Download PT Barnum and Patent Medicine: The Art of Deceptive Advertising - Prof. Lucinda J. Atkinso and more Study notes Banking Law and Practice in PDF only on Docsity! Advertisement Notes September 3, 2010 Advertising flourishes… -Regulation? What are the limits? -humbug, or hype (PT Barnum embodied) -Patent medicine pt barnum -considered king of hype -curiosity poster - 81 year old woman who was claimed to be there at Abraham Lincoln’s birth -sells show as greatest show on earth -known as having circus sideshow of freaks -father of outlandish claims to bring in consumers PT Barnum -started out working in general store and realized that the stories behind products were what sold. What differentiated products was salesmanship. Wasn’t product you sold, but what you said about it. -Advertising=value added -selling a dream (when selling ticket, example for lottery, you are selling the dream of maybe winning a million dollars) -“you drink the advertising right along with the beer.” (you sell story behind product, added value) -“the people like to be humbugged.” (people like to be part of experience and story of products) -traveled around country with circus, freak show famous attractions: Siamese twins chang and an monkey sewn onto fish Anna Swan (giant) Kernal Topsung (little person) -at one point, thought as the most famous man in world. PT Barnum -Tapped into important cultural values and norms -redemption and consumption -called “Greatest show on earth,” allusion to heaven. -tried to convey to people that coming to shows was a way of getting closer to God, redemption -some people thought what he did was eating out at religion -Event advertising -building excitement -made circus huge event, comparable to major holidays. -sent people out in advance to spread word about events -Exploiting New Media -used railcars as a form of advertising, painted barns, sent people out in a means of public relations Patent medicine advertising took this even further Patent Medicine -Mix of herbs and intoxicating substances (often alcohol, opium, morphine, and coicane) -Patent “patent of royal flaws” -Late 1800s -75 million in annual sales -1/3 of revenue for American publisher’s generated from patent medicine ads -Reasons for popularity -Addiction (“soldier’s disease”) -heavy advertising -lack of effective medicinal alternative Patent Medicine’s legacy -Deceptive Advertising -claims that are factually false or convey a false impression -not to be confused with puffery (ie. “the best pizza in the world”) Patent Medicine -journalists around the turn of the century -1905: “the great American fraud” -expose of dangerous sides of patent medicine, claims were outlandish. -1906: Pure Food and Drug Act -didn’t ban use of opium/alcohol, all it said was you have to label products. Helped draw advertisers back in terms of outlandish claims. -1936: act revised -when dangerous drugs were banned -Focus shifted: -personal care items, ie. Shampoo and deodorant -nutritional supplements, ie weight loss ads Patent medicine’s legacy -Deceptive Advertising -claims that are factually false or convey a false impression -not to be confused with puffery (ie the best pizza in the world) -Alternative Advertising -trade cars (popularized use of chromos) -barns, fences, rocks -medicine shows -Branding -brand differentiation was key
