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In three days we will celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America. It excites me that the "great experiment" continues to prove the naysayers wrong.
I marvel at the insight that our founding fathers had to create a document that has stood the hands of time. The world in which we live is drastically different than the world they knew, and yet, with very few alterations our Constitution has provided Americans the opportunity and the right to become what we wish. I have traveled to many countries and worked with broadcasters and businesses. Our society is more elastic, allows those with ambition and hard work to change their state in life. Not so everywhere.
In our 250 year history, what part has advertising played in America's success?
During the 1770's and 1800's, our founding era, print was king. Americans received their information and learned about goods and services from newspapers, pamphlets and broadsides. These were slow, local, but businesses learned that advertising would fuel commerce.
Then came the Industrial Revolution. As goods became mass produced, messaging followed suit. National magazines began to promote goods coast-to- coast. Early billboards appeared. Direct mail became a major channel by the end of the 1800's. Ivory Soap and Coca Cola discovered the concept of "branding".
Then came Radio! In the 1920's and 1930's radio changed everything. It was the first medium to bring advertisers directly into the American home. In 1922 WEAF in New York sold the first paid radio ad...a 10-minute real estate pitch. (And, where are the real estate companies today? Have you called on one lately?)
NBC and CBS formed in the late 1920's and provided a means for coast-to-coast messaging. Radio surpassed print in advertising by the 1930's.
But radio didn't just sell products: it shaped public opinion. FDR's Fireside Chats gave Americans hope during the later part of the depression and World War Two.
Radio also provided the platform for jingles and slogans that would be sung across the planes. Brands sponsored entire shows. The term "soap opera" came into being because detergents sponsored the radio shows. Americans listened to The Lucky Strike Dance Orchestra and Fleischmann's Yeast Hour. Advertising agencies opened radio departments.
Then came the 1950's and Television arrived. Now you had sound AND motion AND pictures. Radio was declared "dead". 30 second TV ads became the standard. National brands scooped up prime time. Agencies brought in the "Mad Men" era.
Radio adapted with top-40 music, news/talk, local sports, drive-time formats.
Beginning in the 1990's the Internet arrived. Once again, our lives were reshaped by technology. Advertisers could target and track their results. Google and Facebook built trillion-dollar ad ecosystems. Data and targeting replaced mass messaging. News and information were available at your finger tips. Newspapers saw a decline.
And now in 2026, here we are. Advertising today now spans social media, streaming audio and video, podcasts, programmatic buying, mobile aps and AI., outdoor, TV, and direct mail.
And, guess what? Radio is still here and still powerful. It is America's most trusted local medium. It excels helping brands to "be known before they are needed". It is a driver of digital search and online action. According to Nielsen, it is the #1 reach platform for adults. Radio advertising still works because a real human voice builds trust faster than any algorithm.
Whatever the platform, the core purpose of advertising has remained the same: to connect businesses with customers, to shape culture, to provide the grease on the wheels of our economy. And, thanks to the wisdom and foresight of our Founding Fathers, we are free to own and program our stations.
My flags are out. I will gather with friends. I plan on attending several celebrations over the 4th of July weekend. And I plan on thanking God that I was born in the U.S. and get to live here. I have enjoyed and appreciated every country I have visited. But, there's no place like home!
I hope you will join me in celebrating the 250th. Whatever your politics might be, this occasion should transcend our divisions and bring us together.
I look forward to another 250 years of America, freedom and the ability to help businesses to thrive. This is a wonderful country and we work in a vital and exciting industry!
Happy Selling!
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