Today we tell you about 8 traditions that are well known to everyone.
Their particularity?
They all started as marketing operations!
Whether it's Valentine's Day, or Christmas...
Some of our traditions actually started with simple advertising campaigns.
What do you want...that's living in a capitalist world!
Here are 8 traditions that we all celebrate in France and which were invented by advertising . Watch:
The representation of Santa Claus as a benevolent character, dressed in red and white and distributing gifts, has several origins.
But the most popular, that of the corpulent and jovial Santa Claus?
The one with a nice white beard and in a red suit trimmed with white fur?
Know that it is mainly Coca-Cola that popularized this image , in an ad created by artist Haddon Sundblom.
Certainly, representations of Santa Claus dressed in red and white were already popular before 1931.
It was in this year, 1931, that Coca-Cola launched an iconic advertising campaign.
On it appears the image of Santa Claus as we all know him today.
Of course, before Sundblom commercials, Santa Claus often wore the color red.
But he was also seen represented as a thin man, with an enormous hat riding a donkey.
Or, dressed in a snowsuit, blue in color and with star patterns.
To discover: Take the Christmas Challenge:No More Than 4 Gifts Per Child.
Father's Day was popularized by tie sellers. It's as simple as that.
It was a certain Sonora Dodd, raised by her single father, who originally created this party in 1910.
His intention was also quite honorable.
Mrs. Dodd simply wanted to pay tribute to all the fathers, as we already did for Mother's Day.
But his idea of celebrating Father's Day didn't take off.
Indeed, people at the time saw it more as a joke.
The history of Father's Day could therefore easily have been forgotten...
But that's without counting on the incredible efforts of the "Father's Day Committee ".
Formed in 1936, this institution is in fact entirely financed by sellers of men's clothing .
These vendors fought tirelessly to popularize this holiday!
And, in your opinion, according to them, what is the best way to honor our fathers?
But by giving them beautiful ties once a year, of course!
This time it's success.
And since then, Father's Day has become a national holiday.
To discover: A DIY Father's Day Gift Idea.
We almost have to tell you about Valentine's Day.
Many people think that this holiday was invented from scratch by a greeting card manufacturer.
It's wrong. Know that the practice of exchanging cards for Valentine's Day dates back to the 15th century !
For example, in the Hamlet of Shakespeare, Ophelia refers to herself as the valentine of Hamlet:
"Hello! It's Valentine's Day.
All are up early in the morning.
Here I am, virgin, at your window,
To be your Valentine. "
So, no. Manufacturers of themed greeting cards and gifts didn't really "invent" Valentine's Day.
And yet…
It was their efforts that transformed this date of February 14 into the commercial holiday that we all know today.
To discover: 15 Simple and Inexpensive Ideas for Valentine's Day.
Where does the tradition of the engagement ring come from? From very, very far…
For thousands of years, engaged couples have exchanged rings as a symbol of their love.
But where does the tradition of breaking your PEL to buy a ring with a diamond come from?
That's a much more recent custom:1947 to be exact.
Indeed, we can directly trace this idea to an advertising campaign of the diamond dealer De Beers .
The slogan of this ad has since become almost mythical:"A diamond is forever ".
To discover: A Jeweller's Trick To Removing A Stuck Ring With A Thread.
Shaving the underarms goes back a very long way, at least to the women of ancient Egypt.
But in the West, women had armpit hair until 1915.
Indeed, that year, sleeveless dresses were in fashion.
And to wear them, women must necessarily show their armpits...
Which was completely unthinkable until then!
Very quickly, the advertisements for the firsts depilatory creams appear in fashion magazines.
These encourage women to get rid of their "unsightly hair".
And, still in 1915, the Gillette company launched its first "women's razor":the Milady Décolletée .
Its slogan announces the color for the years to come:
"The little Gillette for women who care about their appearance, which allows them to keep their armpits white and smooth. "
The fashion for waxed armpits was launched for good!
To discover: The EASY Homemade Shaving Foam Recipe.
Until the 1920s, almost all women had hairy legs.
Normal, because dresses and skirts were long!
But in the 20s, fashion changed :the skirts are getting shorter and shorter.
For the first time, women appear with bare legs and calves.
And coincidentally, it was at this time that the first advertisements for razors and depilatory creams appeared.
After the armpits, they encourage women to get rid of their leg hair!
And since the 1950s, leg hair removal has become widespread.
Between marketing and fashion, it's hard to say which of the two has influenced this practice the most...
In any case, the advertisements of the time certainly weighed in the balance!
To discover: 6 Little Tips to Use Before and After Waxing Legs.
Originally, the potato was first cultivated in Peru.
It was not introduced in Europe until the 16th century.
At first, its success was very mixed:few people ate it.
Indeed, many see the potato as a toxic food, only good to give to animals.
Some even call it "the devil's apple", because it grows underground.
This will surprise you…
But the potato was even forbidden to grow in several regions of Europe, including France!
Things change after a series of famines in Europe in the early 1770s.
European countries are realizing that potatoes are not only safe to eat…
But that in addition, it is more resistant and more caloric than any other culture.
Louis XIV himself advertises it, wearing potato flowers in his buttonhole.
But it was mainly thanks to the efforts of Antoine Parmentier, a French nutritionist, that the potato became popular.
(Yes, the same one that gave its name to the famous shepherd's pie!)
So, if the potato succeeds in getting rid of its bad image...
It is largely thanks to the publicity brought to it by the Sun King and Antoine Parmentier.
To discover: 4 Simple Steps To Grow 45 kg Potatoes in a Barrel!
If everyone drinks orange juice in the morning, it's actually because of advertising.
Not only is it bad for your health, but there's even better!
Indeed, even orange juice was invented by advertising.
You do not believe me ? And yet, it is indeed the truth.
Until the very beginning of the 20th century, orange juice did not exist !
But that was before the greatest publicist of all time took an interest in it:Albert Lasker.
He got it into his head to sell as many oranges as possible for one of his clients, Sunkist.
For those who don't know, Sunkist is a huge agricultural cooperative that mainly produces citrus fruits.
Albert Lasker realized something.
Instead of eating a single orange, why not drink orange juice?
Indeed, to make an orange juice, you need at least 2 or 3!
So he invented a manual juicer and created the famous "Drink Your Orange" campaign. (Drink your orange ).
This introduces consumers to orange juice and encourages them to drink it every morning.
And obviously, the campaign worked very well!
To discover: 10 Brilliant Uses For Orange Peel.
