GOING GLOBAL: HOW TO JOIN THE SECOND MAJOR REVOLUTION IN ADVERTISING

Abstract

The Two Revolutions in Advertising. Dr. Shoop's Restorative was a patent medicine sold around the turn of the century. It allegedly cured shingles, rickets, the grippe, the vapors, neuritis, and neuralgia. It also changed the course of advertising. One day in 1904 a couple of young ad men, Ambrose Thomas and Albert Lasker, were sitting in their Chicago offices when a messenger arrived with a note. “I am downstairs at the saloon,” it said, “and I can tell you what advertising is.” When Thomas and Lasker went down to investigate, they found an imposing fellow named John E. Kennedy, a former member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who had more recently been employed as a copywriter for Dr. Shoop's Restorative. Several hours and many drinks later, they hired Kennedy at a salary of $28,000 a year—fantastic money in those days. But Kennedy eventually made them very rich, and his concept made advertising the $170 billion global industry it is today.

Citation

Jordan, R.O. (1988), "GOING GLOBAL: HOW TO JOIN THE SECOND MAJOR REVOLUTION IN ADVERTISING", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 65-70. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb024727