Québécois publicity

Publicity is a recent discipline like are other Social sciences (psychology, sociology and others). Until the 19th century, all the reflections merge in philosophy. Then Auguste Count occurs who supports that, in the history, the structuring of the thought passes by three stages: a theological stage in which the belief carries out the world; then, a philosophical stage in which the reasoning works the attitudes; finally, a scientific stage in which the demonstration of the facts reveals reality. At the 19th century, the scientific approach is already manifest, and the Publicité benefits from it.

The prehistory of Québécois publicity

But one needed a medium and certain socio-economic conditions so that publicity is distinguished from the art of the convincing word, of the Rhétorique. The medium, it was America characterized by its young and innovating population, its spirit of entrepreneurship and its choice of free Marché. The conditions, it were: the Technological advance (which provide, for example, popular presses) and the Industrialization which followed (which gave a increased Productivité, therefore goods of surplus of the request), urban concentration (caused by the need for workmen within reach), the obligatory Scolarisation (which provides readers to the newspapers). These conditions were met at the end of the 19th century.

It is obvious that, under the French Mode is before 1759 dates to which the British invaded Canada, there was not, not more in Quebec that elsewhere in the world, of publicity like such. It was done what one called of the advertisement, forms more intuitive of the persuasive communication and using means other than the Médias of mass.

The first advertizing graphic designer

All the same, certain “artists” worked under order to carry out works the purpose of which were to increase the notoriety of their constituents. Thus, Roy-Audy, self-educated artist born in Charlesbourg in 1785, work, at the beginning of the 19th century, as lettror of signs and decorator. Starting from the 30 years age, it is devoted professionally to its art; it paints monograms or landscapes in cartridge on beautiful the carrioles of the soldiers and the middle-class men of Quebec - mainly anglophone. It is an advertizing graphic designer before the name, what!

Under all the English Mode, let us say of 1759 to 1867, there were several artists who worked under order to carry out “images which speak”. It was obviously the case of the officers of the British army who all, were to at least summarily control the drawing of landscape - the artillery officers, to be able to calculate the strategies of shooting for their guns according to the details of the landscape; officers of the genious, to establish plans and charts. All had indeed studied the drawing with the Military academy of Woolwich close to London.

Thus, in 1759, the marquis of Townsend, second in command of the English army confined in front of Quebec, had crayonné caricatures of the winner, the Wolfe General. The aide-de-camp of this one, Smyth, had made sketches of the invader climbing the course in direction of the Plains of Abraham.

Famous “an advertizing illustrator”

Among these officers, the most famous “advertizing illustrator” is undoubtedly the lieutenant-colonel Cockburn, officer ordering of the 60e British regiment of artillery which was in station in Quebec of 1826 to 1832. I say “advertizing illustrator” because several of these draftsman-officers sign from the contracts with large London editors by whom they are committed delivering pochades of landscapes of the areas that they traverse; these images are then published in the form of books which play, in this time, the tourist part of publicity.

Others publish their accounts of voyages or make appear their illustrations in the Canadian Illustrated News published between 1869 and 1885. Some traverse even the country under contract like does it Bartlett for the Payne editor of London (they are the reporters Geo or National Geographic of time!).

The land-surveyor montréalais Jacques Bouchette publishes itself two works of boards of landscapes in this editor.

The photographers intervene

Starting from second half of the 19th century, the Photographie supplants the drawing gradually. In the capital, Quebec, J. - B. Livernois opens its studio in 1854 (this studio is active until in the Sixties). Work of four generations, Livernois entrust in years 1960 to the Public records of Quebec more 300 000 photographs (scenes of city, constructions, daily life, etc).

In Montreal, William Notman opens a similar studio in 1856 - before opening branches in Ottawa, Boston, New York, and thus until about fifteen others. Notman is initially an excellent portraitist who left us the head of all the large ones of his time, including that of Buffalo Bill. It is also a specialist in the great reconstitutions symbolic systems in studio, settings in scene with trees, animals, snow… the equivalent of what the advertizing photographers of today carry out.

Although several of these activities are carried out with persuasive aimings in stump, it is not however yet about publicity to the modern direction of the term.

Légende: Comment to make its publicity soi-même of Claude Cossette (3rd edition with Nicolas Massey) is undoubtedly the handbook more used, but Les 36 cords sensitive of Québécois of Jacques Bouchard is undoubtedly the work more célèbre.

The publicity of the artist at the agency

With the Act of British North America of 1867, it is a whole change of civilization which occurs in Quebec. 3000 British soldiers confined in the Old Capital (a town of 30,000 inhabitants!) leave Canada in 1871. Good-bye, the artists officers!

The cheap daily newspaper requires publicity

The first media of mass, the cheap daily newspaper, make its appearance, with its publicity with the key to allow a nominal selling price: some under. If it is not Journal of Montréal (and de Québec), all the Québécois famous daily newspapers are born between 1869 and 1910: La Press, The Gazette, the Duty, the Sun (more late the Star, the Action catholique and Le Canada). About 1910, there exists already more than 130 daily newspapers in Canada.

A cheap newspaper is not possible that in two conditions: to have of a technology which allows pulling at high speed… and a population largely provided education for to constitute a substantial basin of readers. These two conditions were met in Quebec with the turning 20th century. The pulling of the daily newspapers increases then regularly, and, this phenomenon being coupled with the surplus of the consumer goods, publicity made more and more arises there beside the leading matter. Like disciplines independent, publicity thus takes its rise at the same time as develop the large newspapers.

First agencies

Being used as intermediary between advertisers and newspapers, there exist salesmen of pub who are remunerated by handing-over from 10% to 25% on the usual price authorized by the owners of newspapers. Then, the first Canadian advertizing agencies “licensed” make their appearance. McKim Newspaper Agency is the first Advertizing agency in Canada; it is founded in Montreal in 1889. It is still today one of the great agencies of Canada.

Quebec does not remain about it with this first “first” as regards communication mass media: CFCF of Montreal east, in 1919, the first radio operator station in the world to be diffused regularly; CKAC is, in 1922, the first commercial radio of French language in the world. It should be remembered that Montreal is at the time the uncontested economic metropolis of Canada.

The first French-speaking advertizing agency is founded a score of years later that McKim, is in 1908 (this agency was activates until 1974). Launched by François-Emile Fountain, it bears especially the name of Canadian Advertizing Agency ltd (sic!)/ It is, which at the time of its foundation, the businesses constituted one drive out-kept anglophone and no French-speaking person could claim to succeed in businesses with a name of company to French consonance.

Then, before the Great War of 1914-18, several tens of agencies are born so that the Canadian Advertizing Agency Association - become l' Institute off Canadian Advertizing - is already formed in 1905.

Coca-Cola publishes, in 1906, in a daily newspaper of Peterborough, its first advertisement in Canada.

A new publicity

As Ernest Turner in The Shocking History Advertizing (1952) brings it back off, true “publicity saleswoman” (rather than simply informative-repetitive) made her appearance about 1900: “Persuaded that publicity is a “salesman in the form of printed” rather than a simple description or the repetition of a name of mark, Albert Lasker of the agency Lord & Thomas of Chicago, spreads the idea that publicity must express a motivation (the reason why). ” It is John Kennedy, a young writer-originator montréalais (one moment member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) who, in 1904, Lasker convinces of this new role of publicity.

Légende: The first countryside of BCP for Labatt 50.

At this moment - and just like today! - it is in the United States that the novel methods are born to be spread then in Canada. The Canadian agencies (even anglophone) were well more used to make placement in the Canadian media for the large American advertisers and their advertizing agencies… But, Russell Johnston in Selling Themselves (2001) recalls: “With the arrival of copywriters and visualists, one starts to defend the idea that the Canadian advertizing agencies know the Canadian local culture best that the American agencies. ” Even reaction which sixty years the French-speaking advertizing executives opposite their Toronto-native constituents will have later.

Translated publicity

Canadian publicity occurred in Montreal, but, in the same way that the Anglo-Canadian advertizing executives were used only as relay for the advertizing executives states-uniens towards the Canadian market, publicity canado-Frenchwoman was not that a pale translation of the advertisement thought and designed in English. The great advertisers groups were anglophone; the Toronto-native advertizing executives (or incidentally montréalais) created an anglophone Canadian campaign… and then asked a French-speaking underling of Montreal to translate their advertisements, quite simply. It is only in years 1950 that the first French-speaking Inhabitants of Quebec got a foothold in the advertizing world firmly. Payeur Publicité of Quebec was one of these first French-speaking agencies to last. In these year, one counted yet only three or four “true” French-speaking agencies in Quebec; at the end of the years 1960, one counted yet at most only one ten of it.

In addition, printing works always constituted an important industrial sector in Quebec. In first half of the 20th century, the printed paper form is the advertizing medium most important. The printers of English language hold their first congress in Montreal in 1912, and the printers “French Canadian” as one said then hold theirs in 1938.

Originators of the newspapers

Printing works of newspapers are then of large factories, with a large staff and an immense machinery. They need “advertizing originators” especially used to put on pages the advertisements or to outline work of city which the company jointly prints with the daily newspaper. These first “advertizing executives” (originators) are usually experienced typographers or commercial representatives who develop an private interest for publicity. Gradually and as the newspapers diffuse more regularly of the images, let us say since 1890, certain draftsmen make their mark.

If the foremen of the workshops play the part of typographical advisers rather, the salesmen of advertisement play that of advisers, even of originators, advertizing executives. It is true that industry also caused the trade of “advertizing artist” good before the schools do not teach this discipline. At the beginning of the 20th century, the two large industrial and commercial metropolises of Canada make live many “commercial artists” who are trained on the job. Several members of the Groupe of the Seven gained besides their bread in the world of publicity. It is then not the taste of beautiful which made emerge these advertizing artists, but the requirements in images for the daily newspapers and publicity.

The originators artists

During the Great Depression, all the trade slows down and publicity into sudden the by-effect. Whereas in America the project superintendents of publicity are the originator-writers, in Europe, it is the poster artist who is the hero of this brilliant world. Internationally, the most famous advertizing executive of first half of the 20th century is undoubtedly the poster artist has. - M. Cassandre. Its posters make the publicity of the largest international advertisers than are at the time the railroad companies and of deck chairs. The posters of the pullman-car express “the Star of North” published in 1927 and that of the steamer Normandy appeared into 1935 are sold today like masterpieces in the shops of posters.

Rare fact at the time, Montréalais Raoul Bonin decides to go to work a time with Cassandre in Paris. Bonin returns to Montreal and is famous being, according to the words of Robert Stacey in The Canadian Poster Book (1979), “the first Canadian graphic designer-illustrator to face the market with the new style purist”.

At the time of the Second world Great War 1939-45, the needs for propaganda give an important dash to the development of publicity in Canada and Quebec. As of the release of the war, the Canadian government calls upon the National Film Board - become the National office of film of Canada (ONF) a few years later - which is then the only government organization laying out artists talented visualists.

Légende: A tourist campaign for Quebec with the beginning of the year 1960 before advertizing executives of mêlent.

To most extremely of the war, in 1942, a change of course is given: one names Harry Mayerovitch directing of the department of graphics. “Mayo”, as it is called, is surrounded then of a team of excellent visualists whose Henry Eveleigh, of British origin. In 1947, Eveleigh reached with a certain notoriety in the specialized milieux when it obtains the First price of the First world contest of posters of the United Nations.

Really advertizing originators

With the advertizing budgets which are multiplied by ten during the Quiet revolution, the number of the visualists interested by publicity multiply in parallel. Sometimes, they are gathered by a artist-contractor. Thus in Montreal, Gaston Parent becomes the first French-speaking person who understands that publicity requires for another kind “of artists” that those which one finds in the printers and other photoengravers who are only slaves that one pushes with the production of the end of the stick. Relative leaves the photoengraver in whom it learned how the advertizing techniques to give day to Commercial Art Center (CAC) - which was also built-under the name of Center of arts of the communication although nobody never knew the company under this name. At the beginning, they is five draftsmen of Quebec who train team with him; quickly, CAC becomes an immense box which makes work, in the years 1960, until a hundred artists to the service of about fifty advertizing agencies of Montreal, of which still much are anglophone at the time.

The French-speaking people remove the torch

From 1965, the transfer inhabitants of Quebec become aware that, by their number, they constitute a force for the Québécois industry and trade. Some remember whereas “united we stand, divided we fall”. Hitherto, the transfer ones montréalais knew only l'Advertizing and Executive Sales Club founded in 1910. They are then requested by a young advertizing executive who will make his mark thereafter.

Jacques Bouchard, spark plug

Montréalais Jacques Bouchard is titrated by its follower of Quebec, Claude Cossette, “prince of Quebec French publicity”. It is Bouchard which founds in 1959 the Publicity-Club of Montreal. Thereafter, is very connected.

A few years later, the graphic designers set up the Graphica Club of Montreal. In its annual Graphica 67 - before thus the visual repercussions of the World Fair of Montreal, Expo 67… and of the sumptuous festivals of the Centenary of the Confederation which take place this year - Alan Wilkinson, its president, writing: “It is the third annual exposure of graphic art applied to publicity, with the leading article (sic! ) and on television. The number of 3,800 parts registered with the contest exceeded forever by any other exposure to Canada.” But is the club bilingual and the professionals of Quebec still feel the need (of colonized?) to be made confirm their competences by foreign “pros”: not only one of the four members of the jury of the contest Graphica 67 is not Québécois; they all are American.

Let us compare the way traversed twenty years later: the jury of Graphism Quebec 89 is composed of seven members of which only two are foreign. And the jury of Graphika 2000 is composed of 13 members, all credits in the world of publicity or the edition in Quebec.

Québécois publicity became an autonomous entity.

The Quiet revolution and publicity

However, in the large national campaigns, the French-speaking professionals of Quebec still often play a subordinate part. Let us recall that before 1950, the economic domain was controlled practically exclusively by the english-speaking; the French-speaking people remained confined with social sciences. It is during years 1960 that the Inhabitants of Quebec launch out in businesses, start of the manufacturing companies or services of any nature, and especially, create powerful economic organizations - as the General society of financing or the Caisse of deposit and placement of Quebec which play a major role in the economy of modern Quebec.

Légende: A posting campaign integrating the advertizing slogan most concise into the world according to the Guide Guinness of the records.

At the same time, the large advertisers spend more and more of money in Quebec. Consequently, are born from the innovating advertizing agencies like BCP (Bouchard, Champagne, Pelletier, founded in Montreal in 1963 by Jacques Bouchard) and Cossette (founded in Quebec in 1964 by Claude Cossette).

In these years, the giant of the Procter detergent & dramatic Gamble mixed liability company six radiophonic per day, five days per week. One knows now why one refers to these drama series under the term of “novel soap”. The series Un man and its péché beat the North-American record of all times for the length of a saga novel. These drama series put in scene the Québécois people which repaît themselves some. The passion of the Québécois public for this kind of emissions was never contradicted since.

The Quiet revolution of Quebec starts with the years 1960. One can characterize the Quiet revolution by two major transformations of the company: a nationalist current (modernization and increase in the role of the State, great projects of infrastructures, taken in hand of the economy, etc); a current anticlerical (laicization of the systems of education and health, liberalization of manners, abandonment of the religious practice, etc). A whole train of laws is voted by the liberal government with the capacity until in the 1966 which create économico-financial organizations, then health insurances, the insurance-hospitalization, the pensions with the elderly, the Office of the French language, the colleges of mainstream education and professionals (cégeps), then couples on the nationalization of electricity, the cleansing of the political practices, the access generalized to the higher learning, so on.

In the field of the communications, the government sets up the Office of information and publicity, thus trying for the first time, to centralize and of professionnaliser the governmental communication.

Change of attitude at the large advertisers

Like people, the Inhabitants of Quebec have from now on the feeling to be at the same time different from the other Canadians and as able as the other advanced nations to take their businesses in hand. It should be said that it is the time of the massive Décolonisation on a world scale.

But, for Quebec, it is necessary still that the advertizing executives convince the large multinational advertisers of their competence, their effectiveness, the cultural differences of the Québécois Nation. It is what makes a success of brilliantly Jacques Bouchard of BCP when he convinces the Labatt brewery to endorse the countryside with like popular spokesperson comic the Olivier Guimond “Him, there knows that”.

In the years 1960, a company like the Dominion Corset of Quebec, which however belongs to French-speaking interests, still makes conceive its publicity by agencies of New York, convinced wrongly that they cannot obtain professional services of quality equivalent to Quebec. It is necessary to await the arrival of an anglophone chairman, Ted Innes, so that this company (which was a long time the largest company of the kind in the British Commonwealth) calls upon an advertizing agency of Quebec, Cossette Communication Marketing. This man was convinced that only Inhabitants of Quebec could speak effectively with Inhabitants of Quebec. He was right: the mark Daisy Fresh obtained a success without precedent with the countryside that Cossette concocta with the participation of an anglophone high-speed motorboat….

To teach publicity

Gradually, Québécois publicity becomes an important subculture on the national plan; the media comment on the present campaigns in the field of the language, the cultural symbols or the moral aspects.

The State entrusts to the level Cégep the mission of training the technician-graphic designers and to the university that to train the professionals of publicity.

Légende: Publicity published in 2006 in a monthly magazine intended for the yuppies. It was conceived by the advertiser itself… helped by a student in publicity for hangs “the sushis best rolled downtown”. It generated several negative comments on behalf of consumers. Did this publicity drew the attention, but persuade that there one finds “best the sushis downtown”?

In 1978, the television of State, TéléQuébec, directed towards a “educational mission”, decides to diffuse for the first time an important series of emissions baptized La Publicité in Québec. A score of emissions are diffused with as presenter, Jean Doré (who will become mayor of Montreal thereafter); the whole is accompanied by Guides of study and other educational tools because the series is integrated into a course remotely offered by TéléUniversité, a component of the new University of Quebec.

DITCH TO BE FILLED BETWEEN THE YEARS 1980 AND 2007

The advertizing in the popular culture

Today, publicity belongs to the culture of any person the moindrement informed one. The parents of young children know well that the small children know about all advertizing the “tounes” diffused on television. One knows the passion which the pubs of SuperBowl cause. It is to be wondered whether people prefer the match or publicity. It was already noted that in a 45 minute old beach, there had been only 44% of play, all the remainder was publicity (yes, yes!).

The banked-up beds like publicity so much that several agree to pay 30$ or 40$ to attend one Night of publicity in Montreal or Quebec. I give run by Internet: to communicate by the image in publicity and journalisme. The students exchange 1200 messages per quarter. Allusion to the advertisements of television is of a distracting frequency. I am obliged to intervene to recall that it is not a course on publicity but on the composition of the image. The young people adore publicity.

In the past, the works of art were with the exclusive range of rich people. For the ordinary citizen of today, a work of art visual, it is the panel claims new Ladybird, the theater, in fact the last advertizing scénarisations put in the high-speed motorboat their star preferred, the beauty, they are the famous brands of clothing which present emaciated human clones or with the soiled beard…

Mass culture? Henceforth, they are not any more the museums but the companies which finance - or even, create! - cultural events. It is Oldsmobile and not the Museum of contemporary art of Montreal which presents “Giacometti, the largest sculptor of the 20th century”. Or, the “larger sculptor” would be rather “Rodin” which was presented by the Investors Group to the Museum of the fine arts of Quebec.

Ironically, if I want to reach a cheap concert, I make better go in a department store. Is the world turned to back? The concerts are presented in the stores and the museums became panels claims. Good-bye La Joconde de Vinci or La Young girl with the turban of Vermeer! These are publicities with which the young people equip their walls. They even agree to transform themselves into women and men sandwich: the names of the marks to the mode are written full size on their chest or in their back.

Publicity builds images and people nourish symbols. The easy consumer does not drink water; he prefers of Montclair, or Evian, or the Perrier. Or better, of San Pellegrino… In this way, he affirms that he belongs to intelligentsia or the jet set! It is indeed the work of publicity to build brand images.

The great television networks diffuse data transmission “” which speaks about publicity. Television general public makes a subject of scenario of it: network VAT put in waves drama series which occur in this universe, Tribu.Com, which obtained an important popular success. Several feature-length films proceed in the world of the advertizing.

Publicity becomes a subject of interest even among intellectuals. The journalists make good place with publicity. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal speak about it almost each day. Le Devoir presents an analysis of countryside regularly, La Presse makes in the same way. One can find in very good Advertizing, newsagent Age, the American weekly magazine of publicity… or InfoPresse the monthly magazine of Québécois publicity.

Like the academic James Twitchell in AdCult USA (1996) writes it, “what publicity transmits, it is what we know, which we have in common, it in what we believe, it is what we are, it is us. ”

Thus Québécois publicity, with its national characteristics was essential in the general public, at people of businesses of Quebec and until in the multinationals.

At present, the Cossette Group is the only independent holding in Canada. When Claude Cossette left the presidency of Cossette Communication Marketing, its agency was the first agency in importance in Quebec; the Cossette Group is from now on the greatest group of communication of Canada with offices in Quebec (head office), Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, without counting its offices of New York, Boston, Irvine, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai and Moscow.

Source

This text is the recasting of a text published in an original manner by Claude Cossette in a work entitled: La Publicity, waste culturel. Quebec, Presses of the Laval University, 2001. It is placed by its author under license GFDL.

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