The walls of the Roman city of Pompeii excavated from a lava flow are a remarkable time capsule. That’s because the extreme event froze the graffiti messages on the walls.
Some of these are affectionate messages to lovers, while others are more ribald. Still more are commercial marketing messages like ‘best fresh bread here’ and ‘opening new wine at so-and-so’s tavern’.
These traditional marketing messages are in your face everywhere you walk. Nothing much changed in marketing after the Vesuvius volcano eruption until digital marketing arrived almost 2,000 years later.