The first knownwritten advertisement

is more than threethousand years old!

Translations in English, French, Italian & Spanish

Jean-Marie Le Ray (2015)

“The man-slave, Shem, having run awayfrom his good master, Hapu the Weaver, all good citizens of Thebes are enjoined to help return him. He is a Hittite, 5'2" tall, of ruddycomplexion and brown eyes. For news of hiswhereabouts half a gold coin is offered. And for his return to the shop of Hapu the Weaver, where the best cloth is woven to yourdesires, a whole gold coin is offered.”

Translation in English (first printed advertisement in the world)

This message, written on a papyrus found in the

ruins of Thebes, in Egypt, was translated into English

by a journalist, James Playsted Wood, author of The Story of Advertising, published in 1958.

Currently, this papyrus should be preserved in the British Museum, even if I found in an international comparative study, entitled “History of advertising in Japan, 701-1867”, thisstatement by one of the authors:

“The original poster on papyrus is said to have been kept in a British Museum in London. Since I wanted to take a picture of the original, I asked the museum for the reference of it many times. However, their answer has always been that there is no suchducument in a British Museum. The whereabouts of the poster isstill in a fog.”

Also, the same author said about the translation of the message:“The original text of The Story of Advertising mentions "gold" twice. However, this seems to be a mistake because a money economy was not developed in Egypt at that time.”

HISTORY OF ADVERTISING IN JAPAN, 701-1867AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE STUDY Toshio Yamaki, Tokyo Keizai UniversityKikuko Fukatsu, University of Iowa

« L’esclave Shem s’est enfui de chez son

patron, Hapu le tisserand. Tous les bons

citoyens de Thèbes sont invités à

retrouver le fugitif. Il s’agit d’un Hittite,

de cinq pieds de haut, robuste et aux

yeux bruns. Une demi-pièce d’or sera

offerte pour toute information sur le sort

de l’individu. À quiconque le ramènera

à la tente de Hapu, le tisserand, où sont

tissées les plus belles étoffes au goût de

tous, une pièce d’or sera remise »

Translation in French (la plus ancienne publicité du monde)

“Dopo essere stato abbandonato dal suoschiavo, Shem, il datore di lavoro, Hapu il tessitore, invita tutti i buonicittadini di Tebe ad aiutare a trovarlo. L'ittita è alto cinque piedi, è di corporatura robusta ed ha occhicastani. Egli [il tessitore] offre un pezzod'oro a chi fornisce informazioni su dove si trovi, a chi lo consegnerà alla tenda di Hapu, il tessitore, dove si tessono le stoffe più belle di tutta Tebesecondo i gusti di ognuno”.

Translation in Italian (la pubblicità più antica del mondo)

“Habiendo huido el esclavo Shem de su patrono Hapu, el tejedor, éste invita a todos los buenos ciudadanos de Tebas a encontrarle. Es un hitita, de cinco pies de alto, de robusta complexión y ojoscastaños. Se ofrece media pieza de oro a quien de información acerca de su paradero. A quien lo devuelva a la tiendade Hapu, el tejedor, donde se tejen las máshermosas telas al gusto de cada uno, se le entregará una pieza de oro”.

Translation in Spanish (el anuncio más antiguo del mundo)