Discount

November 15

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Constitutional Gazette (November 15, 1775).

“DR. BLOUIN … makes and sells the Antivenereal Pills, so well known … by the name of Keyser’s Pills.”

It was the eighteenth-century version of offering a generic medication at a lower price than the name brand in hopes of attracting customers.  An entrepreneur who identified himself as “DR. BLOUIN, from Old France,” placed an advertisement in the November 15, 1775, edition of the Constitutional Gazette to inform readers in New York that he makes and sells the Antivenereal Pills, so well known in Europe and America, by the name of Keyser’s Pills.”  Indeed, that medication was popular in the colonies, advertised frequently by apothecaries, shopkeepers, and even printers who sold patent medicines as an alternate revenue stream.  At the same time that Blouin ran his advertisement, James Rivington, the printer of Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer, continued running his notice that proclaimed, “EVERY ONE THEIR OWN PHYSICIAN, By THE USE OF Dr. KEYSER’s PILLS.”  Rivington had been using that familiar refrain in his advertisements for years.

Blouin offered a brief history of the original medication as a means of marketing his generic version, noting that Keyser’s Pills had been “adopted by the faculty of Paris and Montpelier, and the French government for the use of their military hospitals.”  Furthermore, “[s]everal thousand people have already been cured, many of which were unconquerable by … other methods” of treatment.  Prospective customers, Blouin claimed, could not find a more effective remedy: “The public may be assured, that this excellent medicine is beyond any thing in the Venereal disorder, sores, or ulcers, leprosies, &c. and in all inveterate and obstinate disorders, proceeding from a depravation of the humours.”  He was so certain that he offered a guarantee: “NO CURE.  NO PAY.”

Readers interested in purchasing the pills that Blouin made in New York rather than imported ones would receive printed directions and could choose among boxes costing eight, sixteen, and thirty-two shillings.  The efficacy of the cure, he cautioned, depended on “following exactly the directions.”  Rivington sold Keyser’s Pills for ten, twenty, and forty shillings.  Blouin explained that he gave a discount “to make [his generic pills] more universally known in this part of the world.”  For those who wavered in choosing his pills over the name brand version, he hoped that the lower price would help convince them.  Blouin also noted that an associate, Peter Garson, “at the upper corner of Cortlandt-street, opposite the new Oswego Market,” sold the pills, but “no other person.”  Many advertisements for Keyser’s Pills warned prospective customers about counterfeits.  Blouin freely admitted that he “makes and sells” his own version … and advised readers to avoid any attributed to him but not sold by him or his appointed agent.

November 13

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Norwich Packet (November 13, 1775).

“Wanted, a Quantity of Hog’s Bristles [from] Friends to American Manufactures.”

Cornelius Cooper, a brushmaker who had relocated from Philadelphia to Providence, needed materials to continue operating his business in the fall of 1775.  He ran an advertisement to that effect in the Providence Gazette, but his efforts did not end there.  He also enlisted the help of Richard Collier, a coppersmith, in Norwich, Connecticut.  An advertisement in the November 13, 1775, edition of the Norwich Packet proclaimed, “Wanted, a Quantity of Hog’s Bristles, For which six Pence Lawful Money per Pound will be given.”  The notice listed Collier as the local agent who collected the bristles and paid the premium, yet it did not end there.

Instead, it also advised that “Cornelius Cooper,” his name in a font as large as “Hog’s Bristles,” offered the same price.  After giving directions to his shop on “the west Side of the Great-Bridge, Providence,” the “BRUSH-MAKER” declared that he “earnestly requests those Gentlemen that are Friends to American Manufactures, and keep Stores in the Country, to collect as large Quantities as possible.”  In his advertisement that simultaneously ran in the Providence Gazette, he indicated that he wished to acquire “Five Thousand Weight of Hog’s Bristles,” a considerable quantity.  In making an appeal to “Friends to American Manufactures,” he invoked the Continental Association and efforts to replace goods imported from England with items produced in the colonies.  That became more important than ever after the battles at Lexington and Concord.  Decisions in the marketplace, including collecting hog’s bristles and purchasing brushes made from them, had political implications.  Collier supported the cause by serving as a local agent for Cooper; the brushmaker presented an opportunity for others to do the same, especially shopkeepers in the countryside who collected bristles from their patrons.  In return for that “Kindness,” Cooper not only paid “ready Cash” but also “allow[ed] them 30 per Cent.”  It seems that he offered a discount to retailers who collected bristles if they purchased his brushes to stock in their stores.  That strategy meant acquiring supplies and making sales at the same time, a neat arrangement for a brushmaker seeking to establish himself in New England.

May 3

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (May 3, 1774).

“He now carries on the business for himself … at the Sign of the BOOT and BUSKIN.”

When John Robinson launched his own business in the spring of 1774, he ran an advertisement in the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.  He began by reminding prospective customers that he “for some years managed the shoe-making business for Messrs. SIMON & JOHN BERWICK.”  Now he was prepared to leverage that experience into operating his own enterprise, announcing to “his friends and the public, that he now carries on the business for himself.”  They could find him “at the sign of the BOOT and BUSKIN” on Union Street.

Robinson asserted that he pursued shoemaking “in all its branches,” deploying a familiar phrase that meant that he was capable of performing any task related to his occupation and producing any item associated with his trade.  The device that he chose to mark his location testified to that as well, depicting both a traditional boot and a buskin or a knee-high boot.  To that end, he acquired a “large supply of the very best of leather, boot legs,” and other materials, yet he also realized that the quality of the materials alone would not sell the items produced in his shop.  He declared his work “as neat … as any in the province,” simultaneously drawing on his experience managing the Berwicks’ workshop and drawing comparisons to competitors throughout Charleston and the rest of the colony.

To further entice prospective customers, Robinson concluded with a nota bene that promoted an “abatement of 5s. per pair on shoes and pumps for the CASH.”  He likely extended credit when necessary, but those who paid at the time of sale received a discount of five shillings.  The shoemaker likely hoped that bargain would attract the attention of even those not among his “friends” who knew him from his time at another workshop, convincing them to visit the “sign of the BOOT and BUSKIN” to check out the sale prices on shoes.

November 17

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (November 17, 1772).

“A large and valuable Assortment of Goods.”

Samuel Gordon promoted the “large and valuable Assortment of Goods” he sold at the “IRISH LINEN WARE-HOUSE” in an advertisement in the November 17, 1772, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.  Contrary to the name of his store, Gordon’s inventory extended far beyond textiles.  To aid prospective customers in perusing his notice, he identified more than two dozen categories of merchandise, including “MILLINARY,” “SHOES,” “HOSIERY,” “CHINA,” “GLASS,” “LOOKING-GLASSES,” “STATIONARY,” and “PEWTER.”  Each of those categories appeared in capitals, indented to form a new paragraph, and followed by a short description or list of goods.  The format likely made Gordon’s advertisement easier for readers to navigate than others that featured dense blocks of text.  Alexander Gillon’s advertisement, for instance, occupied a similar amount of space and included a similar number of items, but nothing about the format differentiated any of the goods from others.

In contrast, Gordon deployed short passages that invited prospective customers to engage with the various kinds of merchandise he stocked.  For “HATS,” he had a “choice of mens fine fashionable hats, felt ditto, ladies riding ditto.”  He did not go into greater detail, but instead encouraged readers to imagine the choices and then visit his store to see for themselves.  The “STATIONARY” items included a “great choice of pocket-books, quills, wax, wafer, paper of different qualities, and a complete set of large books, viz. ledger, journal, and waste-book.”  Gordon composed a longer blurb for “CUTLERY,” mentioning a “great choice of knives and forks, ditto in cases, razors, ditto in cases, … carving-knives, pen-knives,” and related items.  He repeatedly used the word “choice” to signal to prospective customers that they ultimately made decisions according to their own taste and budget rather than settling for whatever happened to be on the shelves.  Similarly, he used variations that included “large assortment,” “different sorts,” “large quantity,” and “variety.”  Many blurbs concluded with “&c.” (an abbreviation for et cetera), suggesting that far more choices awaited those who entered Gordon’s store.

Gordon did not rely on choice alone in marketing his wares.  He also offered a discount to “Merchants who may want any of the above articles.”  He extended credit, while promising a “discount of Ten per cent” to merchants who paid their accounts in January.  Gordon likely intended that the carefully formatted list of wares would spark interest and then the discount in the nota bene would seem like too good of a bargain for merchants to ignore.  The design of the advertisement suggests that Gordon carefully considered his marketing strategy rather than simply publishing an announcement that he had imported goods for sale.

July 11

Carl Robert Keyes Uncategorized , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Jul 11 - 7:11:1770 South-Carolina and American General Gazette
South-Carolina and American General Gazette (July 11, 1770).

“Any person inclinable to purchase the Whole, may have them on very reasonable Terms.”

John Tunno sold a variety of goods at his “Linen and Manchester Ware-House” on Broad Street in Charleston.  In an advertisement in the July 11, 1770, edition of the South-Carolina and American General Gazette, he advertised a “large and compleat Assortment of Linen-Drapery, Hosiery, Stuffs, and other Goods.”  Those items included “printed Linens and Cottons,” a Quantity of Check Handkerchiefs,” “beautiful Silk Stripes for Mens Waistcoats,” and “neat trimmed Womens Hats and Bonnets.”  He also stocked “sundry Articles that cannot, by reason of the Resolutions,” the nonimportation agreement adopted by merchants and others in South Carolina, “be now imported.”  Tunno emphasized consumer choice in his advertisement, repeatedly using words and phrases like “assortment,” “variety,” and “of all sorts” as well as listed numerous items for prospective customers’ consideration.  That he carried items that respectable merchants no longer imported further enhanced the array of choices.

In addition to promoting a wide selection of merchandise, Tunno offered bargains to those who bought in volume.  Bulk discounts framed his advertisement, appearing at both the beginning and conclusion.  In that regard, he addressed retailers rather than consumers.  Immediately before enumerating his wares, he stated that he adjusted prices “Lower to any Person buying a Quantity.”  He inserted a nota bene at the end, instructing prospective customers to take note that “Any person inclinable to purchase the Whole, may have them on very reasonable Terms.”  Tunno aimed to part with his entire inventory in a single transaction.  For shopkeepers, this was a turnkey opportunity for acquiring inventory.

Tunno deployed two of the most common marketing strategies in eighteenth-century newspaper advertisements.  He took a standard approach to consumer choice, proclaiming that he offered a variety of goods, demonstrating that was the case with a lengthy list, and promising even more.  He modified the usual approach taken to price; rather than stating that he charged low prices Tunno instead presented conditions for getting a bargain, giving buyers a greater sense of agency in shaping the terms of their transactions.  Tunno offered an opportunity for even better bargains, but only if customers chose to buy “a Quantity” or “the Whole.”  In both cases, inciting consumer imagination through invoking choices or prompting buyers to purchase in volume, Tunno resorted to strategies that encouraged readers to actively engage with his advertisement.

June 19

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Jun 19 - 6:19:1770 South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal Supplement
Supplement to the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (June 19, 1770).

“A Discount of 5 per Cent. at least.”

In the summer of 1770, David Baty and Company advertised a variety of liquors available at their store in Charleston.  Their notice in the supplement to the June 19 edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal listed “RUM of different Qualities,” brandy, Madeira, claret, port, and “a Variety of other WINES.”  Customers could select the quantity they desired.  For rum and brandy, that meant by the hogshead, quarter cask, or “smaller Quantity,” but not less than three gallons.  For the wines, they could select among pipes, casks, and bottles.

Baty and Company encouraged customers to make larger purchases.  To that end, they offered “a Discount of 5 per Cent. at least” for buying “any considerable Amount,” suggesting that they applied even more significant discounts as customers increased their orders.  The partners did not list any prices to capture the attention of prospective customers; instead, they asked them to imagine a different kind of bargain available at their store.

They also provided a discount to customers who paid cash rather than made their purchases on credit.  The same issue of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal included several notices calling on customers and others to settle overdue accounts.  Some of those advertisements included threats to place delinquent “Accounts in the Hands of a Lawyer.”  Baty and Company sought to avoid the hassle and expense of chasing down customers for payment at a later date, so they offered an incentive for paying with “Ready Money” at the time of sale.

Purveyors of goods and services frequently trumpeted their low prices in eighteenth-century newspaper advertisements.  Baty and Company took a different approach.  The partners asked prospective customers to consider how they could play a role in bringing down prices by ordering “any considerable Amount” or paying in cash, actions that provided even greater benefits to Baty and Company than simply making a sale.

January 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Jan 6 1770 - 1:6:1770 Providence Gazette
Providence Gazette (January 6, 1769).

“NEW-ENGLAND ALMANACK … 1770.”

In the first issue of the Providence Gazette published in the new year, John Carter continued promoting “THE NEW-ENGLAND ALMANACK, OR, Lady’s and Gentleman’s DIARY, For the Year of our Lord CHRIST 1770.” He once again ran an advertisement that had been continuously appearing in the pages of the Providence Gazette for the past two months. Such was the lot for printers throughout the colonies. Most who published almanacs began each new year with surplus copies that became less useful with each passing week. Many attempted for weeks or even months to rid themselves of those extras rather than have them count against potential profits.

To that end, lengthy advertisements listing the various contents of almanacs served Carter and other printers well. Printers emphasized that these reference volumes contained not just the astronomical calculations for each day but also reference items, informative essays, and entertaining anecdotes that readers could enjoy throughout the year. Carter, for instance, attempted to entice customers with a list of contents that included “Courts in the New-England Governments, digested in a new and familiar Method,” “a curious Essay on Comets, with some Remarks on the extraordinary one that appeared in August and September last,” and “a beautiful Poem on Creation.” Even though the dates would pass for predictions about the weather and calculations for high tide, the other contents of the almanac retained their value and justified purchasing a copy days, weeks, or even months after the first of the year.

Carter’s first advertisement for 1770 included a modification that he made to the notice after it ran for a month. On December 2, 1769, he added a note at the end: “A considerable Allowance is made to those who take a Quantity.” In other words, the printer offered a discount for buying in volume to booksellers, shopkeepers, and others. He continued to offer this bargain in early January. Because such an investment became increasingly risky for retailers with each passing week, it became all the more imperative to underscore the many and varied features of the New-England Almanack. Carter aimed his advertisement at both consumers and retailers, perhaps even more eager to sell to “those who take a Quantity” than to customers who wished to acquire only a single copy.

May 26

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

May 26 - 5:26:1768 New-York Journal
New-York Journal (May 26, 1768).

“FAULKNER’S BOTTLED ALE.”

William Faulkner, a brewer, incorporated several marketing strategies into the advertisement he placed in the May 26, 1768, edition of the New-York Journal. Like other colonists who peddled goods and services, he made appeals to price and quality. However, he did not merely resort to the formulaic language that appeared in countless newspaper advertisements. Instead, he offered additional commentary to convince prospective customers to purchase his product.

Faulkner could have simply stated that “he continues to supply the public with the best of liquor on the most reasonable terms.” Such appeals to price and quality, however, were not sufficient for promoting his “country brew’d ALE” that was only recently ready for the marketplace. Not only was his ale “now fit for use,” but “in the opinion of good judges, equal in quality to any imported.” Faulkner did not reveal the identities of these “good judges,” but he did suggest to potential customers that others had indeed endorsed his product. For those still skeptical, he advanced another strategy for encouraging them to take a chance on his “country brew’d ALE.” He stated that the public had already expressed desire “for bottled Beer of this sort” and then invoked “the laudable encouragement given to our own manufactures at this period.” Faulkner did not rehearse the ongoing dispute between Parliament and the colonies. He did not need to do so. Prospective customers were already well aware of the Townshend Act that went into effect six months earlier as well as the calls for increased production and consumption of goods in the colonies as a means of decreasing dependence on imports. With a single turn of phrase, Faulkner imbued purchasing his ale with political meaning.

He also offered a discount of sorts to return customers, pricing his ale at “10s. per dozen” but noting “3s. per dozen allowed to those who return the bottles.” In other words, customers who brought back their empty bottles paid only seven shillings for a dozen full bottles. Faulkner kept his own production costs down through this design. Of the many choices available to them, the brewer encouraged colonists to enjoy “FAULKNER’S BOTTLED ALE” over any alternatives, especially imported ales. He offered assurances about quality in addition to providing pricing and political considerations to persuade consumers to choose his ale.

February 2

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Feb 2 - 2:2:1768 South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal
South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (February 2, 1768).

“They engage to take back every Article from a Customer, that they can make the least reasonable Objection against.”

David Maull and John Wood, “TAYLORS, from LONDON,” incorporated a variety of marketing appeals into their advertisement in the February 2, 1768, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal. They included some of the most popular marketing strategies deployed in the eighteenth century, but they also devised several innovative strategies that differentiated their commercial notice from others.

Purveyors of goods and services commonly promoted quality and fashion. Maull and Wood did so when they stated that their work represented “the neatest and newest fashion.” Artisans often underscored their competence. Maull and Wood reported that “they carry on the Taylors Business in all its Branches.” Shopkeepers and artisans both proclaimed their origins or other connections to London to give their goods and services more cachet in the transatlantic marketplace. Maull and Wood announced that they had migrated “from LONDON,” where they had presumably received training and previously worked. Invoking some sort of link to London also bolstered their claim to produce garments in the “newest fashion.” Many advertisers made a nod toward customer service, as Maull and Wood did when they pledged to fulfill orders “with quickest Dispatch.” Maull and Wood used stock language in making these common appeals to customers.

Yet the tailors also attempted to entice clients with a series of other marketing strategies in a nota bene that concluded their advertisement. They provided a money-back guarantee, promising “to take back every Article from a Customer, that they can make the least reasonable Objection against.” They also offered reduced rates to customers who paid in cash, vowing to “discount Five per Cent.” On the other hand, they extended “twelve Months Credit” to other customers during a period that most advertisers either demanded cash or allowed only “short credit.” Consumers regularly made purchases on credit in eighteenth-century America, but it was not a method of payment promoted by most purveyors of goods and services in their advertisements in the late 1760s. Maull and Wood made clear that they were willing to work out payment schedules that fit the needs of their prospective clients. John Ward, another tailor who advertised in the same issue, made no mention of how he expected customers to pay. Finally, Maull and Wood doubled the length of their advertisement by publishing a roster of prices to demonstrate their reasonable prices to prospective clients. This eliminated negotiating over the bill and anxieties that a better deal might have been possible by locking in rates from the start.

Maull and Wood distinguished their advertisement from others published in Charleston’s newspapers by augmenting the most common appeals with innovative marketing strategies. They did not invent any of the methods they used, but they effectively amalgamated multiple popular and novel tactics for attracting customers into a single advertisement to an extent not achieved by most other advertisers of consumer goods and services in the 1760s.

December 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Dec 8 - 12:8:1767 South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal Supplement
Supplement to the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (December 8, 1767).

“Twenty per Cent cheaper than goods usually imported.”

In a notice that appeared in the advertising supplement that accompanied the December 8, 1767, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, William Gowdey relied on appeals to price to move the merchandise he had recently imported and stocked at his shop in Broad Street in Charleston. Before listing his wares he informed potential customers that they would enjoy special bargains when they visited his shop: he set prices “twenty per Cent cheaper” than his competitors usually charged. To demonstrate that was indeed the case, rather than a false promise designed to get customers through the door, Gowdey indicated the prices of several kinds of textiles. Readers could determine for themselves that the shopkeeper offered good deals on “mens worsted hose at 10s. 20s. and 30s. a pair” or “Osnabrughs at 4s. a yard.”

Even when they made appeals to price, most shopkeepers did not list prices in their newspaper advertisements during the colonial era. For instance, in the same issue William Glen and Son advertised many of the same textiles, but made only a general statement that they “will dispose of [their inventory] at a low advance.” Similarly, Thomas Radcliffe, Jr., promoted “very reasonable terms” but did not specify any prices. As a result, readers could not compare prices from one advertisement with those in another. Gowdey’s strategy depended on consumers already possessing some sense of the typical prices for popular goods and then recognizing good deals when they saw them. His assertion that his prices were “twenty per Cent cheaper” primed potential customers to imagine bargains, prompting them to become active participants in his marketing strategy when they saw the prices and confirmed for themselves that he did indeed sell at discounted rates. Such methods incited demand in the colonial era, just as they do today, when consumers who previously did not realize that they needed “mens worsted hose” or other goods in Gowdey’s advertisement decided that they could not pass up bargains once introduced to them.