Advertising agencies

The first advertising agencies in Turkey were founded in the early post-Second World War years. In the 1950s they could easily be counted on one hand. In the ‘60s, however, there was a noticeable increase in their numbers. In the ‘70s there was an agency boom, agencies not only growing in numbers but there also existed a marked development in terms of professional efficiency, creativity and advertising revenues. Main factors that played a role in this growth phase was the establishment of the state television and its broadcasting of adverts, as well as the newspapers and magazines adopting color offset printing techniques. The agencies started employing a great number of graphic designers in their creative departments and functioned for a while as a secondary school for young graphic designers.

The advertising companies’ relations with design and designers have always had much room for conflict. The agencies used to gain their profit from publishing commissions and did not charge for creative services.