Today ISBA, the voice of British advertisers, dedicates itself to protecting responsible advertising and to enhancing the effectiveness of its members.
In one form or another ISBA has been working for advertisers since 1891 when seven advertisers protesting about dubious newspaper circulation figures got together. They needed to know how effective their advertising was and how many people were actually seeing the ads they paid for. The call was for ‘net sales’ not pulp circulation.
The seven pioneers were two house furnishers, one a watchmaker, another a “Patent Medicine Vendor”, one a maker of stylographic pens and one a chemist; the seventh was described simply as ‘managing director, public company’. Records tell us they were Fred A Oetzmann, WE Catesby, John Neve Masters, Dr Deane Bennett (the Trilene Company), WB Warren (stylographic pens), John Wylde and James A Frolich. They first came together at a dinner at the Holborn Restaurant…the rest followed.
The Advertisers’ Protection Society – was formally established in 1900 under the chairmanship of WB Warren. Our date of establishment was 20 December. We celebrated our centenary in 2000 and we are the oldest advertiser organisation in the world.
The meeting at St Brides Institute included publishers and agents, the initial thought was to have a tripartite body. Advertisers however decided otherwise and membership was confined to advertisers.
The APS took it upon itself to work out the number of newspapers being sold and ended up in court charged with libel for having the audacity to publish figures the papers didn’t want made public. It won its battle, putting down a marker for the future battles it would fight. After a decade of battling with publishers resistance ISBA founded the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) in 1931.
Two decades after the founding of the APS, became the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers in 1920. We have been looking out for our members and winning the arguments on their behalf ever since.
ISBA’s first conference was held in 1921 at a time when membership had already reached 200, representing £30 million in advertising spend. It also marked the appointment of the first full time Secretary General and its first dedicated offices at 143 Fleet Street.
We helped launch the ICC Advertising Code of Standards in 1939.
In 1947 , working with the Federation of British Industry, we persuaded Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton to drop a tax on advertising from his Budget plans.
It was ISBA that in 1948 secured for the first time the screening of advertising in cinemas with the houselights down.
And we once operated an industry “anti-clutter” code which throughout the 1960s helped give Britain a spring clean by re-siting or removing over half a million poorly placed outdoor advertisements.
Together with the other bodies that made up the Advertising Association, ISBA helped form the Advertising Standards Authority in 1966 to make self-regulation of the industry a reality.
Since that time, we have been a staunch supporter and defender of the self-regulatory system and were instrumental in encouraging the Government to extend it to the broadcast arena in 2002.
The need for a strong voice for British advertisers is as crucial today as it was at our foundation all those years ago. With the collective help and support of our members, we remain right in the thick of the action.
Our Presidents and Chairmen represent the business leaders of their day and have played a significant part in promoting the rights and responsibilities of UK advertisers. You can see our Presidents Board here.
From an informal grouping of seven advertisers in 1891, to the Advertisers Protection Society in 1900, to The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers in 1920 we became known first as ‘The I.S.B.A.’ followed by simply ISBA today.
Your company too can be a part of the ISBA success story. Contact us today to find out how