Diet Advertising

Paul Michael was one of the major mail order players from the 1960s-1980s after a stellar start at Greystone Press.

Among other things, he pioneered the “lift letter.” I just dug up a few of his brilliant promotions and an article about him from the mid-1970s in The Capitalist Reporter.

Three lines stuck with me from this interview.

“I am only valuable when I am creating.”

“They [customers] all want the same thing – a magic button to push that will make them thinner, more beautiful, richer.”

“He [Michael] has already decided the precise shape and structure of the book which has to live up to his ad rather than the other way around.” [Read more…] about Mail Order Magnate Paul Michael

The 18th Century economist, Adam Smith, was one of the founders of modern economics.

Roust a copywriter from his slumber at 3:00 a.m. and ask him what he knows about Adam Smith and he’s likely to utter the now famous, two-word metaphor: “invisible hand.”

What’s the invisible hand?

In his landmark text — The Wealth of Nations — Smith asserts the free market, instead of being a chaotic battleground, is actually an efficient place where the right quantity of goods is produced…almost as if by a hidden force.

He called this hidden mechanism the ‘invisible hand.’

Once you apply this to the world of advertising, you’ll begin to see there are invisible hands reaching into almost every market. And if you figure out how to harness this natural, hidden force, you’ll be able to increase response at will because you’ll be working with the beliefs your prospects already have.

Case Study Ad #1: How the Beautiful People Get Rid of Both Cellulite and Ordinary Fat — Without Really Dieting!

The legendary copywriter and author of The Brilliance Breakthrough and Breakthrough Advertising, Eugene Schwartz, was the copywriter for this instructive ad.

The headline, besides showcasing the invisible hand concept, is full of masterful nuances.

Like the word ‘really.’

Notice he doesn’t say “without dieting.” Absolutes like that usually backfire because they push the envelope of believability.

The word “really” strengthens the claim because it suggests “the beautiful people” still do some dieting though nowhere near what normal people do.

The invisible hand in this ad is the widely held belief that there’s a group of beautiful people and jet setters who get whatever they want without lifting a finger…eat whatever they please without gaining an ounce…and continue to look and act beautiful almost by some divine right.

How did they achieve this exalted status?

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter.

What matters is there’s large enough segment of people who believes this. So, there’s no need for master-level persuasion because this built in belief system is naturally working for you.

All you have to do is wrap your core claim around this belief.

How the Beautiful People Get Rid of Both Cellulite and Ordinary Fat — Without Really Dieting!

Case Study Ad #2: “Fortunately most investors think like losers. That’s how people like me get rich.”

This 1980’s ad is a great example of the invisible hand at work.

The photo and headline combination used in this ad is disarmingly direct.

Fat cat, Julian Snyder, is standing with his arms crossed in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Limo behind him and a smug smile on his face…he’s making millions while the little guy is taking a bath.

Thanks to this widely held belief, the reader is yanked into the copy. From there, the core claim of the book is masterfully tied to the kernel of belief already in the reader’s head.

Fortunately most investors think like losers. That’s how people like me get rich.

Case Study Ad #3: Why Models Stay Young Till Sixty!

Here’s another Gene Schwartz ad fronting the invisible hand.

Much like the ad in the first example, this promo plays on the natural belief that models are a special class of people.

Whether it’s genetics or some secret regimen that only models know, it’s easy to buy into the claim.

What’s the invisible hand in your market?

No doubt it’s there. All you have to do is get out of your own head long enough to find it…then wrap it tightly around your big promise.

Why Models Stay Young Till Sixty!

It’s a shame the word ‘artist’ is connected to that small yet unimaginative segment that pilfers both successful products and advertising copy.

Case in point.

Sometimes an ad comes along that totally tips the scales of the market. Usually, it’s for a combination of reasons.

• The headline is attention grabbing on a gut level
• The layout is loaded with proof mechanisms
• The offer makes it easier to say “yes” than to turn the page

You undoubtedly remember Dr. Robert Atkins? The great popularizer of the low-carbohydrate, high protein diet and the front man of a $100 million company.

He was a player in the weight loss industry for over three decades until he met an untimely end while traversing an ice patch on Lexington Avenue in 2003.

Considering how fast the door revolves on diet gurus, Dr. Atkins had the equivalent of several lifetimes worth of super success.

Breakthrough ad that launched a $100 million business

You’re looking at the 1972 ad that shook up the world of weight loss.

If you went back in a time machine to 1972 and opened up enough newspapers or magazines, you would surely bump into this ad for “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution.”

Though by today’s standards, there are several flaws in the copy and the bullets are rubber on impact, the headline, layout and offer were powerful enough to carry the ball into the end zone for two solid years.

Imagine resuscitating this headline in 2007?

Do you think it would grab some attention? How about the layout?

While today having an MD (and even a few PhD’s) after a diet promoter’s name is a given, back in 1972, a white coated doctor seated at his desk with arms folded was a powerful proof mechanism that leapt of the page.

This ad not only had as great a run in the diet market as one could dream for but it paved the way for the decades of success that followed.

Enter stage right: Knock-off artist

“Hey, if Robert Atkins can do it than so can I.

Not only that, let me attach an unbelievable promise to the seemingly successful: ‘Now you can command your body’ lead in.”

This is what always trips up knock-off artists, as well as the “plug-and-play” variety of swipers.

They fail to grasp the subtleties that make up a breakthrough ad and crudely attempt to plug in their details into a winning template.

So while the ad on the left “looks” a lot like the Atkins’ ad it’s really Sears & Roebuck faking at Savile Row.

So what’s wrong with this ad? A few things.

1. Unlike the startling power of the headline, “Now you can command your body to melt away fat,” the knock-off tries to trump the original by adding the unbelievable claim: “stay permanently slim!” Hey, most people would accept six months of slim.
2. Replacing the powerful visual “melt fat away” with the generic “lose weight” only weakens the headline.
3. Because this ad closely followed the Atkins’ control, the market perceived it as derivative. “Command you body” had already worked its magic and on some level, the market was still aware of this.

It didn’t take more than a few insertions to see this ad was a bomb.

But what about wielding the core of Atkins’ idea in 2007?

Something like: “Now you can command your body to shed 13 pounds of fat in the next 30 days using the xyz plan.”

Just like investments and even fashion trends, advertising to a degree is cyclical.

Surprisingly, reaching back into the bank of winning ideas from just five to ten years ago can open up fresh avenues of attack in your marketplace.

Yours for bolder ideas,

P.S. I’ll actually be back with some new content soon. And don’t believe everything you read about the recession.  Remember, tough times don’t last — tough people do!

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”

Diet pills are something I prefer to stay as far away from as possible as a marketer. Not only are there intense regulations and oversight that varies drastically from state to state and country to country but at any moment, a law suit (or worse) can come crashing down on the promoter’s head.

I may not have the risk tolerance for it but I know several successful pill marketers who take advantage of the built in back end aspect of this product.

Anyway, the two-page-spread to the left has been going strong in the women’s magazines for the last two years.

I must say I’ve never seen anything like it.

The ad fronts a several year old British tabloid article with the headline, “Britney’s diet pills.” The photo shows her reaching for a fallen vial of pills…claimed to be that of the advertiser.

Certainly an unusual proof mechanism in a direct response ad — one worth millions to the diet pill producer.

Notice the yellow highlighted disclaimer. “The republication of this article is not intended to and does not constitute a commercial endorsement or approval of Zantrx-3 by Britney Spears.”

Britney Spears Diet Pills Ad 01

Britney Spears Diet Pills Ad 02