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This lead generation ad supposedly ran in the Times of London seeking recruits for Ernest Shackleton’s heroic Antarctic expedition.

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.”

This “damning admission” classified ad supposedly brought in 5,000 applications virtually overnight.

Oh, how copywriters wish it were so.

But to my knowledge, no one has been able to locate this widely attributed ad in any archive of The Times.

I still love the idea of the ad and you’re free to test out this advertising strategy in quest of your own glory.

And now it’s Hollywood’s turn for a swipe.

See if you recognize any Shackleton influence in the soon to be released gem of a film, “Safety Not Guaranteed.“

In 1759, Samuel Johnson came up with this immortal line:

“Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement.”

For most of the last two-and a-half-centuries, his quote has stood the test of time.

But Johnson could never have envisioned a world in which people took in over a thousand advertising messages a day.

And with the meteoric rise of advertising in the 20th Century, so too came the fall of the effectiveness of big promise.

Today, even big promise ads backed up by the most carefully selected proof often backfire because prospects tend to ignore advertisers who come on too strong.

What’s an ad writer to do?

Benefits… Benefits… Benefits

Most competent copywriters know the importance of emphasizing benefits — big benefits, hidden benefits and everything in between.

But similar to Johnson’s line about big promise, benefits alone get repeated, drowned out and eventually ignored.

I’ve seen (and written) masterful ads, laden with sparkling benefits, that resulted in next to no orders.

I’ve also observed ads which were technically questionable but nailed the appeal… and pulled in orders like a mule. Fortunately, I’ve written a few of those too.

So, how do you strive to create a winning appeal in your ads?

Here are two direct mail pieces and two print ads whose success can be traced back to the appeal.

Sick of getting GOUGED when gas prices go up?… How ’bout a little GASPUMP REVENGE?

This DM from Agora is mailing now for Jim Nelson’s Lifetime Income Report.

With tensions escalating daily in the Middle East and the likely rise in oil prices, we’ll be seeing a LOT more promotions with this type of appeal.

[Read more…] about Forget Benefits: 4 Examples of Advertising Appeals

Few things about advertising get my heart racing faster than headline split testing.

All the more so if it concerns email subject lines.

Like traditional headline testing, subject line testing can lead to dramatic increases in response rates. But without the sloth factor.

With email, you know almost instantly whether you’ve got a barnburner, a dud, or something in the lukewarm middle.

Here’s a killer email subject line I came across the other day and the author was… my wife.

[Read more…] about Beaten By My Wife

Here’s a howler of a headline that surely hails from a martini soused agency person.

“Everyone has opinions. We have convictions.”

Turns out this platitudinous ad writer was a pretty good forecaster, if jail time isn’t simply a matter of opinion.

The drivel continues.

“Proclamations are common on Wall Street. But they’re meaningless if you don’t stand by your words. Particularly if you’re a broker-dealer. At MF Global, having convictions is a big part of our culture.”

Speaking before Congress today about the missing $1.2 billion of account holder’s cash, MF’s illustrious CEO and former New Jersey Governor and Senator, Jon Corzine, had this to say:

“I simply do not know where the money is.”

Okay, Jon, fair enough. Why don’t we just drop the whole thing then? Probably enough people have forgotten about Enron and WorldCom by now.