Selling Better Living

CALVIN COOLIDGE once related that when he was a boy in the hills of Vermont the only merchandise he saw was in the country store, but his horizon was broadened by the advertising of things that appealed to youth. With his desires aroused for the interesting and better things in life, he strove to obtain them. Asserting that advertising performs a distinct public service, Mr. Coolidge explained, “It is essential in the first instance to produce good merchandise but it is just as essential to create a desire for it.”

This, in a nut-shell, is the service of advertising. As Calvin Coolidge implied, the most useful household appliance, the longest wearing rubber tire, or the best mousetrap in the world will never be popular if hidden from the public. We cannot have desires for things we do not know about. No motorist was concerned about having knee-action in his car until he learned about its advantages through advertising. Yet it represents a marked improvement in riding comfort.

A century ago it took a long time to introduce any improvement in the way of living. Even the example of President Fillmore, who installed the first bathtub in the White House in 1850, failed to make people bathtub-conscious. Fifty years later it still was an uncommon thing to have a bathtub in the home. The invention was there but people did not care about it — not until advertising got on the job and sold bathtubs. Then everybody wanted them, and today no home is complete without one.

A short time ago bathrooms were ugly —somehow, no one thought of beautifying them. But when manufacturers began to advertise artistic tile, tinted bathtubs, and beautiful plumbing fixtures, everyone realized how pleasant life can be with beauty in the bathroom.

Our parents and grandparents were well satisfied with the heavy staple foods of their time but we have learned to demand a balanced diet, with plenty of vitamins and minerals and a goodly assortment of light salads and tasty desserts, to say nothing of out-of-season vegetables and fruits. Our food is much better today, because our eating habits have been changed by advertising.

Where do you suppose the radio industry would be if manufacturers had not advertised their receiving sets? Only fifteen years ago home radios were practically unknown. Few people cared about radio or thought it would ever amount to much. But the infant industry embarked on a tremendous advertising campaign, through newspapers, magazines, signs, and circulars, and in a miraculously short time radio sets were introduced into four out of every five homes in the land.

It is the same with many other articles. Millions brush their teeth because advertising sold them toothpaste, and many children have even been persuaded by advertising to wash their necks and eat their spinach.

Better living comes not merely through natural desires, but through education, and advertising is one of the strongest forces in public education. Advertising is the salesman for better living.