OUR HISTORY

Both the oldest advertising company in the world and the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere, Smith.Moskowitz began its history as John Smith & Co., a greengrocer's in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1630.

Even at this early date, our forerunners were staying ahead in a changing marketplace; in 1632, Smith and his partners began selling advertisements on the sides of fruits and vegetables.

An early example of this practice, a pumpkin from ca. 1640, bore the slogan: "REPENT AND YE SHALL BE SAVED. Sincerely, Jos. Whitcomb, Hansom-Driver for Hire."

Among the institutions to take advantage of this unique publicity opportunity included the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Puritan Church,

and Harvard College, which in its first marketing campaign in 1638 contracted with the established Smith Co. for a bushel of turnips painted with various letters to spell out "VERITAS."

By the beginning of the 18th Century, Smith's descendants discovered that it was more profitable to let other people grow, transport, and market the fruits, and for Smith & Co. to concentrate purely on crafting and applying the commercial message. Thus, in 1704, John Smith & Co. exited the greengrocer space, outsourcing this aspect to the world's first media buyers, and became a full-time advertising agency as we now know it.

Three hundred and seventy-two years after our beginnings, Smith.Moskowitz is still a vigorous force in advertising. Just not vegetables.