Promoting Commercial Activities in Cape Town Newspapers, 1876-1901

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Periodical article

Title:	Promoting Commercial Activities in Cape Town Newspapers, 1876-1901
Author:	Kwasitsu, Lishi
Year:	2004
Periodical:	Social Dynamics
Volume:	30
Issue:	1
Period:	Summer
Pages:	170-192
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	press advertising Urbanization and Migration Literature, Mass Media and the Press History and Exploration Economics and Trade
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02533950408628668
Abstract:	The paper explores the styles and strategies used to promote goods and services in Cape Town newspapers (South Africa) during the late 19th century. It categorizes business advertisements in the 'Cape Argus' and the 'Cape Times' according to the classification scheme developed by Scott Bennett (1980) for the quantitative analysis of advertising in British newspapers. Content analysis of these advertisements shows that many business owners, especially drug merchants, aggressively and fraudulently promoted their products and services. In addition, they used advertising to introduce new products and inventions to Capetonians in very much the same way that advertising was used to introduce similar products and services to Londoners. The paper concludes that content analysis of advertisements is a useful method of studying print culture, business, and society. App., ref., sum. [Journal abstract]