The advertising produced after the First Fleet’s arrival in Australia drew on existing European conventions and tools - playbills, newspapers, trade cards and broadsides, for example.

Likewise, the availability of technology and skilled people affected the advertising that could be produced in the colony.

Although a printing press was brought out with the First Fleet, it was not used until 1795, a year before the earliest surviving document to be printed in Australia was created, also an advertisement.

The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851 resulted in increased population and wealth in the colonies. This led to greater competition between businesses and greater complexity in their advertising.

Melbourne boomed and overtook Sydney as a centre of commerce.

Earlier advertising traditions of trade cards, newspapers and ‘wanted’ posters continued.

Advertisements were still largely monochrome but there was a greater reliance on imagery.

The first two decades of the twentieth century saw major changes in Australian society.

The colonies federated in 1901, women got the vote in 1902 and Australia followed Britain into the First World War in 1914.

Advertising of this period reflects these changes as well as the continuing expansion of options for informing and influencing the public.

Advertising was becoming more sophisticated, with greater use of colour and image. It was often clever and attention-seeking, unafraid of bold statements. Women were increasingly its prime target.

The 1920s saw a new confidence in Australia, in its products and way of life.

The Commonwealth Government poured money into advertising campaigns to attract migrants (predominantly white) to Australia and participated in programs to encourage trade between Commonwealth countries.

Companies increasingly promoted their Australian-made products to women.

The impact of the Great Depression from 1929 was severe, but it did not stifle advertising.

Women's fashions and menswear were promoted and some of Australia's iconic advertising campaigns were established.

Between the outbreak of the Second World War and the year Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a language of advertising was confirmed in Australia.

Following wartime restrictions, the 1950s and 1960s were prosperous and advertising reflected domestic ideals and gender roles and expectations. Men were strong and reliable; women were beautiful and happy.

Consumer culture boomed and advertisements drove it, often glamorously.

Travel was an experience to be enjoyed, whether by train, car or aeroplane. Celebrities endorsed products on calendars, in magazines, on posters and in theatre programs.

In the closing decades of the twentieth century, advertising both reflected changes in Australian society and projected influential images of Australian culture.

Community standards and expectations had evolved, and the standards and regulation of advertising did likewise. Australians responded to advertising with grassroots campaigns and art.

Advertising was used for major health and anti-litter campaigns. Tobacco advertising went from pervasive to banned in this period and gender roles and body issues in advertising were increasingly reassessed.

Television and magazines continued to be the prime media for advertisers, although campaigns were often carried out across multiple platforms.

By the late 1990s, the Internet was opening up as a market for advertising.

The themes, ‘Iconic Brands and Early Ads’ and ‘Cup of Tea?’ have been developed with specific reference to the following content descriptions for Year 10 students in the Australian Curriculum: English - Language ‘Text structure and organisation’ and Literacy ‘Texts in context’:

• Understand how paragraphs and images can be arranged for different purposes, audiences, perspectives and stylistic effects (ACELA1567)  
• Analyse and evaluate how people, cultures, places, events, objects and concepts are represented in texts, including media texts, through language, structural and/or visual choices (ACELY1749)

The theme, ‘Selling Modernity’, has been developed with specific reference to the following content description for Year 10 students in the Australian Curriculum: History - ‘The modern world and Australia’:

• Developments in technology, public health, longevity and standard of living during the twentieth century, and concern for the environment and sustainability (ACOKFH024)

The theme, ‘Art in Advertising’, has been developed with specific reference to the following content descriptions for Year 9 and 10 students in the Australian Curriculum: Visual Arts:  

• Evaluate how representations communicate artistic intentions in artworks they make and view to inform their future art-making (ACAVAR130)
• Analyse a range of visual artworks from contemporary and past times to explore differing viewpoints and enrich their visual art-making, starting with Australian artworks, including those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and consider international artworks (ACAVAR131)