Saluting 100 Years of Advertising

  • March 18, 2002
As Popular Mechanics magazine continues its salute to 100 years of Americana and technology in print, the April, 2002 issue, on sale at newsstands now, features a tribute to 100 years of classic advertisements as published in Popular Mechanics starting with the lone display ad from the first issue dated January 11, 1902.

That first major advertisement, which sought investors in the Chicago - Texas Oil Syndicate, offered shares in oil wells drilled the year before near Beaumont, TX. Those wells turned out to be some of the most productive oil wells in history.

“While we cannot promise that all Popular Mechanics ads make both our advertisers and readers wealthy, those who paid attention to that 1902 display ad made a lot of money, as did the Syndicate,” said Jay McGill, publisher of Popular Mechanics.

Another early advertiser was the Safety Razor Company, founded by King Camp Gillette in 1901 to sell his invention -- razors with disposable blades. When Gillette discovered men were reluctant to give up their strop razors, he decided to give razors away to promote blade sales.

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