One of the most gifted marketers and copywriters who rarely gets the attention he deserves is Bud Weckesser of Green Tree Press.
This is one of my favorite ads of his.
The ad starts out:
“Did you ever notice that when you’re fat, men don’t look you in the eye? They look across your shoulder. There’s no eye contact. My name is Leslie McClennahan. I’m a real person. I live near Goose Creek, South Carolina. Up until two years ago, I was never looked in the eye. By anyone.”
Weckesser was a master at using the power of storytelling in copy.
Notice how this ad sucks the reader in and sets the stage for the revenge motif, later to come.
Few weight loss ads today have copy half as strong as this.
“When I See My Ex-Husband, I Have This Secret Trick I Play On Him”
Bud was a genius. He passed away in 2004:
Ernest “Bud” Weckesser, 71, professor at Penn State Behrend, Kent State University and Purdue University; founded Green Tree Press and Bierhaus International in Erie. Died April 22, 2004.
Love your blog. However, had difficulty reading the Weckesser ad. Any way to magnify it?
Jim, thanks for elaborating on Dr. Weckesser’s C.V., etc.
I must confess I wasn’t 100% sure of his passing but suspected as much. Otherwise, he’d still be running his dynamite ads.
Actually, the impetus for writing this post came from a conversation I had two days ago with one of my friends, who’s a top direct response marketer in Australia.
My friend came to the States twenty odd years ago and was briefly taken under Bud’s wing.
He related an interesting interchange.
My friend proudly showed off a bunch of ‘widgets’ to Dr. Weckesser which he planned to market and began rattling off all the wonderful product features.
Dr. Weckesser shot back: “I don’t care about the product features…how do you intend to sell it?”
My Australian friend cited this moment as one of the turning points in his career.
Amazing, What a fantastic opening paragraph. I felt the pain of fat women. No…I felt like a fat woman, and I am a physically fit man.
That’s where the magic happens, on that long windy road of emotion the expert copywriter leads you down.
Thanks for sharing all of these copy masterpieces.