Marketing of Tsarist Russia: clever advertising of pre-revolutionary technology

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

It is noteworthy that advertising in Tsarist Russia was surprisingly highly developed. Colorful posters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, like an encyclopedia, reflect the spirit and consumer culture of that distant era. Even a century and a half ago, there were so many goods and services in our country that businessmen actively ordered the production of advertisements from artists and poets.

It would seem that what kind of advertising could have been more than a hundred years ago - put up a sign and nothing more. However, this is far from the case: since the end of the 19th century, much attention has been paid to promotion in the Russian Empire. In 1894, Nikolai Pliskov's book "Advertising, its meaning, origin and history" was even published. At the turn of the century, posters advertising a particular product were ubiquitous in all major cities. "PR" was everything: from foreign cameras to domestic sweets and cigarettes.

In order to interest the public, marketers of the past had to show remarkable talent and creativity. In most cases, advertising was aimed at wealthy citizens, because, for example, not everyone could buy expensive musical equipment.

According to Novate.ru, eminent artists of the time, such as Malevich and Rodchenko, were often involved in the production of advertising posters. Professional poets often wrote slogans: Mayakovsky, Yesenin and others. The collaboration between Mayakovsky and Rodchenko was especially memorable. For several years, the tandem has created more than a dozen catchy posters: from an advertisement for the joint-stock company of voluntary flights "Dobrolet" to a poster with propaganda slogans.

Advertising of cars and everything connected with them was especially popular. Despite the fact that the Russian Empire was in the fifth place in the level of industrialization in the world, the situation with machines was much worse than in most developed countries. Basically, they offered services for tuning foreign cars, but sometimes they advertised goods of their own production, for example, tires.

How to convince a buyer that an American Ford car is better than an Italian Fiat is to correctly describe its advantages and be sure to leave a note: “better for Russian roads”. It seems that even then our marketers understood how to find an approach to the Russian buyer. And if you think that car sharing is a newfangled concept, then just look at this poster offering to rent a car-coach.

Gasoline for these very cars, as well as motor boats and airplanes, was largely provided by the partnership of the Nobel brothers.

There was also our own auto industry in our country. The DUKS plant was engaged in the manufacture of cars and motorcycles and bicycles.

Since 1910, the production of airplanes has been established in the Russian Empire. They cost fabulous money, and only the richest people in the country could afford them.

The agricultural industry was also very developed. Locomotives were made - steam power plants, turbines, etc.

Business also flourished under the tsar. So, carbonated drinks were especially popular at the beginning of the 20th century. To make mineral water, you had to buy a special apparatus, and then sell a glass of soda for as much as three rubles.

It was possible to earn extra money from sewing. The American Singer sewing machines sold well. At the end of the 19th century, typewriters were a rarity, which not every writer or journalist could afford, but over time, these machines became much cheaper. But most of all paid for the work of photographers. This is now a camera in every phone, and a hundred years ago good photographers were worth their weight in gold. For example, the Kodak "miracle camera" cost about 35 rubles, and it was very difficult to find it.