Instant Gloss: Promoting Paint in 1840s Paris. The Example of Louis Viard’s Chromo-Duro-Phane Varnish

While often operating the margins of propriety, advertisers and marketers are constrained by the social mores of their times. During the early nineteenth century, product promotion opportunities were limited to a mix of newspapers, hoardings and pamphlets. Some enterprising entrepreneurs and innovative individuals pushed the envelope of the acceptable, effectively creating new standards. This paper presents the first case study where the advertising and marketing strategies of a single French entrepreneur are being examined in depth.

To successfully promote his products, the small-scale paint manufacturer Louis Viard employed a range of strategies. These ranged from the true and tried media of newspaper advertisements, product packaging and advertising cards to more innovative modes of promotion, such as mobile advertising on delivery carts as well as flamboyant street processions, to clever and engaging use of billboards and product placement in plays. In addition, he maintained a workforce of loudly attired roaming painters, who combined promotion and marketing at the same time.