Ad man, Julian Watkins surveyed 50 top advertising personalities in search of candidate ads for his book, The 100 Greatest Advertisements.
The Penalty of Leadership, a space ad for the Cadillac Motor Car Company, was written by Theodore MacManus and was on every single list as an outstanding advertising example.
Supposedly, both Cadillac and the agency, MacManus, John & Adams, received almost weekly requests for a copy of The Penalty of Leadership over thirty years after it was written.
Click on the thumbnail to download a PDF of The Penalty of Leadership.
The ad text also struck a chord with Elvis Presley. So much so, that Cadillac had a special print made and framed for him, which hung in his private office at Graceland in Memphis until he died. If you visit any of the museum displays there, you will likely see it.
Does anyone know where I can get a framed copy of the penalty of leadership?