If you think advertising started with Don Draper drinking old fashioneds in a Madison Avenue office, you're off by about three millennia. Honestly, humans have been trying to sell stuff to each other since we lived in huts. The question of when did ad begin doesn't have one clean answer because it depends on what you call an "ad." Is it a shout in a crowded market? Is it a carved stone? Or is it a digital pixel?
History is littered with people trying to get an edge.
Back in ancient Egypt, things were surprisingly sophisticated. Archaeologists found a papyrus from around 3000 BCE in the ruins of Thebes. It wasn't a poem or a law. It was a "lost and found" notice for a runaway slave named Shem. The owner, a fabric weaver named Hapu, offered a reward for Shem’s return. But Hapu was clever. He tucked a little plug for his shop into the notice, mentioning that he wove "the most beautiful fabrics to the taste of each one." That’s a call to action. That’s a value proposition. That is exactly where the concept of the ad really starts to breathe.
The Ancient World Was Basically a Giant Billboard
Walking through Pompeii before the volcano hit would have felt weirdly familiar. The walls weren't just stone; they were covered in "dipinti." These were messages painted directly onto the walls of buildings. Political candidates begged for votes. Tavern owners promised the coldest wine. Gladiatorial games were hyped up with flashy red and black paint.
It was chaotic. It was loud.
In ancient Greece, they didn't have paper to waste, so they used "town criers." These men were the human version of a radio spot. They walked the streets of Athens, accompanied by musicians to get everyone's attention, and shouted out news and advertisements for merchant ships coming into port. If you’ve ever been annoyed by a YouTube unskippable ad, imagine a guy with a lyre following you down the street shouting about olive oil prices.
China took a different route during the Song Dynasty. We have physical evidence of the first printed commercial advertisement—a copper printing plate used to make posters for "Jinan Liu’s Fine Needle Shop." It featured a logo of a white rabbit holding a needle and told shoppers to "identify the white rabbit in front of our shop as a mark."
Branding wasn't invented by Nike. It was invented by a needle maker in the 10th century who didn't want people buying cheap knockoffs.
The Gutenberg Reset
When Johannes Gutenberg dropped the printing press in the mid-1400s, everything broke. Before this, an ad was a one-off. It was a sign or a shout. But the press allowed for "handbills." These were the ancestors of those annoying flyers people stick under your windshield wipers.
The first printed ad in English appeared in 1477. William Caxton, a pioneer of the English press, printed a small sheet to sell a "Sarun Ordinal," which was basically a manual for priests. He didn't just list the price; he told people exactly where to find him: "at the almonry at the westminster."
Efficiency started to win.
By the 1600s, newspapers began to pop up in London and Paris. At first, they were just news. But by 1650, the Mercurius Politicus started running ads for products. What were they selling? Mostly quack medicine and "new" drinks like coffee, chocolate, and tea. People were terrified of these new beverages. One ad from 1652 tried to convince Londoners that coffee was a "wholesome" drink that could cure everything from "spleen" to "dropsy."
Marketing has always been about solving a fear or a desire. Usually both at once.
The Industrial Revolution and the Birth of "The Brand"
The 1800s changed the game. Before this, you bought soap from a local guy who made it in a vat. It didn't have a name. It was just... soap.
But then factories happened. Suddenly, Pears Soap and Ivory Soap were being produced in massive quantities. These companies couldn't just rely on local reputations. They had to create a "brand." This is when did ad begin to look like the psychological warfare we see today.
Thomas J. Barratt, who worked for Pears, is often called the father of modern advertising. He did things that would make a modern influencer jealous. He bought famous paintings and edited the Pears logo into them. He even imported French coins, stamped "Pears" on them, and put them back into circulation.
It was illegal, but it worked.
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The 19th century also gave us the "Ad Agency." Volney B. Palmer opened the first one in Philadelphia in 1841. He wasn't a creative genius; he was a middleman. He bought bulk space in newspapers and sold it to companies at a markup. He didn't write the copy; he just owned the real estate.
The Golden Age of Manipulation
Radio changed the frequency. In 1922, WEAF in New York aired the first "toll broadcast." It was a 10-minute talk by the Queensboro Corporation about a new apartment complex. It cost $100. People hated it at first. They thought the "sanctity of the home" was being invaded by salesmen.
But we got used to it. We always do.
Television took that invasion and added pictures. The first TV ad aired in the US on July 1, 1941. It was for Bulova watches. It lasted 10 seconds and showed a map of the United States with a watch face on it. It cost $9.
Compare that to a Super Bowl spot today.
The 1950s and 60s—the "Mad Men" era—is when advertising stopped being about the product and started being about you. It wasn't about the car's engine; it was about how the car made you feel. David Ogilvy, the legendary ad man, famously said, "The consumer is not a moron; she is your wife." He pushed for research and intelligence. Meanwhile, Bill Bernbach at DDB was making the "Think Small" ads for Volkswagen, using self-deprecation and minimalism to sell a car that looked like a bug.
It was a total pivot from the loud, screaming ads of the past.
The Digital Explosion
Then came the internet. 1994. The first banner ad appeared on HotWired (now Wired). It was for AT&T. It said, "Have you ever clicked your mouse right here? YOU WILL."
About 44% of the people who saw it actually clicked it. Today, a 0.1% click-through rate is considered "fine." We became blind to the noise.
Google changed everything in 2000 with AdWords. They realized that the most valuable thing wasn't a billboard on a highway, but an ad that answered a question. If you search for "best running shoes," and I show you an ad for running shoes, I’m not interrupting you—I’m helping you. Or at least, that’s the pitch.
Now, we’re in the era of programmatic ads and AI. Algorithms know you’re pregnant before your parents do. They know you’re thinking about a vacation because you hovered over a photo for 1.2 seconds too long.
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What Most People Get Wrong About History
People think advertising is a modern corruption. It’s not. It’s a fundamental human behavior. Whenever there is a surplus of goods and a need for exchange, there is advertising.
The core mechanics haven't changed since Hapu the Weaver in Egypt:
- The Hook: "I have the best fabrics."
- The Proof: "The white rabbit mark."
- The Urgency: "Only $9 for a Bulova watch."
The only thing that changes is the medium. We went from rocks to papyrus, to paper, to radio waves, to light-emitting diodes.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Era
If you’re trying to navigate this landscape today, whether as a consumer or a business owner, remember these three things:
- Trust is the oldest currency. The reason Jinan Liu used a white rabbit logo 1,000 years ago was because people trusted the mark. In a world of AI-generated junk, a real human brand is more valuable than ever.
- Context is everything. The "Think Small" ad worked because everyone else was thinking big. Standing out isn't about being louder; it's about being different from the surrounding noise.
- The "When" doesn't matter as much as the "Why." Ads began because someone had something to offer. If you don't have a genuine offer, no amount of modern tech will save you.
Advertising didn't start with a boardroom. It started with a guy in a market shouting about his fish. It’s just that today, the market is the entire planet, and the "shout" is a targeted data point.
Next Steps for Your Research:
To see this evolution in person, look up the British Museum's collection of Roman artifacts to see original shop signs, or research David Ogilvy’s "Confessions of an Advertising Man" to understand the psychological shift that happened in the 1960s. For a look at the future, study the rise of Zero-Party Data, which is how brands are trying to advertise in a world where privacy laws are finally catching up to the tech.