Direct Response Copywriting Swipe File

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…] about Ads That Command: Defiant Child?

Here’s a lead generation ad, or a want ad if you will, from Merrill Lynch during their halcyon days in the early 1970s.

Before the era of the vampire squids and the CEOs who detonated century old companies with toxic derivatives, Merrill was a genteel place to work and boasted Ogilvy & Mather as its ad agency.

Imagine the psychographics of the candidates a company could recruit in 2016 using print advertising with a detailed questionnaire like this one.

Could you make the grade at Merrill Lynch?

Through the lens of 2016, this ad’s copy might not be up to snuff.

But it wasn’t scintillating ad copy that kept Robert Allen’s ads and spots going strong for decades.

Allen had countless competitors in the “nothing down” real estate market — a market that’s making a minor comeback after years of hibernation.

Late night TV junkies during the 1980s are sure to recall one or more of these pitchmen:

* The avuncular Carlton Sheets with his trustworthy Midwestern accent. (Now retired.)

* The rags-to-riches Vietnamese immigrant, Tom Vu, usually surrounded by bikini clad women. (Now a poker player.)

* And the gritty salesman to the masses, Dave Del Dotto. (Now a winemaker.)

But of all the “nothing down” and real estate investment marketers, Robert Allen is one of the last standing after 35 years at it.

Why so?

Chalk it up to… [Read more…] about Ads That Command: The Outrageous Challenge

“Math Wizard Reveals Amazing Secrets Of Calculating Skills

Students  shed  calculators  and  pencils  with  Math  Magic.”

The “Math Magic” course was successful in print for many years and, like the “Total Transformation” campaign, is a great example of educational advertising using direct response.

 

From 1979-1981, Doug Casey’s full page ads proclaiming “the Great Depression of the 1980s” were in newspapers all over America.

His book, Crisis Investing, became the bestselling financial book in history, hit  #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, and stayed there for twelve weeks.

There was a nasty worldwide recession in the early 1980s, but nothing even close to a depression.

Did that put him out of business?

Hardly.

He’s run a lucrative consulting firm for the last 30 years and lived in twelve different countries.

In early 1987, economist Ravi Batra’s book, The Great Depression of 1990, was table talk from coast to coast.

It hit #1 on the Times Best Seller List later that year.

There was a nasty worldwide recession in the early 1990s, but nothing close to a full-fledged depression.

Did that put the damper on Professor Batra?

No.

He’s published a parade of books since, including the 1999 doomsday title, “The Crash of the Millennium.”

Casey and Batra are hardly the only prophets of doom to profit from doomsday predictions but the specificity and severity of their predictions catapulted them into the spotlight in a way others never reached.

Amusingly, some of their supporters have claimed they were right — they were just off by a few years and overstated the financial markets crash of 2008. [Read more…] about Why “Armageddon Advertising” Sells

$25,000 Dollars For a Few Hours Work Doesn’t Seem Fair!

This ad had widespread insertions in the early 1980s and was written by one of the most successful operators in the biz-op category, a man named John Chriswell of Sterling Virginia.

Even at the time this ad was on the scene, this was a saturated market and giant claims were a dime a dozen.

How did Chiswell overcome the natural resistance to oversized claims heard again and again?

He cushioned the claim.

Instead of focusing on the advertiser’s income claim, the prospect’s attention was drawn to the “fairness” of earning $25,000 for a few hours work.

To my knowledge, this was a totally new headline treatment and accounted for this ad’s longevity in this market with notoriously short life spans.

Winning at the Races May Not Be Your Idea of Fun, But…

This print control had a four year run in the early 1970s — a long time in a then crowded market, characterized by the total addiction of its constituents to “the races,” as anyone who ever walked past an Off Track Betting location would attest.

Lots of ads made the same promise, but this one got them to respond.

How?

The headline cushioned a ubiquitous claim, “Win at the races,” with the short string of copy: it, “may not be your idea of fun.”

This had the dual advantage of calling out the core prospects, the misfits spending a day congregating around an off-track parlor, as well as attracting opportunity seekers who might be repelled by the horse racing scene.

This ad, though a throwback, is a great example of copy written in the voice of the core respondent, someone who’s spent a lot of time at the track.

“This Is The Best Darn Tomato I’ve Ever Tasted!” was a reliable order getter for years, but then like all ads, eventually started flagging.

How did the advertisers breathe new life into it and keep response flowing?

They cushioned the claim with a simple headline alteration, using the conditional tense.

“This Could Be The Best Darn Tomato I’ve Ever Tasted!” became the new control and the ad kept going.

Most novice advertisers avoid “coulds” and “maybes” because they seem wishy-washy but experienced advertisers know using them in the right place can make claims seem more plausible and increase response.

To download the ads in a single PDF, click here.

 

In late-2012, I had a client, who was a cold name on my house file, buy six months of my time.

Worth it? Yes, but I’ve gotten a severe case of withdrawal.

So, for those who asked why I haven’t been posting, I’ll be more than making up for it with over a year’s worth of content.

I’ll also be tearing down and rebuilding most of my websites, including this one.

Here’s one of the better ones I’ve been sitting on for a while. It’s a 15 ad campaign in one PDF, which you can download through the link below.

In the 1980s, International Paper was locked in a no-holds-barred struggle with five major competitors whose products varied little.

International Paper set out to create a reason why customers should prefer I.P. above the rest, even if only for a feeling of the “warm and fuzzies.”

But can that translate to sales and customer loyalty, especially for a commodity product like paper?

The campaign — “We believe in the power of the printed word” — was a smashing success.

It was conceived by Ogilvy creative director, Billings S. Fuess, who relied on celebrities with credibility in education, like:

• Kurt Vonnegut: “How To Write With Style”
• Bill Cosby (before he became a TV sitcom superstar): “How To Read Faster”
• Malcolm Forbes: “How To Write a Business Letter
• Walter Cronkite: “How To Read A Newspaper”
• And George Plimpton: “How To Make a Speech,” among others.

While the ads were published under the bylines of these well knowns, it was Fuess who spent three to four weeks researching each ad and one week writing the first draft.

27 Million Requests for Copies of These Ads

The initial campaign targeted the 15-to-30 age group, mainly those in high school or college, under the banner of the “College Survival Kit.”

But as these two-page spreads gained attention from widespread insertions, I.P. was inundated with requests for copies of theses ads from all age groups. They later spun off the “Business Survival Kit.”

Doubleday was one of four publishers to put in a bid to publish a compilation of these ads after the fourth ad hit the press.

Can you imagine anything so crazy… print ads being turned into a book? 🙂

But the copies were swept up and out of print copies now sell on Amazon for $273 and up.

Most wouldn’t peg a paper manufacturer as the source of such ingenious product and brand differentiation.

It just goes to show there are countless ideas for creating a competitive advantage out of thin air.

“The Power of the Printed Word”

(20-page,  4-megabyte PDF)

If you picked up a magazine or newspaper in the 1970s or 1980s, you would’ve encountered an ad like this from Eric Weber’s Symphony Press.

Weber was a timid young advertising copywriter when he decided there had to be a better way to meet women.

So, he took tape recorder in hand and spent his weekends approaching women and asking them what a man could do to pique their interest.

At night, he’d transcribe the tapes.

He realized he was onto something when he met the woman he’d later marry.

Eventually, he had enough material for a book, but no publisher would option “How to Pick Up Girls.”

One day Weber was sitting on his psychoanalyst’s sofa complaining that he’d worked thousands of hours on his book, but couldn’t get it published.

His analyst replied, “You’re in advertising. Promote your own book and sell it yourself by mail order.”

That’s exactly what Weber did and he went on to sell millions of copies of his books by mail order and became the first “king” of the dating market.

Message to copywriters: it’s good to eat your own cooking.

Here’s one of the first ads that opened the floodgates to the then untapped dating market.

“If I got my man, you can get yours.”

This is a 4-page Christmas advertising spread from Marshall Field from 1950.

Growing up in and around New York City, I recall what a big deal the department store windows were around Christmas time.

Fascinating and nostalgic advertising in the per-Internet days and respondents to this ad could order a booklet with the story about the Marshall Field Christmas windows.

Click on the image to download the PDF.

There is great excitement in Wonderland these days now that the Uncle Mistletoe windows are open along State Street. Many of the animals have roles in the Mistletoe adventure staged there and all the other Wonderland folks are coming downtown (on Uncle’s magic rug, of course) to see the windows.

“Why, this is more fun than being on the stage,” exclaimed Obediah Pig the other day.

“It is being on the stage,” declared Michael O’Hare.

“That’s right,” said Uncle Mistletoe, “and we’ve got all those children to entertain and they’re the most wonderful audience in the world.”

Edward Bear, who had been sitting to one side, spoke up, “This is the most exciting adventure you’ve ever had, Uncle Mistletoe. I hope every boy and girl can get to see what happens.”

“You are right, Edward Bear,” said Michael O’Hare. “This year’s adventure is really exciting. It’s called, ‘A Party for Santa,’ and it’s all about a surprise that Aunt Holly and Uncle Mistletoe plan for the old gentleman when he finishes his trip around the world.”

Here’s a half-page vertical insertion for How to Survive a Nuclear Disaster — apropos for today’s apocalypse foretold in the Mayan calendar.

Don’t wait until Doomsday…

You can protect yourself and your family NOW!

The first authoritative reference of its kind ever published! Featuring recently “declassified  information plus new, never before-revealed scientific data.

Three Mile Island was no fluke… a nuclear accident could occur at anytime. With no notice …What would you do? Where would you go? How can your family survive the terrible heat—the fallout— the radiation? Experts predict that 20-165 million Americans would die in an all out attack and according to a study published by the Office of Technology Assessment 12-33 million would be injured.

You owe it to your loved ones to be prepared!

You don’t have to be rich to survive… just prepared! Now, for the first time, this life-saving handbook for every American tells you HOW. In it, you’ll discover the probability of a nuclear disaster in your region… the most likely civilian and military targets in case of attack… the likelihood of survival… what precautions you can take… how to stockpile food, water, medical supplies…what post-attack life will be like, and how to endure and function in the new environment. But don’t wait until it’s too late. Your family’s very life could be in your hands RIGHT NOW!

The ads for SilkSkin in the 1980s-1990s were part of a long running campaign in the beauty and cosmetics markets.

What made them so memorable?

The ads were fronted by Hollywood make-up artist, Bob Sidell, who worked on the sets of some of the most recognized television programs of that era.

The ad on the left was a long running print control which had its first insertion in 1986, followed by roll-out in 1987.

If you substituted today’s TV shows for the ones in this ad, you’d have yourself a respectable insertion.

Though this campaign wasn’t the first to rely heavily on the make-up artist angle, it took it further than any advertiser had previously in print.

Flashforward to 2012 and the same concept can be seen in the TV spots for Luminess Air, the airbrush make-up system.

Good demo for Luminess Air — a little sedate but apropos for the target demographic.

 

Jason Lucas—Legendary Fishing Editor of Sports Afield Magazine—Reveals How To

Catch More Bass and Bigger Bass

…Return to the Dock Loaded with Bass—Even on Days Other Fishermen Keep Coming Back “Skunked”

How would you like the inside tips, the know-how tricks, the quick, simple techniques that mean more bass more often, more sporting fun from each bass caught, more sure fishing pleasure every day of your fishing life? How would you like down to earth, practical, plain word, man-to-man answers for just about any bass situation you may ever encounter? How would you like the kind of brass tacks information which must lead to your catching more fish?

“Miraculous” Catches From
 Knowledge of Bass and Their Ways

Reports keep coming in of astonishing increases in catches caused by fishermen simply following the tips of Jason Lucas. Of veteran fishermen getting bass of a size and in numbers that before seemed impossible. Of beginners learning more of the fine points of the game in one season than some old timers in fifty.

How would you like to know the right method that brought a phenomenal catch in the spot that the wrong method with the same lure failed to produce even a weak strike? Or what to do in the boat before even starring to fish to jump your fish catching chances?