BIBLIOASIA JUL – SEP 2018 Vol. 14 / Issue 02 / Feature

THE STUFF OF

Advertising has existed since ancient (Facing page) An advertisement by Warin Publicity Services. Image reproduced from The Straits Times Annual 1939, back cover. times in various different shapes and (Above) Early advertising agencies in helped clients to produce and place advertisements in forms. In the ruins of Pompeii for instance, newspapers as well as provide copywriting and design services. In the 1918 Who’s Who in Malaya, Dossett­ advertisements hawking the services of & Co. promoted itself as the ad agent for the local Chinese paper Lat Pau. Similar advertisements were prostitutes were carved into the buried produced by J.R. Flynn Anderson and Siow Choon Leng. Images reproduced from (left to right) Dossett, stonework of this thriving Roman city J.W. (1918). Who’s Who in Malaya 1918 (p. 137). Singapore: Printed for Dossett & Co. by Methodist Pub. a House (Accession no.: B02940225B; Microfilm no.: NL5829); The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile 1 before it was destroyed in 79 CE. In me- Advertiser, 11 December 1918, p. 2; and The Straits Times, 4 March 1919, p. 3. a dieval Europe, town criers roamed the a streets making public announcements accompanied by the ringing of a hand bell. Press and Mercantile Advertiser, which 20th century. This should come as little In , one of the earliest advertising was first published in 1835. surprise, given the island’s history as artefacts discovered was a printing block From the publication of the island’s a major entrepôt port and commercial Before the advent of the internet, print of an advertisement for a needle shop in first local broadsheet, Singapore Chronicle hub of the British Empire in Asia since its advertisements reigned supreme. These Jinan, Shandong province, dating from the and Commercial Register, in January 1824 founding in 1819. Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127 CE).2 to the outbreak of World War II in 1942, primary documents provide important In various towns and cities across more than 150 newspapers had been pub- clues to the social history of the period Asia, street vendors calling out to custom- lished in various languages in Singapore.6 ers have existed since time immemorial. Judging from the large volume of adver- as Chung Sang Hong tells us. Itinerant hawkers – who moved from place tisements in this medium, one can conclude to place peddling food, drinks, vegetables, that before the Japanese Occupation, textiles and various sundries while verbally the newspaper was the most important “advertising” their wares – were once a advertising platform in Singapore. common sight on the streets of Singapore.3 Of course, other print publications In the West, Johannes Gutenberg’s existed too, competing with newspapers invention of the printing press around 1450 for a slice of the advertising pie. Business gave birth to print advertising as an unin- directories, periodicals and magazines, tended by-product, with the first printed souvenir publications, travel guides and advertisement in the English language related ephemera, and even cookbooks, appearing in 1477.4 By the 17th century, contained advertisements, promoting vari- many European towns and cities were ous products and services that targeted producing publications containing news specific audiences. that resembled modern newspapers.5 Apart from print media, other forms The revenue earned from adver- of advertising – advertisements screened tising has always been a major source before the start of movies, painted bill- of profit for newspapers. Ever since boards, street posters, advertisements on newspapers first made their appearance, buses and railway platforms, neon signs, and for many centuries thereafter, this etc – also existed in pre-war Singapore. William Joseph Warin founded Warin Studios in Chung Sang Hong is Assistant Director format became the main medium for 1932, which was renamed Warin Publicity Services (Exhibitions & Curation) at the National advertisements. Indeed, some news- A Rich Advertising Heritage in 1937. The ad agency was well known for its Library, Singapore. He is the lead curator papers even had the word “Advertiser” striking print advertisements. Image reproduced of “Selling Dreams: Early Advertising in boldly proclaimed on their mastheads. In Singapore has a rich advertising heri- from Malaya: The Journal of the Association of Singapore” exhibition. Singapore, we had The Singapore Free tage that dates as far back as the early British Malaya, April 1936, p. 294.

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The first advertisements placed by Singapore’s thriving advertising and “APB” (The Advertising & Publicity among its clientele major corporations advertising agents in Singapore appeared business before World War II was domi- Bureau Ltd) would often be inserted and import houses in Singapore and around the 1910s. In the Who’s Who in nated by a few prominent ad agencies unobtrusively into the advertisements. Malaya as well as associates in Malaya published in 1918, publisher headed by Europeans, some of which These traces left by pioneering agencies and New York.18 The agency’s success Dossett & Co. promoted itself as the ad were regional firms with headquarters serve as clues that aid historians in their was largely due to the consistently high- agent for the major local Chinese paper, in Hong Kong or Shanghai. There were study of Singapore’s early advertising quality and creative works it produced.19 Lat Pau.7 In return for a fee, ad agents at least 20 such firms specialising in scene and its key players. Warin recruited professional talents from helped clients create and place advertise- advertising, publicity and marketing in The booming market and demand overseas, among whom was the Russian- ments in newspapers – a service likely Singapore and Malaya at the time.10 for advertising in major Asian cities in born artist Vladimir Tretchikoff, who later welcomed by European merchants who Most of these agencies were set up turn fuelled the business of some of found international fame for his painting were eager to market their products to the between the late 1920s and 30s. Some of these early agencies. The Advertising Chinese Girl.20 large Chinese community in Singapore. them actively advertised their services in & Publicity Bureau (APB) was the first Before relocating to Singapore, Similar advertisements were pro- magazines and periodicals targeted at the regional agency to set up shop in Singa- Tretchikoff had been a successful com- duced by J.R. Flynn Anderson, an “adver- business community. It was a common pore in 1931. It was established in Hong mercial artist in Shanghai working for tiser” who offered “new ideas in advertis- practice then for ad agencies to “sign Kong in 1922 by Englishwoman Beatrice Mercury Press, a prominent publisher ing”8 and “Advertisement Writer” Siow off” advertisements they produced with Thompson to serve the advertising needs of an English newspaper.21 Many of Choon Leng, who claimed that investing the company’s name or initials: “signa- of its British and American clients in Warin’s eye-catching advertisements – in good advertising would yield significant tures” such as “Master’s” (Masters Ltd), Asia.11 By 1940, APB was servicing many inspired by the Art Deco movement – were rewards for businesses.9 “Warins” (Warin Publicity Services Ltd) household brands and prominent firms, designed by Tretchikoff. claiming to be the “largest advertising 12 agency in the Far East”. The Chinese Influence Millington Ltd – one of the “Big Four” advertising agencies in Shanghai and With the pre-war advertising scene domi- founded by Briton F.C. Millington in 1920s nated by Western expatriates, Chinese ad – set up its Singapore branch in 1937 practitioners carved a name for them- after having established a Hong Kong selves by serving the advertising needs office earlier.13 There were also agencies of Chinese-speaking clients. Some were started in Singapore that later became fine arts painters who practised commer- well known, one of which was Masters cial art on the side by creating artworks Ltd, founded in 1928 by Australian-born for advertisements. One of these was Ernst George Mozar, whose works can the prominent Chinese artist Zhang often be seen in early publications. Ruqi (张汝器), who trained in Shanghai and France, and moved to Singapore in Warin Publicity Services: 1927. Renowned for his comic art and The First Local Agency caricatures, Zhang founded a commer- cial art studio and created illustrations Among the first homegrown ad agencies for advertisements such as Tiger Balm.22 in Singapore, one stood out for its vibrant Local Chinese printers also pro- and attractive print advertisements. The duced advertisements in the distinctive name “Warins” typically appears at the “picture calendar” (yue fen pai; 月份 corner of many beautifully illustrated 牌) style which originated in Shanghai. advertisements found in premium pub- These featured beautiful women dressed lications such as the 1930s issues of in form-fittingcheongsam (or qipao), The Straits Times Annual, a periodical Western attire and even swimsuits, on Malayan and Singaporean life and and were highly popular in China and in culture, published by Straits Times Press overseas Chinese communities, includ- between 1905 and 1982. ing Singapore. Warin Publicity Services was 14 founded by Briton William Joseph Warin. Post-war Developments W.J. Warin first arrived in Malaya in 1915 as a rubber planter.15 After his plantation With the outbreak of World War II, the business was hit by the Great Depression, business of most ad agencies came to Warin reinvented himself as a commercial a grinding halt. Many advertising prac- artist and set up his advertising firm, titioners resumed their trade after the Warin Studios, in a room on Orchard Japanese Occupation ended in September 16 Road in 1932. His business flourished (Top row) Art Deco-style advertisements attributed to Vladimir Tretchikoff, a Russian émigré com- 1945. Newcomers entered the scene and within a span of three years, Warin mercial artist with Warin Publicity Services, who practised in Singapore from 1934 to 1941. Images in search of opportunities as Malaya Studios had moved into an office in the reproduced from The Straits Times Annual, 1940, p. 80; and The Straits Times Annual, 1941, p. 16. returned to British rule. prestigious Union Building with a size- (Above) Whiteaways department store advertising the Daks brand of flannels that were available in Still, the post-war advertising indus- able number of staff. The company also “many patterns many styles”. Image reproduced from The Straits Times Annual, 1940, p. 88. try was dominated by firms with links Advertisements by pioneer ad agencies in Singapore. Clockwise from top left: Osram lamp (General (Above right) A 1930s poster – designed in the style of the Shanghai “picture calendar” (yue fen pai; Electric Co. Ltd) by Warin Publicity Services, Shell Motor Oils (Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd) by Masters harboured ambitions of starting a branch 月份牌) – advertising the services of the Medical Office (神农大药房) at North Bridge Road that was to Britain, Australia, the United States Ltd and Silvester’s (Australian Primary Producers) by The Advertising & Publicity Bureau Ltd (with a in Hong Kong.17 founded in 1866. In 1916, Chinese pharmacist Foo Khee How acquired the business from its German and Hong Kong, with expatriates mostly pull-out showing a magnified view of APB's "signature"). Images reproduced from The Straits Times Warin Studios was renamed Warin owners and continued to run it as a Western-style pharmacy. It is still in operation today as the Sin- holding the key positions. In 1948, Sin- Annual, 1936, p. 153, and The Straits Times Annual, 1940, pp. 28, 92. Publicity Services in 1937, and counted gapore Medical Office. gapore’s first advertising association,

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in Hong Kong. Its Singapore office opened in 1946, and branches were subsequently about the exhibition ments in newspapers were primarily set up in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. In shipping and commercial notices targeted 1963, Cathay was reported to be one of the “Selling Dreams: Early Advertising in at the mercantile community, along with three largest ad agencies in Singapore.26 Singapore” opens on 20 July 2018 at advertisements of imported goods, ser- It later merged with leading Australian the gallery on level 10 of the National vices and recreational activities. agency George Patterson Pte Ltd and Library Building on Victoria Street. Early business directories, periodi- was eventually acquired by Ted Bates & ­Inspired by the concept of a depart- cals, magazines, souvenir publications, Co (now Bates Worldwide)27, a New York- ment store, the exhibition contains travel guides, and ephemera such as based advertising giant that expanded into nine “departments” showcasing vari- posters and flyers are also rich sources Southeast Asia in the late 1960s. ous advertisements for food, medicine, of advertising material. Print advertising household goods, automobiles, travel reigned supreme in Singapore until televi- The Stuff of Dreams services, hospitality facilities, enter- sion made its foray here in 1963. The new tainment, fashion and retail. media revolutionised the dissemination The intended audience of early print The exhibition will present a vari- of information and entertainment, and publications is quite different from the ety of print publications from the 1830s as TV sets became increasingly common masses that similar media can reach to 1960s that are rich in advertising in local households, advertisements on junction with the exhibition, and sold today. Before the 1950s, as a result of content and drawn from the National television became the game changer in at major bookshops in Singapore low literacy rates and income levels, the Library’s collections, including copies the industry. as well as online stores. A series of ability to read and the means to purchase of the first local newspaper, Singapore A book titled Between the Lines: programmes has been organised too, reading materials was the privilege of the Chronicle and Commercial Register, Early Print Advertising in Singapore including guided tours by curators and minority.28 In colonial Singapore, these from 1833. The earliest advertise- 1830s–1960s will be launched in con- public talks. (Above) Grundig marketed its radiogram as an essential item in the modern home in the 1960s. Image would be the Europeans as well as the reproduced from The Straits Times Annual, 1961, p. xiv. wealthy and better-educated members (Above right) This advertisement by The Royal Dutch Mails evoked the modernity and glamour associated of local communities. Invariably, most with luxury cruise liners. Image reproduced from The Straits Times Annual, 1937, p. 140. of the advertisements featured in early With the passage of time, the prod- reflected – the values, aspirations, ers who are often lured into parting with print publications were targeted at the ucts and services found in these vintage desires and hopes – and also perhaps their money – whether on fast cars and Association of Accredited Advertising by a British company, London Press upper crust of society, reflecting their advertisements and also the manner in fears – of the readers and producers of jewellery or common everyday items Agents of Malaya (4As), was formed to Exchange, in 1966 and was renamed lifestyles, tastes, preferences, values which they were touted to the general advertisements at a particular point in like detergent and toothpaste – by slick safeguard stakeholders’ interests and LPE Singapore Ltd.25 and outlook on life. public may have become antiquated our history. advertisements promising them instant raise the standards of the local advertis- Another foreign agency, Cathay Given Singapore’s rich advertising or even obsolete. However, early print Apart from marketing products and gratification. ing industry. Its three founding members Advertising Limited, seemed to have fol- history, it is surprising that precious little advertisements still remain valuable as services, early advertising adopted the The product range as well as the – Masters Ltd, Millington Ltd and Messrs lowed a similar trajectory. Its founder, research has been done on the subject, primary historical documents that can strategy of selling a “dream” – a desirable scale and size of the advertising indus- C.F. Young – were key players who had Australian businesswoman Elma Kelly, even though a large collection of primary provide important clues to the lifestyle, outcome, tangible or intangible, to its try and its platforms may have changed been active before the war.23 went to Shanghai in the early 1930s to source materials exists. Through a new culture, business and social histories of intended audience, and closely associated drastically over the years, but the one The post-war era also saw the pen- work for Millington Ltd. She was posted to exhibition, “Selling Dreams: Early Adver- the period. Many of these old advertise- with purchasing the advertised product constant that has survived to this day etration of international advertising firms Hong Kong to manage the agency’s branch tising in Singapore”, the National Library ments still strike a chord with people or service. Such an advertising tactic is is the aspect of selling the stuff that is into the Asian market who successfully office in 1935 but ended up in internment aims to uncover the fascinating history today by virtue of the sentiments they only too familiar to modern-day consum- of dreams. tied up with local agencies as partners. when the city fell to the Japanese in 1941. of this business and the untold stories In the 1950s, Masters Ltd partnered lead- After the war, Kelly and a few former behind some of the earliest iconic ads 10 Advertisers Association. (1971). A review of advertising popularly known as The Green Lady, portrays a young ing London agency, S.H. Benson, to grow Millington staff started Cathay Advertising that appeared in print. Notes in Singapore and Malaysia during early times (p. 26). Chinese woman with a blue-green face and dressed in its business, eventually becoming S.H. 1 Fletcher, W. (2010). Advertising: A very short Singapore: Federal Publications. (Call no.: RSING traditional Chinese costume. It sold for almost introduction (p. 31). Oxford: Oxford University Press, Benson (Singapore) in 1961 with offices in 659.109 ADV) £1 million at an auction in London in 2013.]. New York. Retrieved from OceanofPDF.com. 11 Notices. (1931, January 16). The Singapore Free Press, 21 Goerlik, 2013, p. 27 许俊基 主编 中国广告史 Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. The com- 2 . ( ) [Xu, J.] (Ed.). (2006). p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. 22 姚梦桐 [ Yao, M.]. (2017). 流动迁移·在地经历: 新加坡视 北京 中国传媒大学出 pany subsequently merged with Ogilvy [Zhongguo guang gao shi] (p. 70). : 12 Page 16 Advertisements Column 1. (1940, January 2). 觉艺术现象 (1886–1945) [Liu dong qian yi zai di jing li: 版社 & Mather and became Ogilvy, Benson & . (Call no.: Chinese RBUS q659.10951 ZGG) The Straits Times, p. 16. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. Xinjiapo shi jue yi shu xian xiang (1886–1945) ] (p. 136). 3 Romance of Advertising. (1935, October). The RODA: 13 Advertising man arrives. (1937, December 8). The 新加坡: 南洋理工大学孔子学院. (Call no.: Chinese Mather in 1971, making Masters the first Magazine of the [Rotary] clubs of Malaya and Siam, 5 Singapore agency to have evolved into an Straits Times, p. 12. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. RSING 709.5957 YMT) (52),199–203. Singapore: Roda. (Microfilm no.: NL 7312) 14 Who's who in Malaya, 1939: A biographical record 23 Advertisers Association, 1971, p. 26. 24 international agency. 4 Fletcher, 2010, p. 31. [Note: The advertisement was of prominent members of Malaya's community in 24 Ling, P. (2017). Advertising in Singapore: Regional hub, C.F. Young had been a manager issued by English printer William Caxton and offered official, professional and commercial circles global model. In R. Crawford, L. Brennan & L. Parker at the aforementioned APB before the for sale his edition of the Sarum Ordinal, a manual for (p. 139). (1939). Singapore: Fishers Ltd. (Call no.: RCLOS (Eds.). Global advertising practice in a borderless world priests.]. war. In 1946, he started his own firm, 920.9595 WHO-[RFL]; W.J. Warin dies in Singapore. (pp. 176–177). New York: Routledge. (Call no.: RBUS 5 Williams, K. (2010). Read all about it!: A history of the (1950, June 11). The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved from 659.1 GLO) C.F. Young Publicity, which was later British newspaper (pp. 39–40)). London; Routledge, NewspaperSG. 25 Ling, 2017, p. 177. renamed Young Advertising and Mar- New York. (Call no.: R 072.09 WIL) 15 Who's who in Malaya, 1939, p. 139. 26 Malayan Advertisers Association. (1963, May). keting Ltd to serve local and overseas 6 Lim, P.P.H. (1992). Singapore, Malaysian and Brunei 16 Mainly about Malayans. (1938, December 4). The Straits Newsletter, 2 (3), p. 2. Singapore: Malayan Advertisers newspapers: An international union list (pp. 3–56). clients. It was eventually acquired Times, p. 7. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. Association. Available via PublicationSG. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. (Call 17 Warin Studios. (1935, September 4). The Singapore 27 Ling, 2017, p. 177. no.: RSING 016.0795957 LIM-[LIB]) Free Press, p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. 28 Kuo, E.C.Y. (1980). The sociolinguistic situation in 7 Dossett, J.W. (1918). Who’s who in Malaya 1918 (p. 137). 18 The rise of Warin Studios: All forms of publicity. (1937, Singapore: Unity in diversity. In E.A. Afendras & E.C.Y. Business and residential directories are another Singapore: Printed for Dossett & Co. by Methodist Pub. rich source of printed advertisements. The Sin- April 27). The Singapore Free Press, p. 2. Retrieved Kuo (Eds.), Language and society in Singapore (p. 53). House. (Microfilm no.: NL 5829) from NewspaperSG. Singapore: Singapore University Press. (Call no.: RSING gapore & Malayan Ladies Directory contains ad- 8 Page 2 advertisements column 1. (1918, December vertisements on goods and services that appealed 19 The RODA: Magazine of the [Rotary] clubs of Malaya 409.5957 LAN); Tan, L.G. (2014). Charting multilingualism 11). The Singapore Free Press, p. 2. Retrieved from and Siam, Oct 1935, pp. 199–203. in Singapore: From the nineteenth century to the present to affluent women in colonial Singapore. Images NewspaperSG. reproduced from The Singapore & Malayan Ladies 20 Goerlik, B. (2013). Incredible Tretchikoff: Life of an [Final Year Project] (pp. 24–25). Retrieved from Nanyang 9 Page 3 advertisements column 3. (1919, March 4). The artist and adventurer (p. 152). London: Art/Books. Technological University website. Directory with Shopping Guide (1936–37, p. 285 Straits Times, p. 3. Retrieved from NewspaperSG. and 1937–38, p. 106–107). (Call no.: RART 759.968 GOR). [Note: Chinese Girl, 06 07