本文透過仿單商標與招牌幌子這兩種廣告形式，說明中國傳統廣告文化到了明清以後，從圖像為主、圖文並茂，逐漸走向以文字說明為主流的趨勢。之所以有如此轉變的背景與原因，第一，和明清時期城市化的發展息息相關。明清城市的環境是造就廣告文化誕生的重要背景基礎；而明清城市住民的識字率提升，遠遠高於鄉村，所以市招的形式也多以專用文字為主。再者，明清以來城市內的工商業競爭愈加激烈，仿冒的情形愈來愈頻繁，所以各行各業都有必要利用多字招牌來凸顯其特色，或在仿單裡花上大篇幅的文字說明如何分辨真假。此外，廣告的作用除了強調售貨者或生產者的聲譽之外，其實也是社會菁英分子塑造消費品味並與其他社會階層區分的工具。在明清時期，著名的商標、品牌或字號的商品，成了士大夫階層消費品味的象徵。而奢侈品與高級服務業的主要消費群，就是集中在城市裡的官紳與商人階層；所以奢侈品與高級服務業的廣告模式，主要也是為了迎合士大夫文化的品味。因此中國傳統招牌或仿單用華麗的文言文所呈現的「文學性」，其實有相當程度是為少數菁英所服務的。

This article has shown, through the analysis of visual advertising, that Ming-Qing China witnessed the change of advertising culture from the appeal to concrete objects and images to extensive use of text in conveying product information. That is, advertisements were designed for reading rather than viewing. This transformation was related to the urbanization of the period. The Ming-Qing urban environment provided an important foundation for the birth of the new advertising culture; and, as the level of literacy among city dwellers grew, far exceeding that of rural residents, text came to dominate various forms of marketplace signs. In addition, the increased intensity of industrial and commercial competition during the Ming-Qing period made imitation widespread, which led proprietors to distinguish themselves from imitators through text-based advertisements. This competitive environment pushed complex textual advertising into the mainstream. In addition, the “literariness” that traditional signs achieved through the elegant use of classical Chinese was, to a considerable extent, an attempt to cater to the elites of the literate class. Complex textual forms of advertising, therefore, were mainly used in the sale of luxury items and services, and were mainly used in response to the tastes of the literate class.