Recently one day, I stumbled across this remarkable print ad and asked myself the question: “How’d this ad get into my possession?”
Then it hit me.
Surely, this full page ad was no “mere mortal” ad. I reached for the 520-page transcript from the Bencivenga 100 Seminar with hope… and sure enough this ad on page 346 looked right back at me.
Imagine a newspaper reader in 1951 coming across this ad and exclaiming: [Continue reading] about SMASHING 800-Pound Gorilla Objections in Your Headline
If you've heard the story of a young Gene Schwartz working one day in the mail room and a few short years later becoming a mail order millionaire, then here is an interesting ad. It was written in 1975 by the son of the man who showed Gene the … [Continue reading] about Mail Order Ad by Gene Schwartz’s Copywriting Mentor: Cecil Hoge
Here are some hard won secrets for selling in the golf market... From one of the ablest marketers of our time. … [Continue reading] about The Golfer Struck by Lightning… and the Marketer Who Struck Millions in Mail Order (UPDATED)
What do advertising and martial arts have in common? A lot actually. The world of general advertising is still largely clueless about sales. Many advertisers never make an offer or ask for the sale -- they have no idea whether their ad's been … [Continue reading] about One of the Greatest U.S.P.s You’ll Ever See
Anyone wandering around Midtown Manhattan from the 1980s to the early 2000s remembers the electronics and furniture stores with the giant gaudy "Going Out of Business'' signs plastered on the store fronts. … [Continue reading] about This Ad Reminds Me of the Midtown-Manhattan Store with the Giant “Going Out of Business” Signs… for 17 Straight Years!
Advertising has a lot in common with chess. To the outsider looking in, it can be hard to understand what's going on. "Hey, why did White resign?" is a typical comment, you'd find in a random YouTube video. … [Continue reading] about I Like This Headline… Too Bad No One Else Did
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 … [Continue reading] about An Interview with Mystery Writer Chris Grabenstein
MAGIC HEADLINES Vol. 2... Yours FREE … [Continue reading] about Magic Headlines Volume 2 (UPDATED)
Even if you never dip your toe in the waters of the weight loss market, you can ALWAYS learn something from a successful ad. And this one had THOUSANDS of insertions from 2014 to 2019. … [Continue reading] about “Fat Magnets”… Copy Crooks… and a MAGIC Weight Loss Headline
(This was one of my first entries on Info Marketing Blog, waaay back on June 11 2007. I decided to revisit it nearly 15 years later. Haylings' mainstay in the 30s and 40s was the classified ad. ) Imagine facing the Great Depression as a … [Continue reading] about George Haylings: Info Marketer Who Laughed at the Depression
No supplements for sale in this 1,971 word epic. This weight loss ad lasted the equivalent of several lifetimes (from 1992-2004) at a time when outrageous claims dripped off the page of almost every diet ad. This one is different. What are … [Continue reading] about 12-Year Diet Plan Control That Beat the Odds in a Sea of Charlatans
(JUNE 2022) I needed to pull an old rabbit out of a hat for a client recently, and THIS was the swipe... foundation for the promo... that leapt to the fore. Here's a hypothetical to demonstrate how powerful this little known headline is. … [Continue reading] about The Case Against Swiping Part 1 (UPDATE)
The Guinness Guide to Cheese is featured in the essential Ogilvy On Advertising. Yes, this is a brand ad and a damn fine one in the annals of food advertising. The layout with the photos and summaries of the various cheeses make for irresistible … [Continue reading] about One of the All Time GREATS in the History of Food & Beverage Advertising
Untold thousands of "Marie Davant" tinytorials (tiny advertorials) graced the pages of print for over four decades. BUT... one wonders... did Marie Davant even exist? … [Continue reading] about Attack of the Killer TINYTORIALS
You may not know his name, but if you ever picked up a newspaper or magazine ANYWHERE in English speaking North America from the 1990s through the 2000s... you saw his ads. His insertions ran in Parade, USA Today, AARP Bulletin, Globe, Christian … [Continue reading] about Interview with an Under-the-Radar SUPER STAR Who Sold 200,000 Books a Year
Silver is HEATING up as the dollar continues to bleed and inflation ratchets up. You'd need a small warehouse of these silver rounds just to service the debt for a mere hour on the $30 trillion of U.S. debt. But that's a topic for another … [Continue reading] about Copy That TRANSCENDS the Product for Sale Part 2 (“Your Silver Passport to Travel the World”)