Once upon a time, there was a wildly popular communication system where one group of people sent short messages to anyone interested in reading them.

In roughly 12 to 17 words, this text system was most often used to send sharp, pithy thoughts and observations. You never knew when you'd get a new message - that was the fun of it. You could be virtually anywhere in the country and, out of the blue, a new message would appear.

It proved so successful that it was only a matter of time before imitators started offering their own versions of this communication tool.

But they were pale imitations of the original.

This communication system wasn't Twitter. Or e-mail. Or live chat. Or even texting.

It was Burma-Shave.

Burma-Shave signs that dotted America's highways in 43 states from around 1925 to 1963.

More than 7,000 short messages on 35,000 individual boards.

Mechanical messaging in an era when "digital" meant doing something with the digits of the hand or foot (fingers and toes). As in, "the exam was carried out digitally."

For those who think "a year ago" is old or that anything measured in decades is ancient and uninteresting, here's a little history: Burma-Shave was a brushless shaving cream in a jar usually sold in drug stores or marketed door to door.

Business for the product wasn't really great until the owners hit upon the idea of sticking sequential advertising signs by the side of the road. The first signs were planted on two highways leading out of Minneapolis in the fall of 1925.

They were short, four stanza advertisements on five or six boards that took about 18 seconds in all to read:

EVERY SHAVER

NOW CAN SNORE

SIX MORE MINUTES

THAN BEFORE

BY USING

BURMA-SHAVE

DEWHISKERED

KISSES

DEFROST

THE

MISSES

BURMA-SHAVE

HENRY THE EIGHTH

PRINCE OF FRISKERS

LOST FIVE WIVES

BUT KEPT HIS WHISKERS

BURMA-SHAVE

The advertising odes were an immediate hit with the public and were quoted, lampooned, imitated, celebrated and evicerated.

And they were one of the most successful and longest running advertising campaigns in American history.

By 1963, it was clear the roadside signs were providing diminishing returns as an ad medium. Society and highways were changing. Television and radio advertising offered greater reach and marketing opportunities.

By the end of the year, most, if not all, of the signs were dismantled.

Though separated by decades and technology, Burma-Shave and Twitter have much in common.

For years, the American highway had standard billboards; for years, the digital highway has had e-mail.

Burma-Shave was a new way of communicating with short billboards; Twitter is a new way of communicating via short messages.

Burma-Shave messages were deliberately limited in length and to the point; Twitter messages are deliberately limited in length and to the point.

Burma-Shave messages played to short attention spans and had a powerful momentary impact; Twitter messages play to short attention spans and have a powerful momentary impact.

Burma-Shave signs were popular, topical and current; Twitter is popular, topical and current.

For Burma-Shave, the transition of the ad campaign over time from new and unexpected to common and expected slowed its growth and effectiveness.

That, coupled with changing social interests and newer or more popular communications options, eventually brought about the end of the unique roadside ads.

Twitter is still fresh and new in the public mind. But, in time, it, too, will reach a saturation point, a moment when it goes from uncommon to common. And newer communication methods will appear in the near future to challenge Twitter.

The difference between Burma-Shave and Twitter is the compressed time nature of the digital world. The Burma-Shave campaign had a 40-year lifespan. In the digital world, Twitter will be quite antiquated in just four years. It's hard to stay fresh and relevant online.

So, in terms of a Burma-Shave ad:

If you want to know

If Twitter will last

All you need do

Is look to the past:

Burma-Shave

Wikipedia: Burma-Shave

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma-Shave

Well-written and documented overview of the shaving product and its advertising campaign.

Burma-Shave

http://burma-shave.org

A collection of the 7,000 known Burma-Shave sign messages (called "jingles"), a burma-Shave memoribilia shop and links.

Burma-Shave Museum

http://www.eisnermuseum.org/_burma_shave/

Nicely crafted overview of Burma-Shave as an advertising medium. Part of the American Museum of Advertising and Design.

(Keith Darnay has worked in the online world for more than a decade, the traditional media world for a few decades more and manages the online department and Web site for the University of Mary. His own site, featuring this column going back to 1995, is at www.darnay.com.iec.)