Summer is coming soon, and that means it’s time for your customers to purchase promotional products for their summer events. You might not realize this, but the promotional products industry has a long history. Do you know that history? Take this quiz to find out.
1. The history of promotional products goes a long way back, and got its start in the earliest US elections. What year’s election saw the first commemorative button?
A) 1789
B) 1792
C) 1796
D) 1800
2. That wasn’t the end of campaign buttons. Who was the first presidential candidate to have the image of their face featured on a button?
A) Andrew Jackson
B) Abraham Lincoln
C) Teddy Roosevelt
D) Ulysses S. Grant
3. Promotional products have been around for a long time, but one businessman is most often credited as the first to produce them commercially in the late 1800s. What was his name?
A) Isaac Young
B) Abraham Brown
C) Jasper Meek
D) Everett Hill
4. If you work in the promotional products industry, you know that there are a variety of different trade associations. Which organization got that started?
A) Advertising Specialties Institute (ASI.
B) Promotional Products Association International (PPAI.
C) Upper Midwest Association of Promotional Professionals (UMAPP.
5. Sometimes promotional products are popular enough to become products on their own. Which of these products got their start as a promotional offer?
A) Hall’s cough drops
B) McDonalds hamburgers
C) Singer sewing needles
D) Wrigley’s chewing gum
ANSWERS:
1) A. The first promotional item in US history was a commemorative button made for the George Washington in the election of 1789.
2) B. Abraham Lincoln was the first presidential candidate to have his face featured on a campaign button.
3) C. In the late 1800s, Jasper Meek wanted to keep his newspaper presses running during slow times. He then started printing burlap bags with advertising messages. A local shoe store then gave them to school children to promote his business.
4) B. PPAI got its start as the Advertising Manufacturers Association in 1904. ASI got its start in 1950.
5) D. Believe it or not, Wrigley’s sold baking powder before their promotional gum became a smash hit. Their baking powder was also a promotional product that was a hit; they originally sold soap.
The promotional products industry has come a long way since the commemorative buttons in the 1789 election. With nationwide trade organizations, tradeshows, and publications, it is now a booming business, and we’re happy to be a part of it!
What’s the most memorable promotional product you have ever received? How did you do on the quiz? We’d love to see you join in the conversation in the comments below.
Speak Your Mind