The Business Book

272

IN GOOD TIMES PEOPLE

WANT TO ADVERTISE;

IN BAD TIMES

THEY HAVE TO

WHY ADVERTISE?

I

n the corporate landscape

advertising is sometimes seen

as a waste of money, and

expenditure on it is often the first

part of the budget to be cut back

during a recession. The point that

advertising executive Bruce Barton

(1886–1967) was making with his

much-quoted statement “In good

times people want to advertise;

in bad times they have to” is that

advertising should be employed as

part of an ongoing effort to build

relationships with existing and

prospective customers.

Barton, who was responsible

for some of the key American

advertising campaigns of the 1920s

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Advertising

KEY DATES

1729 Benjamin Franklin,

scientist and Founding Father

of the United States, advertises

his company’s inventions in

the Pennsylvania Gazette.

1840 The world’s first

advertising agency is founded

in Philadelphia, PA.

1939 Coca-Cola uses Santa

Claus in its ad campaign,

helping to create the rotund

figure so well known today.

1955 The iconic Marlboro

Man ad is launched and is

hugely successful, despite

research that links lung

cancer to smoking.

1994 HotWired becomes the

first website to sell banner ads;

a year later the first server

able to track and manage

ads is released.

When a recession

begins, consumers

cut back.

Profit may be maximized

in the short term but

customers forget about

the brand.

Profit may suffer in the

short term but customers

stay aware of the brand.

Makers of Brand A

cut advertising spend

to bolster profit.

Makers of Brand B

maintain or increase

advertising spending,

risking profit shrinkage.

In bad times people have

to advertise.