I can’t believe its been 30 years since I graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and boy how things have changed! It has been a wild ride through cyberspace for those of us in the graphic design industry. One thing that hasn’t changed is that advertising is a powerful, mind-altering force that we all experience daily whether we realize it or not.

It’s advertising that convinces some men to pay two months salary for a diamond engagement ring. An advertising campaign that started in 1938 changed the way Americans looked at diamond engagement rings forever. De Beers, a diamond cartel, hired a New York advertising agency to persuade Americans to buy more expensive diamonds. They created a campaign that targeted young men and planted the idea that diamonds were a gift of love: the larger and finer the diamond, the greater the expression of love.

It’s advertising that gave us Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Did you know that Rudolph was created by Chicago’s Montgomery Ward Department Store as a promotional gimmick? Every year around the holidays Montgomery Ward used to give away coloring books. In 1939, they decided it would be cheaper to produce them in-house. One of their advertising copywriters was told to write a story for young readers, and he created our beloved Rudolph.

It may have been subliminal advertising that caused Democrat Al Gore  to lose the 2000 presidential election. The Republicans ran a TV ad in which the word “RATS” flashed briefly on the screen as Gore’s prescription drug plan was criticized. We will never know exactly what effect this may have had on the election but it caused quite an uproar which resulted in the ad being pulled.

Advertising is one of the most persuasive tools a company has. Never underestimate it’s mind-altering power.