Multiple Appeals

December 12

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

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (December 12, 1774).

“He will meet with due encouragement … by every real friend to American manufactures.”

Nicholas Cox, a hatter, made several appeals to consumers in his advertisement in the December 12, 1774, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  He commenced with a standard expression of gratitude for “the encouragement he had met with from the respectable publick since he commenc’d business.”  Many purveyors of goods and services did so in their advertisements, signaling to readers that other consumers already considered them worthy of their business.  It was a familiar means of bolstering an advertiser’s reputation.

The hatter also incorporated commentary specific to his trade, proclaiming that he “manufactures the new invented and greatly approved of CAP-HATS.”  For those unaware of this innovation, eh explained that by “outward appearance they are entirely like other hats, having only the addition of a cap fix’d in the bowl, which can be drawn out occasionally.”  In such instances, it “buttons under the chin, keeping the neck and ears entirely free from rain or snow.”  Cox marketed this new style, a very practical element, as “so very necessary for all those whose business exposes them to the inclemency of the weather.”  According to Kate Haulman, colonizers debated whether they should carry umbrellas, “stylistic spoils of empire hailing from India,” in the 1760s and 1770s.  “Some regarded umbrellas as ridiculous and frivolous,” she notes, “serving no purpose that a good hat could not supply.”[1]  Cox produced and sold such hats for men of business who sought to eschew the effeminacy and luxury associated with umbrellas.

His next appeal made an even more explicitly political argument to prospective customers.  He made “the best black and white superfine FELT and WOOL HATS,” like the tricorne hat depicted in the woodcut that adorned his advertisement.  Cox asserted that patriotic consumers had a duty to support his business when they made choices about where to acquire their hats.  He expressed confidence that he “will meet with due encouragement at this spirited time, by every real friend to American manufactures.”  The Continental Association, a boycott of British goods adopted in response to the Coercive Acts, had recently gone into effect.  Cox offered an alternative to colonizers who desired to acquire hats yet wished to remain patriotically correct, either according to their own principles or at least to avoid the ire of others who observed the purchases they made.  Furthermore, his customers did not have sacrifice quality for principles.  The hatter pledged that “he will warrant [his hats] to be far superior to the best imported from England.” That being the case, the crown that appeared above the tricorne hat at the top of his advertisement may have testified to the superior quality of his hats, a general sense of pride in being part of the British Empire, or reverence for the monarch whom many colonizers still hoped would intervene on their behalf in their altercation with Parliament.

In addition to those appeals, Cox included two more common marketing strategies.  He promised a “[g]reat abatement … to those who take a quantity at a time.”  In other words, he gave discounts for buying multiple hats, both for consumers and for retailers who intended to sell them in their own shops.  He also provided a free ancillary service: “Customers hats brush’d at all times, gratis.”  Cox saw to the care and maintenance of the hats he made and sold long after the time of purchase.  He cultivated relationships with customers by encouraging them to return to his shop for assistance in keeping their hats in good order.  Overall, Cox resorted to a variety of familiar and specific appeals when advertising his hats, distinguishing him from competitors who did not put as much effort into marketing their wares.

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[1] Kate Haulman, “Fashion and the Culture Wars of Revolutionary Philadelphia,” William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 62, no 4 (October 2005): 632.

September 10

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

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

Providence Gazette (September 10, 1774).

“He has removed his Shop to … the Sign of the Hat in Hand.”

When William Barton moved to a new location as the summer came to a close in 1774, he placed an advertisement in the Providence Gazette to inform “his good old Customers in particular, and the Public in general” where to find him.  Having established a clientele, the hatter did not wish to miss out on subsequent business if customers went to his former shop and did not discover him there.  All prospective customers, whether or not they previously acquired hats from Barton, could recognize his new location by the “Sign of the Hat in Hand.”  The hatter did not indicate whether that marketing device had marked his previous location or if it was an innovation on the occasion of setting up shop on Weybosset Street.  Either way, it became part of the landscape of advertising that colonizers encountered as they traversed the streets “near the Long Wharff” in Providence.

To entice consumers to visit his shop, Barton made a variety of appeals.  He promised quality, stating that he made hats “in the best Manner.”  He emphasized fashion, declaring that his hats reflected “genteelest Taste.”  He touted his own skill and industriousness, asserting that “the greatest Expedition” went into producing his hats.  He offered choices to consumers, proclaiming that his inventory included “all Kinds of Hats.”  For his boldest appeal, he trumpeted that he was “determined to dispose of his Hats on as reasonable Terms as any Hatter in America.”  Barton did not merely compare his prices to his local competitors.  He confidently declared that consumers would not find any better deal anywhere, even if they sent away to Boston or New York or any other city or town in the colonies.  He challenged readers to visit his shop, learn his prices, and judge for themselves.  If his claim could get potential customers through the doors, that increased his chances of making sales.  Though his advertisement was not particularly lengthy, Barton incorporated many of the most common marketing appeals advanced by artisans in eighteenth-century America, anticipating that they collectively became more even more convincing.

September 2

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

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

Sep 2 - 9:2:1767 Georgia Gazette
Georgia Gazette (September 2, 1767).

“EXCEEDING GOOD OLD BARBADOS RUM, by the hogshead, quarter-cask, or small quantity.”

Horton and Moore placed a fairly simple advertisement in the September 2, 1767, issue of the Georgia Gazette. In it, they announced that they sold a small number of items: rum, sugar, vinegar, and Delftware (a popular blue and white pottery made in the Netherlands and exported to locales throughout the Atlantic world). Compared to the list-style advertisements that crowded the pages of many eighteenth-century newspapers, their notice was relatively short. Yet the simplicity and the length did not mean that Horton and Moore neglected to advance marketing messages in their advertisement. For each item, they offered some sort of commentary intended to entice potential customers to visit Horton and Moore’s wharf to make their purchases.

The partners resorted to some of the most common appeals made to consumers throughout the eighteenth century. They emphasized quality, explicitly and implicitly, to promote both rum and sugar. They described the former as “EXCEEDING GOOD” and the latter as “of an extraordinary good quality.” In noting the places of origin – “BARBADOS RUM” and “JAMAICA SUGAR” – they further testified to quality since those locations were widely recognized for producing the finest examples of their respective commodities.

When it mattered, Horton and Moore made an appeal to consumer choice: they carried a ‘COMPLETE ASSORTMENT” of Delftware. This implied a variety of (fashionable) patterns as well as an array of items, from plates and bowls to canisters and sugar dishes to tiles and tureens for household use and decoration. Horton and Moore invited customers to examine all the possibilities, promising that they would not be forced to choose from a tiny selection. A “COMPLETE ASSORTMENT” meant the freedom to express themselves by identifying their favorites and choosing items that distinguished them from their friends and relations.

Horton and Moore also marketed convenience when they offered to sell their commodities in various quantities. Customers could purchase rum “by the hogshead, quarter-cask, or small quantity,” sugar “by the hogshead, barrel, or small quantity,” and vinegar “in any quantity.” Presumably shoppers were also welcome to select as many or as few pieces of Delftware as they desired.

Finally, the partners made an appeal to price, stating they sold all of their merchandise “on the most reasonable terms.” Combined with the other appeals, this made their wares even more attractive to prospective customers.

Horton and Moore’s advertisement demonstrates that commercial notices aimed at consumers did not need to be elaborate or lengthy to incorporate marketing appeals. In the space of half a dozen lines, the merchants deployed messages about quality, choice, convenience, and price as they attempted to incite demand among customers in Savannah and its hinterland.