Candidates, consumers and closers: Albert Lasker, advertising and politics, 1900-1920.

摘要

Modern advertising moved into the 20th century borne on many vehicles and distinguished by many techniques. Three of the most often used advertising techniques were "reason why" advertising, which compared similar products and gave consumers hard-headed, no-nonsense reasons why they should buy a certain product; testimonials, which featured celebrity endorsements; and preemptive claims, which touted a quality or process common to similarly produced products as being unique only to that brand. Albert Davis Lasker, president of the Lord and Thomas advertising agency of Chicago, championed all three advertising techniques in the early 20th century, although he was best known for his work in promoting the "reason why" style. He helped clients such as Van Camp's Pork and Beans, Lucky Strike cigarettes, and Sunkist Oranges become business success stories. Lasker also worked in the political arena, helping the Republican Party gain control of the U.S. Congress in 1918, and then the Presidency in 1920. Lasker's work on behalf of Warren Harding, in particular, represented a fusion of modern advertising techniques, technology, and political practices in such a way as to set a standard for others in the new field of political advertising to follow.