Elias St. Elmo Lewis (March 23, 1872 – March 18, 1948) was an American advertising advocate. He wrote and spoke prolifically about the potential of advertising to educate the public. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame posthumously, in 1951.Advertiser's Digest, Vol. 16, September 1951, p. 27 He is the author of AIDA marketing model.
Biography
Lewis was born in Philadelphia as son of Enos Rees and Mary Bartram Lewis. He descended on maternal side from John Bannister Gibson and John Bartram, on paternal side from the same family as Meriwether Lewis.A. N. Marquis, The Book of Detroiters, Chicago 1914, p. 305 His middle name, St. Elmo, was derived from the eponymous novel by Augusta Jane Evans published in 1866.E. E. Calkins, Louder please! The autobiography of a deaf man, Boston 1924, p. 38: Lewis was educated at North Broad Street Select School in Philadelphia, later renamed into "Eastburn Academy" after its founder, then at the University of Pennsylvania where he edited the "University Courier" in 1893 and 1894. In 1895, he was the editor of an arts publication called "Moods", and business manager of "Footlights, A Clean Paper for the Theatre Goer" while also acting as a junior partner and business manager for a printing company."E. St. Elmo Lewis, Editor of Moods," Current Literature, 18 (August), p. 105
Lewis founded an advertising agency in 1896 called The Advertisers' Agency which was located in the old Penn Mutual Building in Philadelphia.Marquis, 1914, p. 305: Without exception, all ads for Lewis' agency state 1896 as the year of its establishment. For a description of the building on Chestnut street, erected in 1891, see "The new home of the Penn Mutual", in: Philadelphia and popular Philadelphians, Philadelphia 1891, p. 94-95 Its business slogan - "Ask Lewis about it" - gained proverbial fame.F. V. Owen, "The Advertising Man's Place in Business," The Ad Book, Vol. 1, July 1897, p. 9: He took charge of the diphtheria antitoxin advertising of the H. K. Mulford Company in 1896."Successful Medical Advertising," Printers' Ink, Vol. 20, August 4, 1897, p. 31: The Advertiser's Digest noted on the occasion of Lewis' induction into the "Advertising Hall of Fame" that in the same year "he made one of the first scientific customer research surveys, studying the use of serums and anti-toxins among 5,000 physicians" (see Footnote 1). The Advertisers' Agency established branch offices during the first half of 1897, first in Buffalo, then in Detroit. The Buffalo office was headed by Frank Fellows, formerly employed by The Charles H. Fuller Company.Printers' Ink, March 3, 1897, p. 31; The Inland Printer, Vol. 19, p. 95 Charles J. Shearer, former advertising manager to Strawbridge & Clothier in Philadelphia, became President of The Advertisers' Agency in July 1897, while Lewis retained his old position as General Manager."The Advertisers' Agency," The North American, July 9, 1897, p. 2; "A business that grows has merit in it," Printers' Ink, July 21, 1897, p. 39 In July 1901, Lewis was selected by the Peirce School in Philadelphia to conduct the Peirce School of Advertising.E. St. Elmo Lewis, "There is no advertising 'school' in the United States", The Spatula, August 1901, p. 685; E. St. Elmo Lewis, "My little talk last month," The Spatula, September 1901, p. 765; E. St. Elmo Lewis, "Five years ago I started in business," The Book-Keeper, 14, October 1901, p. 7. For details about Lewis' course at Peirce School see J. H. Sinberg, "How to Become an Advertising Man. An Interview with E. St. Elmo Lewis, Instructor in Advertising at the Peirce School, Philadelphia," Printers' Ink, Vol. 38, January 1, 1902, pp. 46-47"Advertising as a Fine Art," The American Printer, November 1901, p. 228: In that year, The Advertisers' Agency was succeeded by E. St. Elmo Lewis, Incorporated with a capital stock of $50,000.Advertising Experience, Vol. 9, November 1901, p. 38; Annual Report of the State Auditor of the State of Delaware. 1901, Dover 1902, p. 107. The new business address was 518 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Lewis resigned from his company in November 1902 and sold all his stock holdings a year later."A Personal Note from Mr. Lewis," The Book-Keeper, April 1904, p. 140 Lewis worked at the National Cash Register Company from 1902 to 1903."E. St. Elmo Lewis," Ad sense, Vol. 13, December 1902, p. 513: E. St. Elmo Lewis, Inc. was eventually dissolved in 1906.O. C. Klinger, Obsolete Securities, New York 1923, p. 133
In September 1903, Lewis joined the staff of The Book-Keeper as assistant general manager and as general managing editor of the journal.The American Printer, October 1903, p. 159: Ad sense, Vol. 15, November 1903, p. 420: In 1904, that company published his book The Credit Man and His Work, which lists him as 'Fellow The International Accountants Society, Inc.' and 'Managing Editor "The Business Man's Magazine"'. No reference can be found to him having worked as a 'credit man' (manager).
He then became the advertising manager for Burroughs Adding Machine Company (manufacturer of the first widely used calculator) from 1905 to 1914."Lewis leaves Business Man's Magazine," Ad sense, Vol. 18, May 1905, p. 490; "E. St. Elmo Lewis to Leave Burroughs," Printers' Ink, Vol. 88, August 20, 1914, p. 12 In June 1910, Lewis was elected president of the newly founded National Association of Advertising Managers at their first regular meeting at Hotel Pontchartrain in Detroit."E. St. Elmo Lewis, President Advertising Managers' Association," Trust Companies, Vol. 11, July 1910, p. 51 He had conceived the idea of forming a select organization of advertisers as early as Summer 1908 and wrote a letter to Alfred Darlow, advertising manager of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, to ask for his cooperation."Darlow has quit the Union Pacific," Norfolk Weekly News-Journal, August 28, 1908, p. 5. For details about the mission of the organization, which was later renamed into "Association of National Advertisers", see "The proposed Association of Advertising Managers", Printers' Ink, Vol. 71, June 30, 1910, p. 60 In September 1914, he became vice-president and general manager of the Art Metal Construction Company in Jamestown (NY).The Metal Industry, Vol. 12, October 1914, p. 445 Lewis joined the Campbell Ewald Co. as advertising and sales counsel in December 1915."E. St. Elmo Lewis Returns to City," Detroit Free Press, December 2, 1915, p. 5; "E. St. Elmo Lewis maps out future activities," Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record, December 11, 1915, p. 6 He was associated with that company until 1926."E. St. Elmo Lewis Leaves Campbell-Ewald", Printers' Ink, March 4, 1926, p. 12
Afterwards, Lewis worked for National Services, Inc. in Detroit as counsellor in consumer and trade relations,Iron Trade Review, 1927, Vol. 80: and, as of 1931, as vice-president and editorial director of the Keystone Publishing Company in Philadelphia."E. St. Elmo Lewis Joins Keystone Publishing," Printers' Ink, Vol. 154, 1931: In 1932, Lewis joined a newly formed organization called Advisory Management Corporation in Philadelphia as chief of staff of the marketing division."Form Counseling Organization at Philadelphia", Printers' Ink, Vol. 158, 1932: Charles Edward Knoeppel (1881-1936) was hired as assistant to the president of that company. Knoeppel authored the book Profit Engineering (McGraw-Hill, 1933) to which Lewis contributed the chapter "Securing Sales Called for by Profitgraph". In early 1937, he was asked by the "Evansville Co-Operative League", an organization of large industrial firms in Evansville (IN), to outline a community program and platform.E. F. Forbes, "Evansville puts its house in order," Nation's Business, Vol. 27, February 1939, pp. 59-61. The "Platform for Industrial Peace in Evansville" was published for instance in the November 21, 1937 issue of The Evansville PressAn organizational chart of the League was provided by T. J. Morton, "Public Relations Job," Factory Management and Maintenance, Vol. 96 (12), 1938, p. 40; reproduced in A. G. Anderson, Industrial Management (New York, 1942, p. 12) and M. J. Jucius, Personnel Management (Homewood, 1963, p. 331)
Lewis was married to Maude Rose Wherry. In the early 1940s, the couple moved from Detroit to St. Petersburg, Pinellas County (FL), "on doctors' orders", as the Highway Traveler noted in 1946, "to take care of an overworked heart." He died there on March 18, 1948."Famous Advertising Man, Author, Dies Here at 75," St. Petersburg Times, March 19, 1948, p. 12; "E. St. Elmo Lewis Dies in Florida at Age of 76," Detroit Free Press, March 20, 1948, p. 8; see also the death notice in Printers' Ink, Vol. 223, Apr-June 1948, p. 137; and, the obituary by R. O. Eastman, "Tribute to a Pioneer" in the same volume (p. 20) Maude Rose survived her husband by 28 years. She died on March 31, 1976.Detroit Free Press, April 1, 1976, p. 10
Advertising principles
Since 1925 when The Psychology of Selling and Advertising by Edward K. Strong, Jr. was published, it became commonplace to attribute the authorship of the AIDA model to Lewis. According to Strong, Lewis formulated the slogan attract attention, maintain interest, create desire in 1898, adding later the fourth term get action.E. K. Strong, Jr. The Psychology of Selling and Advertising. New York 1925, p. 349 and p. 9.
The following table summarizes Lewis' evolving idea concerning the principal functions of advertising:
Year Model Source 1899 to catch the eye of the reader, to inform him, to make a customer of him The Western Druggist, 21 (February), p. 66 1903 attract a reader, interest him, convince him The Book-Keeper, 15 (February), p. 124 1908 attract attention, awaken the interest, create the conviction Financial Advertising, Indianapolis: Levey Bros. & Co. 1909 attract attention, awaken the interest, persuade / convince The Bankers' Magazine, 78 (April), pp. 710–711
The earliest, rudimentary discussion of advertising principles appeared in a column which Lewis wrote for The Inland Printer under the pen name "Musgrove". In the August 1897 issue he stated:
A quote in the December 1897 issue of Fame - A Journal for Advertisers provides further evidence that Lewis reflected about advertising principles even prior to 1898:
Two elements from the 1898 slogan were already present, "attract attention" and "maintain interest" (=sustained attention, see below).