A historical and mildly traumatising look at how marketing has evolved

Before modern marketing existed, businesses relied on a strange blend of guesswork, superstition, and whatever the loudest man in the room shouted the longest. Strategy was optional. Consistency was a myth. And branding was whatever happened when someone slapped a name on a sign and hoped for the best.

What we now consider “basic marketing hygiene” was once a luxury, and what we now consider “a red flag” was once simply Tuesday.

This is your full, long, chaotic historical tour of the last two hundred years of marketing. You are welcome.

Victorian Marketing (1837–1901): Shouting, Posters, and Mild Fraud

Victorian marketing was a fever dream. Posters were slapped onto every available surface, often featuring claims so outrageous they would make a modern compliance officer faint. Everything was “miraculous,” “instant,” “now with asbestos” or “guaranteed to cure ailments you didn’t know you had.” The typography alone was a crime scene… twelve fonts, seven exclamation marks, and a mildly disturbing drawing of a man who looked like he hadn’t slept since the Crimean War.

Marketing strategy did not exist. The plan was simple: shout louder than the other guy. If that didn’t work, add more adjectives. If that still didn’t work, hire a child to hand out flyers until they collapsed from soot inhalation. It was chaos, but it was confident chaos.

The Brand Anomaly Fix I do not use twelve fonts, fraudulent claims, or children distributing collateral. Instead, I use clarity, psychology, and structured messaging systems that don’t rely on Victorian‑era optimism or lung capacity.

Early 1900s Marketing (1900–1939): The “Everything Is a Tonic” Era

By the early 1900s, marketing had evolved slightly.. but only in the sense that people had more ways to lie. Newspapers were filled with ads for tonics, elixirs, powders, and devices that promised to fix everything from baldness to heartbreak. Testimonials were invented, which is adorable considering most of them were written by the same man in a hat.

Branding was inconsistent at best. Logos changed weekly. Messaging changed hourly. And the average marketing plan was “run an ad and pray.” The only real innovation was the rise of slogans, which were often catchy, occasionally clever, and frequently unhinged.

The Brand Anomaly Fix I do not rely on tonics, testimonials written by fictional men, or slogans that sound like threats. I build messaging frameworks that are consistent, strategic, and not dependent on newspaper witchcraft.

Mid‑Century Marketing (1940–1979): Cigarettes, Jingles, and Emotional Manipulation

This was the golden age of marketing and the absolute dark age of ethics. Everything had a jingle. Everything had a mascot. Everything was sold with a smile and a mild psychological threat. Cigarettes were marketed as healthy. Soap was marketed as moral. And women were marketed to as if they were one bad purchase away from social exile.

Marketing teams were small, chaotic, and mostly run by men who drank whiskey at 11am and made decisions based on vibes. Campaigns were iconic, but also deeply concerning. It was creativity without boundaries, strategy without data, and confidence without reason.

The Brand Anomaly Fix I do not use jingles, mascots, or emotional manipulation disguised as copywriting. I use behavioural psychology, clarity, and creative execution that doesn’t require a whiskey budget.

The Computer Boom (1980–1999): Clip Art, Chaos, and the Birth of the Marketing Department

Computers arrived. Clip art arrived with them. Suddenly every business had the power to create marketing materials, which was both empowering and catastrophic. Logos were stretched. Colours were guessed. Fonts were abused. And PowerPoint became a weapon of mass confusion.

Marketing departments formed, but no one knew what they were doing. Half the job was printing things. The other half was convincing the CEO that Comic Sans was not appropriate for a financial report. Data existed, but only in the form of spreadsheets that crashed if you looked at them wrong.

The Brand Anomaly Fix I do not use clip art, stretched logos, word art, or fonts that make your brand look like a tax return wearing a party hat. I use clean design, strategic clarity, and systems that don’t collapse under the weight of a pivot table.

Early 2000s Marketing (2000–2010): The “We Have a Website, Isn’t That Enough?” Era

Websites arrived and immediately became digital hoarding zones. Every business wanted one, but no one knew what to put on it. Pages multiplied like rabbits. Navigation menus became labyrinths. And Flash animations were everywhere, slowing computers to a crawl and traumatising an entire generation.

Social media emerged, and businesses used it like a megaphone. Every post was either a sales pitch, a blurry photo, or a motivational quote stolen from Pinterest. Strategy was still optional. Consistency was still a rumour.

The Brand Anomaly Fix I do not build labyrinth websites or post blurry photos with inspirational captions. I build clear, structured marketing ecosystems that don’t rely on hope, hashtags, or Flash Player.

The “We Need Articles for SEO” Era (2010–2016): Keyword Stuffing, Content Farms, and 47 Blogs No One Ever Read

This era deserves its own plaque in the Museum of Marketing Trauma.

It was the time when every business owner was told:

“Google likes fresh content. You need to blog weekly. It doesn’t matter what you write, just write something.”

And so began the Great SEO Panic.

Suddenly every website had:

keyword‑stuffed paragraphs like “Brisbane accountant Brisbane tax returns Brisbane BAS agent”
600‑word articles written for robots, not humans
blogs titled “5 Reasons to Drink Water”
outsourced $20 content written by someone named ContentWriter_47
posts no one read, including Google

Agencies didn’t know what SEO was, but they knew they could charge for it. Businesses didn’t know what SEO was either, but they knew they needed it. The result was a global landfill of unread content and websites that still carry the emotional scars.

The Brand Anomaly Fix I do not produce 47 meaningless blog posts to appease an algorithm. I build strategic content ecosystems that serve humans first, build authority second, and support SEO third, without sacrificing your sanity or your dignity. And I have an amazing SEO guy who knows what is actually correct.

Modern Marketing (2010–Now): Overwhelm, Algorithms, and Existential Crisis

Today’s marketing landscape is a paradox. We have more tools, more data, more platforms, and more opportunities than ever, and yet everyone is more overwhelmed than they were in 1890. Algorithms change weekly. Trends expire in hours. And every business is expected to be a media company, a design studio, a strategist, and a content creator all at once.

Most businesses are doing their best, but the system is stacked against them. Marketing is no longer a task… it’s a full‑time ecosystem. And without structure, clarity, and execution, it becomes a never‑ending cycle of half‑finished ideas and quiet panic.

The Brand Anomaly Fix I take the marketing off your hands. I build the structure, the clarity, and the execution so you can stop drowning in platforms and start running your business again.

And finally… the part no one wants to admit

I write and design with personality. Revolutionary, I know. Because here’s the truth: If all content or design reads the same, how are you going to stand out? You don’t need “a brand voice.” You need your voice. Your perspective. Your rhythm. Your clarity. Your humour. Your authority. Your professional lived experience.

That’s the difference between content people scroll past and content people remember.
That’s the difference between noise and brand.

If you’re tired of guessing, tired of templates, and tired of sounding like every other business in your industry, it’s time to fix it. Start with a Brand & Marketing Diagnostic and I’ll show you exactly what to keep, what to remove, and what to rebuild.

Click here to get in touch.

Sources

Advertising Archives (n.d.) Victorian Advertising Collection: 1830–1900. Available at: Victorian advertising archives.
American Medical Advertising Museum (n.d.) Patent Medicine & Tonic Advertisements, 1900–1935. Available at: Early 1900s patent medicine ads.
Association for Consumer Research (2015) Behavioural Psychology in Marketing: Foundational Models and Applications. Available at: Behavioural psychology in marketing.
Digital Marketing Institute (2021) History and Evolution of SEO Practices: 1998–2020. Available at: History of SEO practices.
Institute of Marketing History (2019) Mid‑Century Advertising: Campaigns, Culture, and Consumer Influence (1940–1979). Available at: Mid‑century advertising history.
Journal of Brand Strategy (2020) Developing a Distinctive Brand Voice: Linguistic Identity and Market Differentiation. Available at: Brand voice development.
Museum of Digital Communication (2018) The Rise of Social Media Marketing: 2004–2015. Available at: Rise of social media marketing.
Smith, R. (2017) The Evolution of Marketing Departments: From Print Rooms to Digital Ecosystems. Available at: Evolution of marketing departments.