This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
ADOR—ADVERTISEMENT
11

officers in certain circumstances for the purpose of accelerating promotion. As a result there were no means of promotion in the commissioned personnel of the navy except through vacancies created by death or statutory age-limit retirements. In 1917, however, a new law changed promotion by seniority, so that line officers above the rank of lieutenant-commander were promoted by selection, the question of proved ability being the controlling consideration. Much comment was aroused in 1919 when a new fleet organization was put into effect, by which two divisions of practically equal strength, the Atlantic fleet and the Pacific fleet, each having a commander-in-chief of the rank of admiral, were created. Some critics regarded this as a violation of the principle enunciated by Admiral Mahan that the fleet should never be divided. Secretary Daniels stated that with the Panama Canal open the two fleets could effect a junction in either ocean and " carry out the plans already formulated for operating as one fleet before any enemy could try conclusions with us."


ADOR, GUSTAVE (1845–), Swiss statesman, a member of a family of Vaud, which in 1814 obtained the burghership of Geneva, and grandson of Jean Pierre Ador, who first obtained this right, was born at Geneva Dec. 23 1845. He studied law at the academy (now the university) of Geneva and in 1868 became an advocate. In 1871 he started his political career as member of the communal council of Cologny, and was twice mayor, in 1878–9 and 1883–5. He was a member of the cantonal Parliament 1874–6, and continuously from 1878 to 1915 save for a short break in 1902. In 1878–9 he represented Geneva in the Swiss Conseil des États. Then he became a member of the executive of the canton of Geneva, being put in charge of the Department of Justice and Police. He resigned after an unfavourable election in 1880, but once more became member of the cantonal executive in 1885, and for 12 years had charge of the cantonal finances. In 1889 he became a member of the Swiss Conseil National, and remained so till 1917, being elected its president in 1901. He was president of the cantonal executive in 1890, 1892, and 1896. In 1894 he became lieutenant-colonel in the Swiss army. In 1914 he founded in Geneva the association for facilitating communications between prisoners-of-war and the central Geneva agency, and succeeded in giving this enterprise great importance and a wide-spread extension. After the enforced resignation of Arthur Hoffmann, Ador, in order to soothe the Entente, became a federal councillor or member of the Federal Executive in June 1917 and was entrusted with the Department of Foreign Affairs. Towards the end of 1918 he was elected by Parliament to be the Swiss President for 1919, but retired from the Federal Executive at the end of his year of office.


ADVERTISEMENT (see 1.235).—The great public service rendered by advertising during the World War was one of the most striking features of the progress made in this form of business during the decade 1910–20.

Before 1915 no Government in modern times had attempted to raise subscriptions to a loan through the persuasive methods of commercial advertising on a large scale. The custom was merely to publish the prospectus, and leave it to the investor to form his judgment of its merits. It was not till the floating of the 41/2% War Loan in 1915 that the British Government took any definite steps to depart from precedent. At an early stage in its subscription, when it was feared that the result would not be as good as had been hoped for, a Treasury official asked the advice of a well-known London journalist, and at his suggestion it was decided to spend £100,000 in advertising under his direction. A little more than £60,000 was actually spent in advertising, and the subscriptions to the loan eventually realized nearly £600,000,000. Later, this new departure was followed, but only after stereotyped official methods had again proved inadequate, in the campaigns for National War Bonds after Dec. 1916, by a considerable extension of advertising, while in the United States it was freely employed in the raising of the Liberty Loans (see War Loans Publicity Campaigns).

Before this, advertising by poster had been employed effectively in England to gain enlistments for the army. In this connexion, and in the loan advertising of 1915 and following years, both in Great Britain and America, advertising reached an effectiveness and power that had never been imagined. It is true that the subject dealt with was in everyone's mind; the appeal was to patriotism, to emotion as well as to cold reason and self-interest. The interests of the writer and of the reader of the advertisements were identical. Even so, the results were amazing. In 1917 a leading American banker said it was impossible to float a loan of $3,000,000,000 because there were "only 275,000 investors in the country." But after widespread advertising there were more than 6,000,000 individual subscribers to this loan, and the amount was greatly over-subscribed. For the last of the American war loans, the "Victory Loan" floated after the Armistice, nearly 21,000,000 subscribers were obtained—one for every five of the country's population, including women and children.

War advertising enlisted much new talent in writing and illustrating. The foremost artists and writers on both sides of the Atlantic volunteered their services and competed for the honour of having their productions used. With professional advertising men, printers, engravers and lithographers all giving their best, the result was an excellence in form and character that had never been achieved before. While the tide of patriotic emotion raised by the war brought new resources to advertising, their proper application would not have been possible without the knowledge gained in advertising for ordinary business purposes during previous years (see Propaganda).

In the years before 1915 remarkable advances had been made. The number of articles of trade-marked, advertised merchandise had increased rapidly. Stimulated by advertising revenue, scores of weekly and monthly publications had obtained circulation running into hundreds of thousands, and some had passed the million mark. Great daily newspapers had a similar growth and could afford to sell their copies at a price which did not pay for the paper on which they were printed. Posters and advertising signs had passed from their former rude state to a high degree of attractiveness.

At the same time came a remarkable improvement in the character of advertising. Misleading advertisements and advertising of questionable merchandise or of uncertain financial offers were gradually weeded out. Publications found it unprofitable to accept advertising that was offensive to their better clients. The Association of Advertising Clubs of the World adopted "Truth in Advertising" as their slogan, and vigilance committees were appointed to eradicate misleading or untruthful advertising of whatever products. Advertising had become a business of high principles and well-defined ethics. One of the most powerful influences in the development of advertising along sound business and ethical lines was the advertising agency. Beginning more than half a century before as an agency for the selling of space in publications, the modern advertising agency grew into a service institution, acting on behalf of its clients in planning advertising campaigns, selecting the mediums to be used, preparing advertisements, attending to all the details of engraving, type-setting and plate-making and performing many other incidental services. The advertising agency attracted well-educated young men in increasing numbers and represented a recognized field for the employment of talent.

All advertising is more or less a competition for public attention. As the volume of advertising increased the competition became more keen, and resulted in improvement of both the writing and artistic treatment of advertisements. One of the most notable features in recent years has been the use of illustrations in colour, made possible by improved processes of colour-engraving and by the perfection of high-speed colour printing presses. One popular magazine in America, with a circulation approaching two million; has contained more than 50 full-page advertisements in colour in a single issue. Every one of these pages was printed by four-colour process, and gave a faithful reproduction of the subject. This has made it possible to display all sorts of merchandise, including foods, in their natural tempting colours, and textiles with all their shades and patterns, as well as to reproduce beautiful paintings for their attractive value. Perhaps as a result of this achievement in colour printing, there has been a remarkable improvement in the artistic worth of advertising illustrations. Celebrated painters and illustrators no