Printing, pre-press, publishing and photography services – yesterday, today and tomorrow

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Creation of a Legacy
3. A Legacy Transformed
4. The Virtues of a Middle Class
5. Vested Interest
6. Trading on Conventions
7. Institutionalism Triumphs
8. Lasting Images
9. Conclusion

Lasting Images

After the turn of the twentieth century, science and technology continued in fast-forward motion. The airplane took off in 1903; the "Model T" hit the streets in 1908; motion pictures were astounding audiences by 1914; electricity became reliable in urban areas by 1910 and was common everywhere by the 1920s; radio was a method of cultural transmission by the 1920s; and television moved into homes by the 1950s. Standardization was settling into all phases of manufacturing and industry. Two world wars, several military actions, economic depression, and economic boom times encouraged rapid development cycles in science and technology.

As a result of the tumultuous last decades of the nineteenth century, journalistics muckraking was a lucrative appeal to the public which engendered an awareness about corruption, special privilege, and the evils of the corporate "Robber Barons." It was out of muckraking that the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was created as the first federally-attempted effort to control chug products and drug advertising in America. The Federal Trade Commission was created in 1915 for the prevention of unfair methods of competition and false advertising of goods, drugs, and curative devices, and to provide meaningful information about antitrust needs. Muckraking also provided the groundwork needed for the successful passage of the Eighteenth Amendment which went into effect early in 1920. Under the heading of Progressivism, the long struggle to prohibit alcohol manufacturing and use was finally successful after the stresses of World War I. As a result of the Eighteenth Amendment, anticigarette forces began to gain momentum. A controversial legacy, prohibition was repealed in 1933 by means of the Twenty-First Amendment (Troyer and Markle 1983; Young 1967).

Despite emerging government controls of business and industry, pharmaceutical and proprietary drugs continued to be on a fast growth track. Competition continued to escalate and an emphasis on purity and strength of drugs became a trade imperative. Packaged dating was instituted as an appeal for quality by drug manufacturing companies. Research and development laboratories were established by drug companies. The U.S. government also created laboratory facilities in order to enforce the Pure Food and Drug Act through scientific investigation and evaluation. Even some proprietary medicines became conscientious about listing ingredients and in proportional order (Sears, Roebuck 1979; Young 1967).

Drug advertising and promotion grew and responded to prevailing conditions, as well as to the demands of an expanding and diverse public, along with government regulation. Printed material and salesmen continued to be the touchstones in advertising and promotion techniques. Mass circulation of magazines continued target marketing. Special interest advertising increased in subscription medical journals and became "scientific," often resembling clinical reports. Exaggerated claims became cloaked in social terms. As new kinds of prescription drugs were developed, indirect promotion through media coverage -- advertising as news article -- was used. Press conferences continued as a popular method of advertising; salesmen were furnished with automobiles so remote markets could be reached and personalized; and salesmen evolved into pharmaceutical representatives. Cars were also used in promotions to reinforce the product image, as imaging continued to be a vital tool. Image was further enhanced when particular drugs were deemed patriotic once they were incorporated into use by the military.

Movies, radio, and television were vehicles of drug product promotion as props. Radio and television both used paid advertising in order to provide the public with "free" entertainment through a symbiotic relationship with commercial enterprise. Sponsorship of entire programs by a particular drug product or drug company was a common occurrence. Snappy, short slogans evolved, frequently set to music. Radio and television bands or orchestras occasionally took the name of the drug product which sponsored programming. Mail order chug companies would work in conjunction with special radio telecasts. Personalities from radio, stage, and screen provided testimonials, often exclusively, for particular drug products (Smith 1985, 1989; Wagner 1971; Young 1967).

As the twentieth century advanced, American society continued to filter and absorb innovative science and technology into its culture through government controls. As an informal cultural institution, drug advertising has maintained vitality and robustness by using variations on the theme of its essential tools of the trade: printed material and bold text; an open economic market; drug sales representatives; and the human desire for good health. Developments in communication and transportation technologies changed while advertising maintained the fundamental method of public communication for goods and services throughout the drug industry. Surrounded by myth and desire, drugs have accumulated an aura which has been employed by evolving social and economic networks.