From Brothels to Olive Oil: 10 Great Antique Advertising Examples That Make You Smile Today

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Advertising is the scourge of the modern world. Every day she becomes more intelligent and intrusive. Ads on the Internet follow a person across various sites, and sometimes even refer to him by name. However, advertisements are by no means a modern invention. Ancient marketers also knew how to lure customers.

1. Brothels in Pompeii

Surely everyone hates it: there is a long line at a fast food restaurant, and people at the checkout still have not decided, they want it. Brothel owners in the Roman city of Pompeii clearly faced a similar problem. They have created pictures of people in different positions and different types of pleasures so that clients can decide what they want from the variety of services offered. The Romans were far less sanctimonious than most modern societies when it came to bed.

Brothels did not hide at all, but publicly advertised their "goods" and services. Graffiti murals were also found throughout the city that served as advertisements for various sexual services. Along with large establishments, sex could be bought on the streets. Graffiti left all over the city directed people to where the best prostitutes and brothels could be found.

2. Politics of Pompeii

Prostitution is considered the oldest profession in the world. But another profession can compete with her in this. It's about politics. The politician must sell himself to the public as hard as any brothel dweller, and in Pompeii they used many brothel-like tactics. Local aediles and duumvirs advertised themselves with graffiti.

For example, such inscriptions have survived as "Neighbors beg you to elect Lucius Statius Recipe to the position of duumvir, because he is a worthy person." The ad, written in big black caps, was hard to miss. The general formula for these ads was to declare that someone supports a certain candidate, and everyone needs to do that too.

3. Greek pottery

Classical Greek pottery is often decorated with red or black figures. The stylized movements of the characters make them appear alive as the pot rotates. Artists signed many pots, as their names undoubtedly helped sell these items to collectors in the same way that Monet's works are snapped up today.

Signatures were their own form of advertising. One potter named Euthymedes wrote on his vase how much better his work was than one of his competitors. He inscribed “better than Euphronius could ever have done” on one of his vases. Sometimes, however, the artistic skill was not enough to guarantee a sale. There is a jug in the Louvre which depicts two men leading horses.

It would seem a pretty cute little thing. But obviously people were in no hurry to buy it, because the jug also has a funny text, which the Louvre considers one of the first advertising slogans. The potter wrote: "Buy me and you get a great deal."

4. Jinan Liu Fine Needle Store

Print has changed the world and especially the world of advertising. Flyers and posters have become a practical way for the company to spread good news about its products. It would seem that printing has recently become a marketing tool. But a thousand years ago in China, a company appears to have been an early progenitor of this practice. Jinan Liu made good needles and he wanted everyone to know about them.

“We buy high quality steel rods and make high quality needles from them that are ready to use at home in no time,” reads the ad text. There was another innovation on this ad. There is a picture of a rabbit holding a needle above the text. That is, it is the earliest mascot for the brand. The ad was engraved on a copper plate to be printed on paper.

5. Coins

The ideal advertisement is the ubiquitous one that leaves its message in the mind of the client without realizing it. One way to do this is to place an ad at a facility that is used every day. Coins have long been a tool of advertising, and they still exist today. British coins bear the inscription "ELIZABETH II DG REG FD", which means "Elizabeth II, Dei gratia regina fidei defensor" or "Elizabeth II, by God's grace, the protector of the faith."

Ancient coins were also often used to advertise the importance of a person. Julius Caesar ordered the minting of his profile on Roman coins, after which he used them to proclaim his origin from the goddess Venus. His killer Brutus also used coins as propaganda. Almost all emperors did this. At a time when the people were illiterate, one picture on a coin could be worth much more than a thousand words written.

6. Stamped bricks

Mesopotamia, the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in modern-day Iraq, was home to one of the earliest civilizations. Almost all the buildings here were made of mud bricks, not stone. These bricks offered a powerful advertising opportunity. Over 4000 years ago, bricks used in construction had a specific text written in cuneiform.

This was usually the name of the ruler. When King Nebuchadnezzar turned Babylon from a market city into an empire's capital, he made sure that people remember his deed forever by building Babylon with buildings made of his "trademark" bricks. Each of them bore the inscription: "Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who built Esagila and Ezida, the eldest son of Nabopalasar, king of Babylon." However, these bricks only provided advertisements to the builders, as they were placed inside with the inscriptions.

When Saddam Hussein rebuilt the ruins of Babylon, he went even further than Nebuchadnezzar. On the bricks used in the reconstruction, he wrote: "Saddam Hussein, defender of Iraq, rebuilt civilization and rebuilt Babylon." This time the inscription was visible to everyone. After the fall of Saddam, all the bricks were removed.

7. Sponsoring games

Big sports are big money. Thousands, even millions, of spectators watch any major sporting event. Any advertisement placed on them will definitely be noticed. And you can even sponsor the entire game and then everyone will know about the advertiser. But game sponsorship is not a modern invention. Sports as advertising and propaganda was used even in the bloody gladiatorial duels of the Romans.

There was a large amphitheater in Pompeii, where gladiator performances were often held. Once after the riot, games were banned. After the Senate allowed them to be held again, the games were used for political purposes. Advertisements on the walls of the amphitheater said who was paying for the next games.

8. Amphora

Amphorae were large pottery vessels that were used to transport and store goods in the Greek and Roman worlds. The amphora was often stamped so that the buyer knew the exact origin of the product inside. However, many prints were a form of advertising. In Pompeii, archaeologists have found jars of garum (fish sauce made from fermented fish) with the stamps “First-class garum from the Umbricius Abascantus factory” and “Garum from the factory of Mark Assel Telemachus”.

Olive oil was one of the most important foods of the ancient world. It was used both in food and as a fuel for lamps, in medicine and for cleaning the body. Naturally, people were looking for better quality oil. Many amphorae from the province of Betica in Spain that contained olive oil have been found with stamps showing the origin of the oil.

9. Runaway Slaves

When a dog or cat is lost, it is common to see advertisements posted so that other people can help find and return the animal. In the ancient world, slaves were in the same position as pets today. In the event of the escape of the slave, the slave owner wanted his property back, so he reported his loss.

Messages were written on the walls describing the fugitive slave and details of the reward for his capture. In other ancient places, there were different ways of spreading news of fugitive slaves. In Egypt, pieces of papyrus were found with notification of the escape of slaves. One announcement promised a reward for those who would bring the fugitive slave back to the army barracks.

10. Ancient alcohol

People like to get drunk, so alcohol advertising should be light. People are said to have abandoned their former hunter-gatherer lifestyle in order to be able to brew alcohol. The oldest ad in the world is supposedly a Mesopotamian beer ad. Alan D. Eames, who calls himself a "beer anthropologist," found a plaque depicting a large-breasted woman holding jugs of ale. Next to the image claimed to be the inscription: "Drink Elba, beer with a lion's heart."

Unfortunately, there was no photographic evidence of this find. However, not all ads are conveyed through images or text. Word of mouth is arguably the oldest form of advertising. Falernian wine is a good example. Poets wrote about the delights of this wine. Marcial claimed that it was a drink that can be served to Zeus himself. He developed a whole myth around the creation of this wine, which was supposedly a divine gift from the god Bacchus.