“Adam Opel, mechanic in Rüsselsheim, recommends self-made sewing machines of all kinds, according to the latest design, at fixed and cheap prices.” That’s what it said 160 years ago in the “Groß-Gerauer Kreisblatt” on April 10, 1863, a Friday. The just 25-year-old entrepreneur, who was advertising his “sewing machines” here for the first time, had just moved into his new workshop a few days earlier, which the brother of his mother, who had died young, had made available to him. Tools and a little raw material included, and the uncle also gave his nephew a small loan. Now his business should really take off and the young entrepreneur drew attention to himself and his work with the advertisement for the first time.
Simple but effective
150 characters, 19 words, five lines – by today’s standards, this first Opel advertisement is very simple. And yet such advertisements were probably the most important advertising medium at the time, and according to estimates, the largest part of the advertising budget at that time flowed into this type of text advertisement. Graphic and image-heavy billboard advertising was still in its infancy. Only a few years earlier, on Christmas 1854, Ernst Litfaß had erected the first billboard in Berlin. The pillars with illustrated advertisements named after him had so far only spread in large cities.
Adam Opel demanded 160 thalers for his sewing machine. It was therefore significantly cheaper than competing products.
The then 25-year-old shaped a basic attitude that has endured to this day: Opel makes innovations accessible to everyone.
For his first public appearance as a sewing machine mechanic, Adam Opel relied on the “Groß-Gerauer Kreisblatt und Anzeigeblatt des Großherzoglichen Kreisamtes” founded five years previously. The advertisement is at the bottom of page 58. In the advertisement above, a carpenter is looking for journeymen willing to work, and guano fertilizer from Peru and seltzer water are offered. In any case, the production and sales figures for Adam Opel’s sewing machine production quickly skyrocketed. The advertisement may have played its part.
Even then: innovations for everyone
What is certain is that with his offer, Adam Opel opened up the possibility for many people to be able to afford a sewing machine in the first place. They were particularly popular with women, since thanks to the sewing machine they were able to do paid work from home for the first time. Adam Opel demanded 160 thalers for his design, for competing products from America a customer had to pay 250 thalers. In this respect, the Opel company should remain true to itself: the principle of making innovations as accessible to everyone as possible still applies.
The first Opel advertisement appeared on April 10, 1863 in the “Groß-Gerauer Kreisblatt” on page 58. In the advertisement above, a carpenter is looking for journeymen willing to work, and guano fertilizer from Peru and seltzer water are offered.
And today, 160 years after the publication of this first advertisement, Opel is in the middle of a brand profiling and major electrification offensive. The manufacturer already has twelve electrified models on offer – from the Rocks Electric, Corsa-e, Mokka Electric and Astra Hybrid to the Movano-e. The entire portfolio will be electrified by 2024. And from 2028, Opel will only offer electric vehicles in Europe.
Today: positioning on all channels
For a further boost in the further emotionalisation of the brands, the Rüsselsheim-based manufacturer has been relying on a partnership with the advertising agency Jung von Matt HAVEL since the beginning of 2023. The cooperation covers all questions of strategic brand positioning and campaign development on all marketing channels and in all markets for Opel and the British brand Vauxhall – the company has come an impressive way since the 150-character advertisement in 1863.
April 2023
Text: Eric Scherer, Photos: Opel Archive