Over the past 50 years the advertising industry has gone through many drastic changes. First of all during that time period women’s roles in the industry were much different than they are today. The advertising industry had been a male dominated profession in the 1960’s and it wasn’t until the 1980’s that that real changes began to take place. In today’s society women have been able to crack through the glass ceiling and occupy more senior positions in agencies. Another major difference between advertising in the 1960’s and advertising today is the ownership. In the 1960’s there weren’t any major agencies that were publicly owned. This resulted in a more chaotic environment with less accountability on the part of the advertising executives.
In terms of technology 50 years ago there were less mediums for consumers to receive advertising messages from. The additional mediums that are available today allow for the delivery of a more consistent message to the consumer. The 1960’s were known as the “Golden Age” of the advertising industry since the growth of television increased agency billings to around $6 billion dollars. Today the media aspect of advertising has become increasingly more important as more digital platforms are becoming available. The industry is highly influenced by the digital advancements in terms of the Internet and mobile devices.
Today there is also more knowledge about the psychological needs of the consumer due to the increase in market research being done. This change has allowed for the agencies of this era to be more successful in understanding how to create effective advertising that sells products. The industry is also more competitive today than it has ever been due to the recent recession in which many individuals in the industry lost their jobs.
There were also many differences between the campaigns back in the 1960’s and the campaigns of today. Many of the print advertisements were done in illustrations 50 years ago due to the lack of more advanced technology. This lack of technology also reduced the production quality of television commercials. Both print and television spots were often done in black and white. The radio was also a more significant medium that was used during that time period.
Advertising industry icons 50 years ago such as Bill Bernbach (responsible for the famed Volkswagen campaign) and Mary Wells (worked on the legendary I <3 New York campaign) forever changed the advertising landscape with their innate sense of creativity and deep understanding of the consumer. Today it is individuals like Bob Greenberg the CEO of the top digital agency R/GA and Irwin Gotlieb the powerhouse media buyer and CEO of GroupM who are some of the most influential people in the industry. Both are known for their innovative work in pioneering new ways of reaching consumers through advancements in technology.
Although there have been many changes to the world of advertising over the past 50 years the one thing that remains the same is the passion the people in the industry have for their craft.
