In the 1880s, brand name products began to be advertised to American consumers on advertising cards and in newspapers. Some of the earliest were soaps. Soap was difficult and unpleasant for the housewife to make herself, so the manufacturers of Ivory, Pears and Packer's soap found a ready market across the country.

A few years later, national food brands began to appear - Quaker Oats, Royal Baking Powder, and Hire's Root Beer among them - and advertisers purchased space in national magazines in order to boost sales.

In 1900, print advertising was such a fixture that marketers spent $100 million on it - twice the amount they'd spent in the 1880s. That money put advertisements in nearly every one of the 3,500 magazines that were distributed to over 65 million men and women across the country.

Most early ads aimed at children were for books toys and candy. By 1928, it is estimated that magazine advertisers were reaching an estimated 20 million children between the ages of 10 and 20, and it was during this time that manufacturers really began targeting children - especially in the areas of food and clothing.

While early advertisements were geared toward parents ("Your kids will love this; buy it for them!"), marketers soon learned to aim ads at the children themselves ("You'll love this; have your parents buy it for you!"). Child psychologist E. Evalyn Grumbine's 1938 publication Reaching Juvenile Markets noted that children were "natural and enthusiastic buyers." Therefore:

An understanding of children, of their physical and mental development, their likes and dislikes, and their reactions to the rapidly changing conditions of living today, will help manufacturers to plan better advertising campaigns.

Rosa-Maye Kendrick's Stroller

 Manville Kendrick's High Chair

 John Kendrick's Walker

John & Hugh Kendrick's Sleds

For as long as there have been products to advertise, there have been images of juveniles hawking those products. Many of the supermarket standbys we know today – from food and candy to wearing apparel and cleaning products – used illustrations of children as selling tools as early as the mid-1800s. The real heyday of the child pitchman came in the 1920s when labels began picturing healthy children doing healthful things: eating fruit, playing outside, sleeping soundly.

One of the most famous child advertising icons from the 20th Century was the “Gerber Baby,” who began his/her career selling baby food in 1931. Others include the Campbell Soup Kids, the Uneeda Biscuit Boy, the Jell-O Girl, Buster Brown, and the Cracker Jack Kid.

Cream of Wheat, Campbell's Soup, Swift's Premium Ham

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Last Updated March 2008