Whassup? Probably the best lager in the world. Because I'm worth it. Twelve words, three brand names. These are highly effective soundbites, provoking an instant response in regular TV viewers. Most teenagers could probably name all three brands, even though they are not (or should not be) aimed at their age group. Now try this: "Her boy did not seem to thrive. Now, after taking Scott's Emulsion, he is plump and bonnie." On this date 100 years ago, October 18th, 1900, Nurse Thompson's 68-word "letter" told Irish Times readers of the benefits of Scott's Emulsion. A further few hundred words detailed the effects including an enrichment of the blood, an improvement in appetite and an increase in flesh and strength.

All that verbiage, plus an image of a bonneted Nurse Thompson, smiling severely - to sell what? Cod liver oil. A similar sized ad in last week's Irish Times had two lines of text: "It's the unique blend of citrus fruits and exotic botanicals that makes Cork Dry Gin perfectly balanced." The colour image was of a bottle of gin balanced on the edge of a razor blade. It may be sharper, slicker, funnier, more knowing today, but advertising is not the invention of the post-modern age. Before television, teletext, Internet and WAP phones, advertising thrived. It was usually carried on the front page of national newspapers, preceding the news.

Turning back to that copy of The Irish Times published a century ago: it would have cost you a halfpenny per word to take out a lineage ad - the term for those short word-based adverts. These were typically used for hiring servants - butlers, yardmen, rabbitcatchers, stable boys, parlour maids and nursery maids. The newspaper itself cost one penny. Today, the paper costs 95p and, if you want to take out a lineage ad, each word costs about £1.40. These ads are usually taken by individuals; the big advertising money is in display ads, taken out by companies and organisations.

And advertising is a multi-billion pound industry. The purpose: to grab your attention and make you remember a product . . . so you'll buy it. In Ireland last year, it is estimated that advertisers spent about £551 million. The Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) publishes tables showing where the money went. More than half the total went to the print media - most of that to the national press.

The remainder went to TV, radio, cinema and outdoor advertising. The 1999 figures compiled by the IAPI show are an increase of 15 per cent on 1998. The largest increase is for regional press, up 35 per cent. This may be partly be accounted for through better reporting, according to the IAPI, but it is still an impressive growth, particularly with strong competition from local radio. RTE advertising revenue grew by 3 per cent. The IAPI suggests that this means the State broadcaster is withstanding the launch of TV3 in September 1998. TV3 has grown the market for TV advertising rather than taking from the RTE.

However, it wasn't all good news. Evening papers and major Irish consumer magazines seem to have problems, losing market share and revenue. When it came to spending money, the top 10 advertisers in 1999 were Eircom (which had its share sell-off), Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Guinness Ireland, Masterfoods, ESB, National Lottery, Dunnes Stores, Kellogg's and Showering. As for brands, the top 10 spends were on the National Lottery, Bulmer's cider, Coco-Cola, Gateway 2000, Heineken lager, Guinness stout, Aer Lingus, Dell PCs, Smirnoff vodka and Pepsi-Cola. And now there are new media to spend an advertising budget on. Irish advertisers spent some £6 million online in the 12 months prior to August this year. Advertisers are usually looking for busy websites with high numbers of page impressions per month (PIPMs). The Irish Times on the Web, ireland.com, is the busiest site with nearly 17 million PIPMs. This is followed by oceanfree.net at more than five million PIPMs and rte.ie at 4.5 million PIPMs.

It should be emphasised that all advertising figures are essentially estimates. The competitive nature of the industry means that advertisers and media platforms don't want to give away all of their secrets. In a world of competing images and soundbites, it's increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd. Sometimes the search to be cleverist, funniest, most ironic, most appealing, most outrageous etc can lead advertisers into trouble. In Ireland, the industry is, to a large extent, self-policing. The Advertising Standards Authority was set up by the advertising industry in 1981. Its board consists of 13 members - the chairman, four advertiser members, four agency members and four media members. The complaints committee is appointed by the board and comprises "persons involved in advertising and persons independent of advertising including members nominated by the Director of Consumer Affairs".

There are two codes administered by ASAI: the Code of Advertising Standards and the Code of Sales Promotion Practice. They require that all commercial advertisements and promotions should be "legal, decent, honest and truthful", should be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society and should respect the principles of fair competition generally accepted in business. Complaints are investigated free of charge. The system doesn't involve the State or the law: it provides an alternative, low-cost and easily accessible means of resolving disputes. The identity of an individual consumer complainant is not disclosed. The main "punishment" is the publication of the ASAI case reports (see panel). Advertisers, promoters and agencies generally find that they get bad publicity if they fail to adhere to the codes. The system is financed entirely by the advertising industry, with the main income being a levy of 0.2 per cent of media spend by advertisers.

In 1998-99, the ASAI received 495 formal, written complaints about 391 ads. Of these, 50 were from competitors and the rest from the general public. Complaints about 112 ads were investigated. Ninety complaints, relating to 64 ads, were upheld. In all cases, advertisers were required to amend, withdraw or not repeat the offending advertisements. Many of the complaints about ads are on the grounds of decency and taste. In June this year a press advertisement for iTouch, a new WAP content provider, which featured a body builder wearing only the briefest briefs, was withdrawn by this newspaper because of the unprecedented number of direct complaints from members of the public.

Irish Times advertising expert Bernice Harrison noted that Business & Finance magazine used the ad - but the art work was covered over so that the offending briefs were hidden by a much larger, less racy pair. Earlier this year, an advertisement by Barnardo's caused major controversy in Britain. It showed a baby getting ready to shoot up, with a syringe in one hand and spoon discarded close by. The idea was to show that everyone starts off as an innocent child. The copy: "Battered as a child, it was always possible that John would turn to drugs. With Barnardo's help child abuse need not lead to an empty future."

But we needn't have worried about the child-model. "The grim image is a product of photo wizardy," Bernice Harrison explained in The Irish Times. "The baby was shot sitting in a clean studio and he is really wrestling with a chocolate bar attached to a piece of string. The syringe, tourniquet and general squalor were all added in post-production." A shocking image, even if "unreal", necessary to depict a shocking reality?

From The Irish Times, October 18th, 1900