Advertising postcard

Definition

An advertising postcard is a privately, commercially produced, rectangular piece of stiff paper (typically 3.5 X 5.5 inches, or 148mm x 105mm in Europe) printed in a form that is easy to send through the post and is designed to carry promotional messages of products or services.

Brief history

From the 18th century, trade cards were used by businesses to promote a wide variety of goods and services.Berg, M. and Clifford, H., "Selling Consumption in the Eighteenth Century Advertising and the Trade Card in Britain and France," The Journal of the Social History Society, Volume 4, No. 2, 2007 Commercial 18th century publishing houses not only printed cards, but also assisted local business with their distribution. These trade cards were the precursor to the modern advertising postcard. By the late 19th century many well-known companies used trade cards as a form of promotion including: Colgate & Palmolive, Van Houten's cocoa, Clark's spool cotton, Tarrant's seltzer as well as many cigarette companies, sporting clubs and celebrities. These advertising postcards were also used for propaganda.

These popularity of trade cards continued until well after the first world war, but began to wane with the introduction of commercial radio broadcasting in the 1920s due to advertisers' preferences for the immediacy of radio as a means of reaching mass audiences in a cost efficient manner. However, in the 1990s, advertising postcards regained some of their former popularity. Advertisers began to resurrect them as part of an overall integrated media strategy designed to reach highly mobile and 'hard-to-reach' youth markets.

Trade cards and advertising postcards through the ages Image:Christopher Gibson's upholstery shop (trade card).jpg|A trade card for a furniture retailer and upholsterer, 1730-1742, V & A Museum File:Trade card of Thomas Jeffreys 1750.jpg|Trade card of Thomas Jeffreys, 1750 File:Trade Card, Trade Card- Advertisement, ca. 1750 (CH 18438743).jpg|Trade Cards operated as advertising in the 18th century, Retail trade card, c. 1750 File:Georgia Cayvan - cigarette card c 1882.jpg|Cigarette card featuring the popular actress, Georgia Cayvan, c 1882 File:1884 - Jeremiah M Grimley Carpets - Trade Card 1.jpg|Retail trade card for Jeremiah M Grimley, c. 1884 File:1891 - Miller & Hutchinson - Trade Card.jpg|Trade card for Miller & Hutchinson, piano, organ and musical instrument dealers, 1891 File:Erie Railroad trade card.JPG|Erie Railroad trade card, before 1900 File:Ogden's Cigarette Card of jockey Elijah Wheatley.png|Ogden's cigarette card featuring jockey, Elijah Wheatley, c.1905 File:Fordham baseball card c. 1910.jpg|Fordham baseball card c. 1910 File:PostcardAdvertisingHappyDayWashingMachineCirca1910.jpg|The Happy Day washing machine, 1910 File:Aspiotis να.jpg|Ilion Palace Hotel in Athens, Greece, c. 1910 File:London. Royalty Theatre. Advertising postcard. 1912.jpg|Royalty Theatre, London, 1912 File:PostcardToledoWillysOverlandFactoryAerial1915.jpg|Willy's Overland Factory, Toledo, Ohio, 1915

File:BradmanCigCard.jpg|Players' Cigarette Card featuring Australian batsman, Donald Bradman, 1930s

Types

While there are many different types of postcards, there are two broad types - those that are mailed to customers, possibly names drawn from a mailing list, and those that are distributed directly.

Direct-mail

Though postcards have traditionally always been rectangular in shape, some postal authorities, such as Canada Post Corporation, may allow non-rectangular shaped cards to be mailed. This has given rise to new marketing concepts such as round postcards or cards specifically die cut to match the theme of a particular campaign.

Direct distribution

Advertising postcards are usually distributed by display on stands with patrons being encouraged to take them for free. These stands are typically situated in high traffic areas such as shopping malls, university campuses, public transport hubs and entertainment venues.

Popular culture

Advertising postcards have been very popular with collectors since their inception in the 18th and 19th centuries. They straddle the boundary between "low art" and "high art" One scholar has described the 19th century penchant for collecting postcards as a "mania." Scholars have recently become interested in studying trade cards and advertising postcards as a means of understanding the emergent commercialization of consumption in the 18th century.

References

References

1. "Postcard Guidelines".
2. Bogdan, R., ''Real Photo Postcard Guide: The People's Photo Postcard Guide,''N.Y., Syracuse University Press, 2007, p. 5
3. Raven, J., ''Publishing Business in Eighteenth-century England,'' Boydell & Brewer, 2014, p. 113
4. Berg, M. and Clifford, H., "Selling Consumption in the Eighteenth Century: Advertising and the Trade Card in Britain and France," ''Cultural & Social History,'' Vol. 4, 2007 pp 145–170
5. Wilson, J. ''Propaganda Postcards of the Luftwaffe,'' Barnsley, South Yorkshire, Pen & Sword Publications, 2007
6. "From Their Perspective IV: Commentaries on Modern Advertising Postcards," Exhibition June 1 to July 29, 2016, LMU Library [Archives & Special Collections], Online: [https://web.archive.org/web/20170928102900/https://lmulibrary.typepad.com/lmu-library-news/2016/04/coming-soon-from-their-perspective-iv-commentaries-on-modern-advertising-postcards.html http://lmulibrary.typepad.com/lmu-library-news/2016/04/coming-soon-from-their-perspective-iv-commentaries-on-modern-advertising-postcards.html]
7. "Canada Post - Create Compelling Direct Mail". canadapost.ca.
8. Reed, R., ''Advertising Postcards,'' Schiffer, 2000; Cirker, H., ''Old-Time Advertising Postcards,'' N.Y., Dover Publications, 2003
9. Prochaska, D., ''Postcards: Ephemeral Histories of Modernity.'' Refiguring Modernism Series, 2010
10. Bogdan, R., ''Real Photo Postcard Guide: The People's Photo Postcard Guide,''N.Y., Syracuse University Press, 2007, p. 2
11. Hubbard, P.,"Trade Cards in 18th-Century Consumer Culture:Circulation, and Exchange in Commercial and Collecting Spaces," ''Material Culture Review,''Volume 74/75, Spring, 2012, Online:https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/MCR/article/view/20447/23603