
3 Jun 2025
Email Marketing History: The Shocking Tale of the First Spam Email
Let’s rewind to a time before the internet had memes, influencers, or even Google. Picture this: it’s 1978, and computers are the size of refrigerators. There is no Gmail, no Wi-Fi, and certainly no inbox jammed with offers of miracle skin serums or investment “opportunities.”
In fact, there’s barely an inbox at all. Yet somehow, this is when the first-ever spam email was born—and it came not from a hacker or shady corner of the web, but from a marketing guy who just wanted to show off his company’s latest computer. This moment marked the beginning of Email marketing history.
Table of Contents
One Bold Move That Transformed Email Marketing History
Against this quietly buzzing world of early tech, a marketing executive named Gary Thuerk had a radical notion. He worked at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), which had just introduced a new computer system that he was excited to share.
Instead of sending snail-mail invitations or placing hundreds of personal calls, Thuerk found an opportunity. ARPANET, the predecessor to the modern internet, connected a few hundred users across the country — scientists, engineers, and computer geeks. Rather than mailing endless paper invitations or calling hundreds of people, he decided to try something different — sent the same message to nearly 400 users at a time.It was a simple act. One email. One bold move.
The First Internet Outrage and Evolution of Email Marketing
The recipients weren’t exactly impressed. In fact, they were furious. At that time, Email was a privilege reserved for cooperation and serious communication. This unsolicited advertisement was looked at as an intrusion. Readers lashed out, sending scolding replies and complaining to administrators.
It was the first time the internet had been subjected to a breach of digital boundaries, and it would not be the last.
Spam Worked—And That Was the Problem
Now, here’s where it gets interesting: while the backlash was loud, the results were louder. Thuerk’s mass email actually worked. It generated several million dollars in sales
That one act of rebellion, the digital equivalent of junk mail, served to show that even a simple, text-only message would lead to results. And so, spam was born. Not out of malice or mischief, but out of pure, old-fashioned marketing hustle.
Why Is It Called “Spam” Anyway?
At first, it seems like a strange word for junk email. Believe it or not, the name is actually a product of canned meat — and a dose of British humor.
There’s an old sketch by the comedy group Monty Python, in which a café’s menu consists of nothing but dishes featuring Spam (the meat). While customers try to place orders, a gang of Vikings in the background continues chanting “Spam! Spam! Spam!” louder and louder, until no one can talk or think.
Internet users picked up on this idea. Just like the chant, spam emails are loud, repetitive, and drown out the useful stuff in your inbox. So the name stuck—and now, it’s hard to imagine calling it anything else.
The Spam Arms Race Begins: A Turning Point in the History of Email
As the internet exploded in the 90s and 2000s, so did spam. Spam evolved from simply annoying advertisements to scammy, and occasionally dangerous, messages — fake lottery winnings, questionable pharmaceuticals, phishing links, malware traps. It was a digital arms race.
Internet mail providers rushed to develop more sophisticated filters; spammers grew more cunning, switching to misspellings, weird punctuation, and even, sometimes, randomly inserted Shakespeare quotes in attempts to bypass filters.
This was a pivotal moment in email campaign history – the moment when creativity met chaos, transforming the way people interacted online.
Half Your Inbox Is Spam — Here’s Why That’s Profitable
Today, spam accounts for almost half of all emails sent worldwide. Yes, half. But before it could grow into this, it started with a single message from a single man who wanted more people to show up to his demo.
Spam emails now account for almost half of all email traffic worldwide – and incredibly, the industry is extremely profitable. Billions of dollars are earned each year from spam: the fake pharmaceuticals industry is particularly lucrative, as are get-rich-quick schemes and dodgy affiliate marketing. While the vast majority of us delete without reading, enough individuals do enough to ensure that the industry is successful.
However, many technology companies have implemented more intelligent filters than ever before, some utilizing AI and machine learning technology to filter out harmful messages. However, spammers are ingenious, and as always, they are likely to find ways through. But isn’t it amusing how some of the things that irritate us the most about the internet sometimes originate from the most innocent intentions?
So the next time you sigh and delete ten unread messages offering “guaranteed wealth” or “miracle skin serums,” take a moment to remember Gary Thuerk. He didn’t invent the spam the world knows, but he inadvertently unleashed Pandora’s inbox. His curiosity and creativity unleashed something that no one could control, including himself. And just like that, it ended up making internet marketing history.
The origins of the first spam email aren’t simply a fun tech trivia fact. It’s a potent reminder of how every innovation — good or bad — begins with a single, audacious idea. Occasionally, that notion flouts the rules. Sometimes, it piles up in your inbox. But every now and then … it changes the world
FAQs: Key Insights from the History of Email and Spam
Q1: When was the first spam email sent?
A: The first-ever spam email was sent in 1978, a time before Gmail, Wi-Fi, or even Google. Computers were huge, inboxes were rare, and the internet was just a few hundred users on ARPANET. Gary Thuerk, a marketing executive at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), sent a single email to nearly 400 users to promote a new computer system—a bold act that changed email marketing history.
Q2: Who sent the first spam email and why?
A: Gary Thuerk at DEC sent the first spam email. He wanted to show off his company’s latest computer system, so he bypassed snail mail and phone calls and sent one message to hundreds of people at once. His curiosity and creativity inadvertently unleashed what we now know as spam.
Q3: Why is junk email called “spam” in email marketing?
A: The name comes from a Monty Python sketch in which every menu item contained Spam (the canned meat). A gang of Vikings kept chanting “Spam! Spam! Spam!” until nothing else could be heard. Just like that, spam emails are repetitive, overwhelming, and drown out useful messages—so the name stuck.
Q4: Did the first spam email actually work?
A: Surprisingly, yes. Despite furious responses from recipients, Thuerk’s email generated several million dollars in sales. That one act of digital “junk mail” showed that even a simple, text-only message could have a huge impact.
Q5: How did the first spam email shape email campaign history?
A: This single bold email was a turning point. It proved that sending one message to multiple people could drive results, marking the beginning of email marketing history and changing how businesses approached communication on the internet.
Q6: How has spam email evolved through email marketing history?
A: In the 1990s and 2000s, spam went from simple advertisements to scammy, sometimes dangerous messages—fake lottery winnings, questionable pharmaceuticals, phishing links, and malware. Email campaign history entered a new phase, with internet providers developing filters and spammers finding clever ways around them.
Q7: What lessons does the first spam email teach us about the internet marketing evolution?
A: It shows that innovation often begins with a single audacious idea. Sometimes these ideas flout rules, pile up in our inboxes, and even irritate us—but occasionally, they change the world, just like Thuerk’s first mass email.
Also Read:- From Broadcast to Engagement: Marketing through the Ages
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comments