“The advertising problem”: an Irish solution of 1910

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to discuss a unique and significant article about advertising that was published in Dublin in 1910. Design/methodology/approach – The article, entitled “The advertising problem” (reproduced in its entirety in the Appendix) is analysed and contextualised. Findings – It is demonstrated that at least some early Irish advertising practitioners had a reflexive understanding of the tools of marketing and advertising as used then in Ireland and abroad, and that their own use of such tools served not only manufacturers and other clients, but also the ideological project of an Irish-Ireland. Originality/value – This analysis has a particular value in rebutting clearly any possible assumption that advertising and marketing practices in Ireland in the early twentieth century were simply “quaint”.