mud.

Diamonds and Girls

The History of Tanning.

  It's only been in recent history that the tanned look has become both acceptable and popular.  In the past, high class women worked hard to keep a pale skin because having tanned skin meant you were of a much lower class.

Up until the early 1900's the wealthier women protected their skin with parasols, hats, and and gloves.  In 1903, a physician recommended people be exposed to sunlight to treat rickets and tuberculosis. He won a Nobel prize for this therapy and it opened peoples minds to enjoying the sun for health purposes.

However, the idea of getting a tan did not really have much popularity until women's clothing became less restrictive and shorter.  Apparently, french beach resorts began staying open during summers in 1923 which allowed the wealthy to sunbath and glow.  It is said that when Coco Chanel sunburned that same year, she began a movement where more people went sunbathing. 

By 1929, this movement created the rise in the production of bathing suits with new styles, cosmetics and clothing all designed so showoff one's beautiful tan. The first tanning oil was released in 1928, followed by a UV filtering tanning oil in 1935.  The Coppertone sunblock was invented and released in the 1940's but did not become popular until a campaign in the 1950's.  

In addition, the creation of the bikini opened up more skin to be tanned and the dark hued tan became acceptable due to Ursula Andress's appearance in the James Bond Movies in 1962.  Even the Barbie doll joined the sun kissed skin look with the release of the Malibu Barbie in 1971. She had bleached blonde hair and a dark tanned skin.  By 1978, the first tanning bed made its appearance in the United States.

Did you know, sunless tanning lotions have been around since 1929 but the original ones were nothing more than a body make up.  In the 1950's a medical researcher discovered a compound which stained patients skin but not their clothing.  This compound because an ingredient in all those quick tanning lotions that gave a tan without sitting in the sun.

Unfortunately, even now, most people want a tan to appear healthy and happy but in exposing themselves to the sun, they are exposing themselves to potential issues including skin that looks aged and appears like a road map.  I think I was about 20 when I realized the term "tanning" also meant treating an animals skin and that is what we try to do to our skin when we go out in the sun without protection.

Let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear.  Have a great weekend.

History of the Bikini.

  I've been reading up on the retro look and in the process, my curiosity about regarding the bikini exploded.  Its been around for as long as I've been buying swim wear but I've never actually worn one, even though I own two. 

There is a bit of history behind the creation of the bikini I never realized.  For the most part bathing suits covered a woman's body in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Although the first form fitting one piece bathing for women emerged in 1907, it would be several years before a woman could wear one without being arrested. 

The two piece started making its appearance in the 1930's but it consisted of a top and bottom with little skin being shown.   Due to the rationing of materials during World War II, fashion houses started pushing two piece bathing suits because they used less fabric and showed more skin than before.  These creations sparked the imagination of two Frenchman.

 One was a fashion designer who released his around July 1, 1946, calling it the atom but the other an engineer, released his version on July 5, 1946, four days after the bomb exploded on Bikini Atoll. His creation used only 30 inches of fabric and was the smallest  suit of the time.  It consisted of a bra and two inverted triangles held together with a string.

He named his creation the bikini after the United States nuclear tests on the Bikini atoll.  He hoped his new fashion would explode like the bomb.  Unfortunately, he could not get regular models to wear it but he hired a nude model who premiered it on July 11, 1946.  In some of the initial pictures she held a matchbox.  One of it's selling points is that the whole suit could fit in a matchbox.

The bikini was banned at beauty pageants after it was worn at the first Miss World contest in London back in 1951.  Pretty soon several other countries was banned.  In fact, the Vatican declared bikinis to be sinful.  Bridget Bardot did much for popularizing bikinis beginning in 1953.   In 1962, the bikini got another shot of publicity when Ursula Andress stepped out of the ocean in her homemade suit in a James Bond Movie. 

The bikini slowly came to America in the 1960's with the release of a series of beach blanket movies whose women lived in bikini's.  These main stream movies along with actresses who wore bikini's to become acceptable in public.

 In addition, Sports Illustrated published its first every swimsuit issue in 1964 with a bikini clad model.  The story is that the publisher of the magazine needed something to fill space during the winter months, so he asked a fashion reporter for help and the rest is history.

It has been fascinating learning about the history of the bikini.  I hope you enjoyed reading this. 

The Retro Look

  I've started seeing more and more women adopting a retro look reminiscent of the 40's and 50's.  Over the summer, I ran into a young woman at the farmers market who looked as if she'd stepped out of a picture with her retro shorts outfit, bandana wrapped hair with bright red curled bangs peeking out.

At a Barnes and Nobel, I saw one of the store employees in a suit with long straight black hair, her bangs rolled and bright red lipstick.  Even one of the young ladies in my family has adopted the look, complete with glasses that look great not ugly.

I even discovered a magazine for those who like the retro look complete with clothing, style tips and other great topics for anyone who wants to achieve the look. 

I suspect its a way to bring back the glamour that has disappeared from society.  Most of the females I've seen, even in most women's magazines do not have the same level of elegance as those with the retro look.  If you watch the old movies with Audrey Hepburn, Kathryn, Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and other women from the films, they always had that wonderful look filled with a "I know what I want" look.

I sometimes with, I could manage to look so elegant as they do but unfortunately that takes a lot of practice which I do not have time for.  Beside, my hair is rather long and has a mind of its own.  This past summer, I checked out You tube and found several videos designed to show women with longer hair a way to create hairstyles from the teens, 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's.  Unfortunately, my hair is much longer than the women who created the videos.  Its down to the bottom of my rear.

The only style I managed over the summer was a head full of ringlets created using finger curls for a performance I had this summer.  My hair does ringlets quite well since its naturally curly but for more modern styles, its extremely hard to tame it into shape.  I tried a modified 30's look and a modified 50's look but I have so much hair, its weight kept causing the rolls to slip.

In addition, I don't wear heels enough to survive them more than a couple of hours at most.  I love the look of heels but I haven't figure out how to balance I weight on them.  Instead, I clump on them sounding like an elephant rather than a woman. I also haven't figure out how to apply makeup without looking a child playing with her mother's stuff.

Oh well.  Even when I dress up for a fancy evening out, I never look put together, no matter how hard I try.  I can practice.  I can buy book after book on the topic.  I can go step by step through a video and just not look right.  I even had someone ask me to describe my style.  My answer?  "Comfortable"  I didn't say it was because I couldn't figure out how to create my own style. 

I hope I didn't bore you with a bit about myself.  I know there are others out there who just don't seem to "get the look together".  Let me know what you think.  Have a great day.