COFFEE ADVERTISING
_The first coffee advertisement—Evolution of coffee
advertising—Package coffee advertising—Advertising to
the trade—Advertising by various mediums—Advertising for
retailers with ready-made sample copy—Advertising to the
nose—Successful coffee window displays—Advertising by
government propaganda—Coffee advertising efficiency._
The first coffee advertisement was Sheik Abd-al-Kadir’s famous
_Argument in favor of the legitimate use of coffee_, an Arabian
manuscript of 1587, preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris.
It was frank propaganda for coffee. The latest and best advertising for
coffee being done in America today is equally frank propaganda, showing
that the friends of the universal beverage, 337 years after, are still
alive to the need for intelligent advertising if they would continue to
serve mankind with the “Gift of Heaven”; for coffee has its enemies in
the 20th century just as in the 16th: our age is producing those who
are jealous of this “beverage of the friends of God” like that early
time when the first persecutions and attempted suppressions came to
such inglorious ends.
The first printed advertisement for coffee in English has already been
referred to in Chapter I. It was Pasqua Rosee’s shop- or handbill of
1652, the original being in the British Museum. It is worthy of close
examination. It reads:
_The Vertue of the COFFEE Drink_
First publiquely made and sold in England, by _Pasqua Rosee_.
The Grain or Berry called _Coffee_, groweth upon little Trees, only in
the _Deserts of Arabia_.
It is brought from thence, and drunk generally throughout all the Grand
Seigniors Dominions.
It is a simple innocent thing, composed into a Drink, by being dryed
in an Oven, and ground to Powder, and boiled up with Spring water,
and about half a pint of it to be drunk, fasting an hour before, and
not Eating an hour after, and to be taken as hot as possibly can be
endured; the which will never fetch the skin off the mouth, or raise
any Blisters, by reason of that Heat.
The Turks drink at meals and other times, is usually _Water_, and their
Dyet consists much of _Fruit_, the _Crudities_ whereof are very much
corrected by this Drink.
The quality of this Drink is cold and Dry; and though it be a Dryer,
yet it neither _heats_, nor _inflames_ more than _hot Posset_.
It so closeth the Orifice of the Stomack, and fortifies the heat
within, that it’s very good to help digestion, and therefore of great
use to be taken about 3 or 4 a Clock afternoon, as well as in the
morning.
It much quickens the _Spirits_, and makes the Heart _Lightsome_.
It is good against sore Eys, and the better if you hold your Head over
it, and take in the Steem that way.
It suppresseth Fumes exceedingly, and therefore good against the
_Head-ach_, and will very much stop any _Defluxion of Rheums_, that
distil from the _Head_ upon the _Stomack_, and so prevent and help
_Consumptions_; and the _Cough of the Lungs_.
It is excellent to prevent and cure the _Dropsy_, _Gout_, and _Scurvy_.
It is known by experience to be better than any other Drying Drink for
_People in years_, or _Children_ that have any _running humors_ upon
them, as the _Kings Evil_, &c.
It is very good to prevent _Mis-carryings_ in _Child-bearing Women_.
It is a most excellent Remedy against the _Spleen_, _Hypocondriack
Winds_, or the like.
It will prevent _Drowsiness_, and make one fit for busines, if one have
occasion to _Watch_; and therefore you are not to Drink of it _after
Supper_, unless you intend to be watchful, for it will hinder sleep for
3 or 4 hours.
_It is observed that in Turkey, where this is generally drunk, that
they are not trobled with the Stone, Gout, Dropsie, or Scurvey, and
that their Skins are exceedingly cleer and white._
It is neither _Laxative_ nor _Restringent_.
Made and sold in _St. Michaels Alley_ in _Cornhill_, by Pasqua Rosee,
at the Signe of his own Head.
The noteworthy thing about this advertisement is that, in comparison
with the best copy of today, it has high merit; for this early
advertisement seems to have embodied in it superbly well those
qualifications which modern advertising experts agree are essential
requirements for success, measured in terms of sales to the consumer.
The first newspaper advertisement was in the form of a reader in the
_Publick Adviser_ of London for the week of May 19 to May 26, 1657. It
is quoted on page 6.
There followed many broadsides, some illustrated, and all designed to
tell the public about the new drink. There is to be noted a curious
contrast between the copy of that far-off time and today. Two hundred
seventy years ago all the resources of advertising were being laid
under contribution to make propaganda for coffee as the great cure for
many ailments of which nowadays the enemies of coffee would have us
believe coffee is the cause! Those who have possessed themselves of the
facts about coffee know that both arguments are equally fantastic.
Coffee was mentioned in shopkeepers announcements appearing in the
_Boston News Letter_ as early as 1714, and in other newspapers of the
colonies during the 18th century, usually being offered for sale at
retail with strange companions. In 1748, “tea, coffee, indigo, nutmegs,
sugar, etc.,” were advertised for sale in Dock Square, Boston.
It appears that the first advertisement dealing with coffee alone was
published in the _New York Daily Advertiser_ for February 9, 1790; and
this was primarily an advertisement of a wholesale coffee-roasting
factory rather than an advertisement of coffee _per se_.
Not until package coffee began to come into vogue in the 1860s was
there any change in the stereotyped business-card form followed by
all dealers in coffee; and even then the monotony was varied only by
inserting the brand name, such as “Osborn’s Celebrated Prepared Java
Coffee. Put up only by Lewis A. Osborn”; “Government coffee in tin foil
pound papers put out by Taber & Place’s Rubia Mills.”
_Evolution of Coffee Advertising_
Real progress in coffee advertising, as in publicity for other lines of
trade and industry, began in the United States. Here, too, it has been
brought to its lowest degradation and to its highest efficiency. The
entire process has taken something less than 50 years.
The first step forward was the picture handbill. The handbill, or
dodger, had been common enough in England and on the Continent, where,
for upward of 200 years, it had served as an advertising medium, in
company with the more robust broadside, and in competition with the
pamphlet and newspaper. It remained for America, however, to glorify
the handbill by means of colored pictures.
Soon the handbill copy began to appear in the newspapers, but mostly
without the illustrations. Later newspaper developments were to
introduce more of the picture element, decorative border, and design.
The ideas of European artists were freely drawn upon, but put to such
utilitarian uses that their originators would scarcely have been able
to recognize them.
In the _Ladies Home Journal_ for December, 1888, the Great London Tea
Company, Boston, an early mail-order house, advertised, “We have made a
specialty since 1877 of giving premiums to those who buy tea and coffee
in large quantities.” In the same issue, there was an advertisement
of Seal Brand and Crusade Brand coffees by Chase & Sanborn, Boston.
Dilworth Brothers, Pittsburgh, were also among the early users of
magazine space.
The menace of the coffee-substitute evil and the misleading and
untruthful substitute copy had grown to such proportions in the early
days of the 20th century that the coffee men began to be concerned
about it. At one time there were nearly 100 coffee-substitute concerns
engaged in a bitter campaign directed against coffee in this country
alone. After a time the coffee men organized as the National Coffee
Roasters Association to defend their rights. Later, the cereal
substitute was thoroughly discredited by government analysis.
In the United States today, coffee advertising has reached a high
plane of copy excellence. Our coffee advertisers lead all nations. The
educational work started by _The Tea & Coffee Trade Journal_, fostered
by the National Coffee Roasters Association, and developed by the Joint
Coffee Trade Publicity Committee, has laid low many of the bugaboos
raised by the cereal sinners.
_Package Coffee Advertising_
Coffee advertising began to take on a distinctive character with the
introduction of Ariosa by John Arbuckle in 1873. Some of the early
publicity for this pioneer package coffee appears typographically
crude, judged by modern standards; but the copy itself has all the
needful punch, and many of the arguments are just as applicable today
as they were a half-century ago.
Most of the original Arbuckle advertising was by means of circulars
or broadsides, although some newspaper space was employed. Premiums
were first used by John Arbuckle as an advertising sales adjunct, and
they proved a big factor in putting Ariosa on the map. Mr. Arbuckle
created the kind of word-of-mouth publicity for his goods that is the
most difficult achievement in the business of advertising. It caused so
deep and lasting an impression, that in some sections it has persisted
through at least five decades. The advertising moral is: Get people to
_talk_ your brand.
Among the many long-established advertised package-coffee successes may
be mentioned:
Arbuckle’s Yuban and Ariosa; McLaughlin’s XXXX; Chase
& Sanborn’s Seal Brand; Dwinell-Wright’s White House;
Weir’s Red Ribbon; B. Fischer & Company’s Astor;
Brownell & Field’s Autocrat; Bour’s Old Master; Scull’s
Boscul; Seeman Brothers White Rose; Blanke’s Faust;
Baker’s Barrington Hall; Woolson Spice Company’s Golden
Sun; International Coffee Company’s Old Homestead;
Kroneberger’s Old Reserve; Western Grocer Company’s
Chocolate Cream; Leggett’s Nabob; Clossett & Dever’s
Golden West; R. C. Williams Royal Scarlet; Merchants
Coffee Company’s Alameda; Widlar Company’s C. W. brand;
Meyer Bros. Old Judge; Nash-Smith Tea & Coffee Company’s
Wedding Breakfast; J. A. Folger & Company’s Golden Gate;
Ennis-Hanly-Blackburn Coffee Company’s Golden Wedding; M.
J. Brandenstein & Company’s M. J. B.; Hills Brothers Red
Can, the Young & Griffin Coffee Company’s Franco-American,
and the Cheek-Neal Coffee Company’s Maxwell House.
It was estimated that the amount of money spent by the larger coffee
roasters upon all forms of publicity in the United States in 1920 was
about $3,000,000.
Experience has proved that a package coffee, to be successful, must
have back of it expert knowledge of buying, blending, roasting,
and packing, as well as an efficient sales force. These things are
essential: A quality product; a good trade-mark name and label; an
efficient package. With these, an intelligently planned and carefully
executed advertising and sales campaign will spell success. Such a
campaign comprehends advertising directed to the dealer and to the
consumer. It may include all the approved forms of publicity, such as
newspapers, magazines, billboards, electric signs, motion pictures,
demonstrations, and samples. One phase of trade advertising which
should not be overlooked is dealer helps.
_Advertising to the Trade_
Until a comparatively recent date, the green-coffee importer, selling
the roasting trade, has not realized the need of advertising, because,
in most instances, green coffee is not sold by the mark, and, to a
certain extent, price has been the determining factor.
During late years, however, many green-coffee firms have come to
realize that there is a goodwill element that enters into the equation
which can be fostered by the intelligent use of advertising space in
the coffee roaster’s trade journal; also, a few importers are now
featuring trade marks in their advertising, thus building up a tangible
trade-mark asset in addition to goodwill.
[Illustration: DRAWING UPON HISTORY FOR SOCIAL-INTERCOURSE ATMOSPHERE]
_Advertising by Various Mediums_
Billboard and other outdoor advertising, also car cards, are being
used to a considerable extent for coffee publicity. Painted outdoor
signs have been the backbone of one Middle West roaster’s campaign
for a number of years. Both car cards and billboards are growing in
popularity, because they enable the coffee packer to reproduce his
package in its natural colors and permit also of striking displays.
Such firms as Arbuckle Brothers, New York; Dayton Spice Mills, Dayton,
Ohio; W. F. McLaughlin & Company, Chicago; the Puhl-Webb Company,
Chicago; the Bour Company, Toledo; B. Fischer & Company, New York; and
the Cheek-Neal Coffee Company, Nashville and New York, are consistent
users of this character of advertising. Electric signs also have proved
effective for coffee advertising.
Motion pictures are a comparatively new development in coffee
advertising. One of the first coffee roasters to adopt this plan of
publicity was S. H. Holstad & Company, Minneapolis. The film used
depicted the cultivation and preparation of coffee for the market,
also the complete roasting and packaging operations. The A. J. Deer
Company, manufacturer of coffee mills and roasters, Hornell, New
York, was another pioneer in the use of coffee films. Jabez Burns &
Sons, coffee-machinery manufacturers, followed with an educational
coffee picture. The National Packaging Machinery Company, of Boston,
is another concern that has utilized films for advertising purposes,
showing its machines in operation in a coffee-packing plant. Many
roasters made use of the coffee film produced by the Joint Coffee Trade
Publicity Committee.
_Advertising for Retailers_
When retailers analyze the people to whom they sell coffee, they
usually find three types. First, there is the woman who thinks she is
an expert judge of coffee, but is unable to find anything to suit her
cultivated taste. Then, there is the new housewife, possibly a bride
of a few months, who knows very little about coffee, but wants to find
a good blend that both she and her husband will like. The third is the
most acceptable class, the satisfied people who have found coffee that
delights them, day after day.
The following “ready-made” copy appeals for the three classes. To “Mrs.
Know-it-all-about-Coffee,” this style has been found effective:
IMPROVE THE COFFEE AND YOU IMPROVE THE MEAL
The corner of the table that holds the coffee urn is the
balancing point of your dinner. If the coffee is a “little
off” for some reason or other—probably it’s the coffee’s
own fault—things don’t seem so good as they might; but
when it is “up to taste,” the meal is a pleasure from
start to finish. If the “balancing point” is giving you
trouble, let ANY BLEND Coffee properly regulate
it for you. 35 cents, three pounds for $1.
ANY TEA & COFFEE COMPANY
For the good lady who is eager to find a suitable blend of coffee, and
who desires information, this is a good appeal:
A SUCCESSFUL SELECTION
Of the coffee that goes into the every-morning cup will
arrive on the day when ANY BLEND is first
purchased. Many homes have been without such a success
now for a long time, but, of course, they didn’t know of
ANY BLEND—and even now it is hard to really know
ANY BLEND till you try it. That is why we seem
to insist that you ask for an introduction by ordering a
pound.
ANY BLEND TEA & COFFEE COMPANY
Taking both classes and dealing with them alike:
“BLENDED TO BALANCE”
Is a good descriptive phrase of ANY BLEND coffee,
for care is taken in the preparation that the strength
does not overpower the flavor. The aim of the blender is
to get an acceptable and delightful drinking quality. He
has been more than successful, as you will see when you
try ANY BLEND. 35 cents, three pounds for $1.
ANY TEA & COFFEE COMPANY
The satisfied class, of course, is not averse to making a change, and
it is well, occasionally, for the dealer to let his own satisfied
customers know he still believes in his goods. The argument might take
this form:
A SERVICE THAT SAVES
Is the serving of ANY BLEND, when coffee is
desired. ANY BLEND saves many things. It saves
worry, for it is always uniform in flavor and strength.
It saves time, for when you order ANY BLEND we
grind it just as fine or just as coarse as your percolator
or pot demands. ANY BLEND also saves expense,
because there is no waste, as you know just how much to
use, every time, to make a certain number of cups. 35
cents, three pounds for $1.
ANY TEA & COFFEE COMPANY
Again, possible new customers may listen to this appeal:
TO PROVE YOUR APPROVAL
Of ANY BLEND coffee, you are asked to try just
one pound. We know you will like it, for it is blended
and roasted and ground as an exceptional coffee should
be, with the care that a good coffee demands. Prove to
yourself that you approve of this method of preparing
coffee. 35 cents, three pounds for $1.
ANY TEA & COFFEE COMPANY
In some households the cook is permitted to do the ordering, and
usually the cook does not read the daily papers with an eye for coffee
ads. To reach this individual through her mistress:
CAN YOU NAME YOUR COFFEE?
Or is it one of those many unknown brands that comes from
the store at the order of your cook? Let the cook do the
ordering, for you are lucky if you have one you can rely
upon, but tell her you prefer ANY BLEND to the
No-Name Blend you may now be using. ANY BLEND
has one distinct advantage over all others; it is freshly
roasted. Tell the kitchen-lady, now, to order ANY
BLEND.
ANY TEA & COFFEE COMPANY
_Advertising to the Nose_
Advertising, for the most part, is designed to attract attention
and custom through the eye. Sometimes the ear can successfully be
appealed to, but the sounds rarely have any real relation to the object
advertised; and, so, often prove unsatisfactory in their results. Not
so long ago, a California coffee concern made successful appeal to the
noses of possible purchasers of its wares.
A chain of coffee specialty stores in which the coffee is roasted fresh
every day was started in California about 1916, and it met with almost
instant success. In this system, the proprietor buys the green coffee
in large quantities, and it is roasted in each of his specialty stores
(which are located in public markets), store windows, and alongside
heavily traveled highways. The roasting machinery is invariably set up
in front of the store where the passerby can easily see it in operation
and also smell the coffee roasting. Some retail coffee roasters direct
the smoke from the roasting machine through the spout of a huge coffee
pot on the sidewalk in front of their stores. This makes a very
effective advertisement, as the odor from the fresh-roasted coffee
tickles the noses of passersby for blocks around.
_Successful Coffee Window Displays_
O. Wallace Davis, who won first prize in the $2,000 window-trimming
contest of National Coffee Week in 1920, has some worth-while things to
say on grocery-window displays of coffee. He writes:
Your show windows are the eyes of your store. As you look into a
friend’s eyes to learn his true thoughts, so the prospective customer
gazes into your windows to find out what kind of store you keep.
Keep the eyes of your store bright, honest, and attractive.
A well-arranged show window is the retailer’s best asset. Goods well
displayed are half sold. Every grocer knows this, but not everyone
knows how to use his windows to the best advantage. Here are a few
simple directions, the fundamental principles of the window dresser’s
art, which anyone can follow:
[Illustration: A PRIZE-WINNING COFFEE WINDOW DISPLAY
This unusual display of coffee-flavored eatables won first prize for
the southern district in the National Coffee Week window-trimming
contest. The cakes, pies, tarts and other pastries that constituted the
main feature, rested in a bed of green coffee. The customer's interest
was cleverly attracted to the dealer's brand by a pyramid of large
coffee cans in the center background and by two miniature dining-room
sets.]
In arranging grocery or provision windows, the first and most important
principle is _cleanliness_.
Your window glass, flooring, background, fixtures, merchandise, and
display material must be absolutely clean. Use nothing that will in
anyway suggest anything but the most sanitary conditions in your store.
A can of tomatoes with a rust-stained label inevitably indicates
ancient goods. A finger-marked price ticket causes the customer to
see dirty hands touching your merchandise; and so small a thing as a
flyspeck on a soda cracker will queer an otherwise attractive display.
So _cleanliness_ is the first great commandment; and the second is like
unto it,—_neatness_. No window can ever be too neat. A crooked stand,
pyramid, or shelf has no place in a store’s show window.
_Arrangement_, _color_, _merchandise_, _make_,—select and get these
fundamental elements right, and your window must be attractive. Neglect
any one of them, and your display will suffer.
Merely to stop the crowd, to arouse curiosity or entertain, is not
enough. The argument must be there so convincingly that the observer
will be drawn irresistibly into the store or persuaded to buy.
Try to work into your displays the unusual; not necessarily some freak,
but something that will arrest attention of the passerby, and, having
secured attention, lead his eye to the real object of the display,
which should always be the merchandise itself or some advertising
matter pertaining to the goods for sale.
Effective displays may be obtained by filling an entire window with one
item, with a cleverly phrased card telling the story. In conjunction
with a one-item display, a good color scheme adds greatly to the
pulling force. For instance, if you are displaying a package of coffee
with a tan and black label, a brown background trimmed with a “motif”
in black would emphasize the articles and lead the eye directly to them.
It is not always desirable to specialize on a single article. Several,
and sometimes a large number of, items can be shown in such manner
as to give to each its own individuality. This is known as “unit
trimming.” Arrange each article in a group, with plenty of space
between groups. For example, several pyramids of canned goods, arranged
in groups on high pedestals or shelves in the background of the window,
would not necessarily detract from smaller items or articles on the
floor near the front.
Keep your floor covering in harmony with your background, and generally
lighter in color. An example may be helpful: Suppose you wish to show
a window of canned goods with a blue and white label and the brand
name, “Tulip,” or “Daisy,” or “Rose.” A rich shade of orange would make
a strong background for these, and a few flowers, such as the brand
suggests, would aid materially in making an attractive window.
In arranging these special displays, a little study of the package
itself will suggest many ideas and help you put an extra punch into
your window. Most manufacturers furnish free window display material
advertising their own goods, such as dummy packages, posters, hangers,
strips, and cut-outs; but the window that attracts the biggest crowd
and sells the most goods usually is one upon which the boss, or one
of his clerks, has used his own gray matter. The standardized window
may reach a high grade,—in fact, the displays arranged by salesmen or
traveling representatives of the big manufacturers and jobbers are
uniformly good and far above the average,—but standardization cannot
supply the personal touch and the local color which any grocer should
be able to furnish if he is willing to devote to his windows a fair
amount of time, thought, and labor. Frequently an ideal combination
can be obtained through the use of a standard window trim to which
the retailer has added just a few touches of his own to give it
individuality.
Many warnings have been written against “overcrowding” a window; but
don’t skimp your display. Fill it full of interest, enthusiasm, and
pep. Remember that there is no better or cheaper advertising. Compare
its cost with the cost of any other form of advertising, and you will
need no further argument to convince you that it is worth all the time
and attention you can give it.
The displaying of coffee offers endless opportunities. In the first
place, it is a familiar article, in which everyone is interested. It
comes in many forms, which suggest a great variety of ways to handle
it in a window. No article the grocer sells is more attractively
packed. Cartons, bags, and cans are easy to arrange in a multitude of
attractive designs. Coffee in bulk, in either the berry or ground,
looks well in almost any receptacle, and the finished product suggests
familiar household scenes.
A coffee display offers unusual opportunities to the clever sign
writer, and the advertising literature issued by the roasters and
the Joint Coffee Trade Publicity Committee furnishes a never-failing
source of material. The public, and especially housewives, are always
interested in signs telling how to prepare and serve coffee.
_Advertising by Government Propaganda_
Advertising coffee by government propaganda has been indulged in with
more or less success by the British government in behalf of certain of
its colonial possessions; by the French and the Dutch; by Porto Rico,
Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Brazil. The markets most cultivated have
been Italy, France, England, Russia, Japan, and the United States.
Over 20 years ago, the author began an agitation for cooperative
advertising by the coffee trade. He suggested as a slogan, “Tell the
truth about coffee,” and it is gratifying to find that many of his
original ideas have been embodied in the present Joint Coffee Trade
Publicity campaign, which has been going on for five years.
This campaign, made possible by generous contributions from Brazil
and the coffee merchants of the United States, has, by means of
advertisements in newspapers and periodicals, through scientific
research, by educational booklets, etc., done much to dissipate the
erroneous ideas propagated by the traducers of our national beverage
and to acquaint the general public with the truth about coffee.
_Coffee Advertising Efficiency_
In advertising coffee, it is well to bear in mind these three thoughts,
which should be woven into the fabric of all copy:
1. The intrinsic desirability of coffee—the actual
pleasure to be derived from the act of partaking of it.
2. That it is delightful medium for social
intercourse—part of the essential equipment for an
intimate chat or more general assemblage of friends.
3. That its proper service is a badge of social
distinction—the mark of a successful hostess.
[Illustration: COFFEE-MAKING DEVICES USED IN UNITED STATES
1. Marion Harland pot. 2. Universal percolator. 3. Gait vacuum-process
coffee maker. 4. Universal electric urn. 5. English coffee biggin
(Langley ware). 6. Universal cafenoira (glass filter). 7. Vienna
(Bohemian or Carlsbad) coffee machine. 8. Tru-Bru pot. 9. Tricolator.
10. Manning-Bowman percolator. 11. Blanke’s Sanitary coffee pot. 12.
Phylax coffee maker. 13. Private Estate coffee maker. 14. American
French-drip pot. 15. Kin-Hee pot. 16. Silex opalescent glass filter.
17. French-drip pot (Langley ware).]