XXVII

ADVERTISING
Advertising  is  in  its  infancy  in  all  parts  of
Latin  America.  It  has  been  given  neither
thought,  study  or  attention,  by  the  native,  and
where  some  particular  article  has  made  a  “hit”
or  developed  into  a  profitable  seller  through
publicity,  the  chances  are  that  the  campaign
was  conducted  by  some  foreigner  more  or  less
familiar  with  modern  methods.  Thousands
of  dollars  are  yearly  wasted  by  inexperienced
persons  in  trying  to  market  goods  along  erroneous ­
  lines.
The  great  thing  which  militates  against  successful ­
  work  in  this  field  is  the  enormous  percentage ­
  of  illiteracy—some  authorities  placing
it  as  high  as  85  per  cent.  Chile  admits  that  49
per  cent,  of  her  citizens  cannot  read  or  write;
Argentine  54  per  cent.;  Cuba  56  per  cent.;
Mexico  75  per  cent.;  Brazil  85  per  cent,  and
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