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Lawrence Bernstein's Blog on Direct Response

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Ogilvy Ad from Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Series

Here is another ad in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Series — perhaps one of the most effective business development advertising campaigns ever devised.

Why Puerto Rico is the most profitable of Omark Industries’ 14 plant sites in 5 countries

Here are the reasons why this Oregon metals fabricator’s plant in Puerto Rico is their leading profit maker worldwide. Send in the coupon below to discover what these same reasons can mean to you and your company’s profits.

OMARK INDUSTRIES, a major manufacturer of cutting chain, hydraulic loaders and industrial fasteners, started in Puerto Rico in 1965 with a cutting-chain plant in Bayamon.

Last year, this single 45,000-sq.-ft. facility earned over half of the company’s total after-tax profits. Here are some of the reasons why.

100% tax exemption

Although Puerto Rico is an integral part of the U.S., there are no federal taxes. What’s more, Puerto Rico offers qualified manufacturers like Omark 100% exemption from all local taxes for up to 30 years. In Puerto Rico, the profit you make is the profit you keep. [Read more…]

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Ads That Command: Defiant Child?

Why do some ads hit the white hot center of a market and become the control ads remembered years later, while others fall by the wayside?

This long running ad from the child psychology market sheds some light.

Here’s the powerful, yet economic headline that froze frustrated parents in their tracks for years:

Defiant Child?

“Mouthy, disrespectful or resistant to authority?”

As a father of three young kids, it’s something I experience daily. And, this ad nails that feeling in the copy.  [Read more…]

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An Interview with Mystery Writer Chris Grabenstein

He went from the Downtown comedy clubs to the hallowed halls of the J. Walter Thompson ad agency.

He started by writing ads and followed his mentor, James Patterson, into the world of writing mysteries, becoming an advertising creative director along the way.

Who is he?

He’s mystery writer, copywriter, screenplay writer, creative director, improvisational comedian and now children’s book author, Chris Grabenstein, that’s who.

And I was fortunate enough to be able to interview him… oh, so many years ago back in November 0f 2009. (I was stunned by how much wisdom is here on review in Feb. 2018.)

How has Chris been able to achieve so much in so many different areas?

It’s really no mystery.

Chris shares over 30 years worth of strategies for succeeding in the world of advertising and fiction, attention getting communication and winning productivity habits.

Here’s some of the nuggets you’ll glean from this interview:

  • How a cream pie in the face can earn you millions
  • Why there are no losers in advertising…only unemployment
  • How to “leave out the part that readers tend to skip”
  • Why improvisational comedians outperform door-to-door salesman in advertising…sorry Claude Hopkins
  • Why no one cares about your product (or if you spent a year on R&D)
  • A foolproof system fiction writers can use to hold themselves accountable
  • Why there’s always another winning idea…even after everyone else has given up
  • Why you must EARN people’s attention in advertising (or any kind of writing)
  • The copywriter-mystery writer connection

[Read more…]