Whenever I interview a prospective copywriting or consulting client, one of the first questions I usually ask is: "who's this product for?" And more often than I'd like to hear, I get the answer: "it's for everyone." Experience has taught me to … [Continue reading] about Copywriting: Headline Nightmares
Wrinkles FEAR Her
Helena Rubinstein came to the United States as a penniless Polish immigrant who went on to build one of the largest cosmetics empires in history. And direct response advertising played a key role in pushing her products at retail stores from coast … [Continue reading] about Wrinkles FEAR Her
Marshall McLuhan Says That TV Killed Bob Kennedy (Gene Schwartz Newsletter Ad)
Just when you thought you've seen every Gene Schwartz print ad there is, another one creeps up from his seemingly endless oeuvre! This one promotes the Marshall McLuhan Dew-Line Newsletter which looks like it had a modest run between 1968 and … [Continue reading] about Marshall McLuhan Says That TV Killed Bob Kennedy (Gene Schwartz Newsletter Ad)
20 Year Direct Mail Control: Burn Disease Out Of Your Body
How many direct mail packages in the alternative medicine market can boast two decades of mailing? This one, written by Eugene Schwartz and first mailed in 1979, had more stamina than the Energizer Bunny. It finally stopped mailing in the early … [Continue reading] about 20 Year Direct Mail Control: Burn Disease Out Of Your Body
CNBC Replaces Sex
The American writer and public intellectual, Gore Vidal, once quipped: "As one gets older, litigation replaces sex." If Vidal had made it to the gym in his later years, he would've switched "litigation" for "CNBC." Let me explain. This … [Continue reading] about CNBC Replaces Sex