A Brief History of Commercial Insertion
Commercial Insertion has a long, varied, and checkered history, as befits an occupation boasting itself world’s oldest profession. Its beginnings are, like much of its ilk, enshrouded in the mists of history; but the casual archivist can still uncover passing references in some of our oldest extant texts.
In its infancy, we see, that which we now know as commercial insertion was of the oral tradition. As the folk-tellers and, later, bards, rounded the countryside, they were often accompanied by so-called “intrusiffe advertyzers” (Vinaver, The Man of Leiszure; translation by T. Schingle, New York, 1938), who would pace the beloved tales of the day with what we would now refer to as commercial interruptions. These usually took the form of descriptions of items the gentry might wish to buy, such as popular ales or the latest model ox-cart. The inserter soon also evolved into emphasizing a bard’s other tales, or why this particular bard was so much better than another, how his presentation of a tale was so much clearer and his use of the language so much more colorful. The commonfolk were quick to take umbrage against these inserters, angered at their interruptions, citing how they talked so much louder than the more melodic bards, and also irritated at how they sometimes overlapped their counterpart’s songs and jests. The bards of the day however came to rely on these inserters, counting on them not only for their rodomontade but also as a source of aggrandizement and extra income.
The arrival of the printing press in 1436-7 superseded in many ways the oral telling of tales. But it proved a positive boon to the advertisers of the day. We however will save its discussion for articles of greater scope, mentioning only in passing how Gutenberg may be known for his edition of the Bible (1455), but his Town Cryer Guide predates our common TV listings by about five hundred years.
Commercial insertion as it is recognized today did not come into its own until the last half of this century, something that will touched on in future articles. I look forward to discussing more of its history with you, including the recently uncovered documents discussed in Hengle’s How Many Revisions?: Commercial Insertion and Third Reich Experimentation (St Laughton’s Press, London, 1995.), the similarly-themed discussion by Lamme of Japanese sleep deprivation techniques, and the fiery “one man/one format” oratory recently evident in some smaller, emerging Fourth Estate countries.
I’d like to continue, but my pager just went off.
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