SANTOSH 9702: What are some mind-blowing facts about advertising and advertisements?

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Here are some interesting facts from the world of advertising. Not sure if they would blow away everyone’s mind, but surely good to know info:

Often some of the print ads for high end cars are shot using their miniature models to get the perfect effect and cut down expenses. Audi has done this by hiring miniature photography master Felix Hernandez.

Ain’t that something: The worldwide advertising industry is worth more than USD 550 billion. That is more than the revenue of Walmart in 2018.
The Pizza President: Mikhail Gorbachev (former Soviet President) starred in a Pizza Hut commercial.

Cowboy Killers: Marlboro is famous for it's branding around masculinity. Their rugged cowboy imagery became very popular with a huge section of their target customers. Incidentally, five of the men who (claimed to have) appeared in their commercials (Wayne McLaren, David McLean, Dick Hammer, Eric Lawson and Jerome Edward Jackson, aka Tobin Jackson) died of smoking related diseases. This earned Marlboro the nickname 'Cowboy Killers'.

Bad breath to the rescue: Until 1920s bad breath (halitosis) wasn't considered a a very big problem, neither medically nor socially. It was through the advertisements for Listerene (a struggling product until then - surgical antiseptic, floor cleaner, gonorrhea cure etc.) that it (bad breath) was sold to the general public as a problem affecting the marriage/companionship prospects of young men and women. Listerene finally became successful as a 'bad breath cure' with the company's revenues increasing from USD 115,000 to $ 8 million within 7 years.

Eye patch sells shirts: CF Hathaway, a shirt making company decided to advertise for the very first time in 1951 to compete with much better known brands. They hired David Ogilvy to do a campaign who bought a few eye patches for 50 cents on his way to the photo shoot. He made some of the models wear the eye patches for the photos which generated a lot of curiosity in the masses. It was an instant success for both CF Hatahway and Ogilvy, every Hathaway shirt in the city was sold within a week.

Utterly betterly prepared: Amul Butter hoardings in Indian cities have always generated a lot of public attention. A lot of people are surprised by their speed of responding to events like cricket matches or election results. Well the secret lies in preparing for all possible outcomes. For example during cricket matches, they have ad copies ready for all possibilities: win, loss or draw.

Longer than a Trans Atlantic flight: The longest TV commercial by duration is 14 hr, and was produced by Procter & Gamble (Brazil), promoting Old Spice Deodorant, and aired in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, on 8 December 2018 from 6 AM till 8 PM on Woohoo TV channel.
According to a research, some pharmaceutical companies spend nearly twice as much on advertising than they do on research.
It is very common for some weight loss companies to pay a fit person to gain weight for the 'before - after' photos rather than the other way round.
Employee Placement: In the movie ‘What Women Want’, a key part of the story is the Nike ad campaign on which Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt work. There are three actual Nike ad representatives (not actresses) in the movie scene. Well, that’s good product and employee placement :)