• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

Info Marketing Blog

  • Info Marketing Blog
  • About Lawrence Bernstein
  • Direct Mail SMASHES Censorship

The Invisible Hand Of Advertising

by Leave a Comment

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!

Filed Under: Diet Advertising, Direct Response Copywriting Swipe File

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

YOURS FREE...
Money making marketing secrets from Bruce Lee!

Recent Posts

  • Interview with an Under-the-Radar SUPER STAR Who Sold 200,000 Books a Year
  • Copy That TRANSCENDS the Product for Sale Part 2 (“Your Silver Passport to Travel the World”)
  • All Time Top 10 Ad in Education (“How to Become a Straight-A Student”)
  • One of the Greatest U.S.P.s You’ll Ever See
  • Jeff Paul’s Greatest Story Selling Ad… and What’s Become of Him
  • From RED HOT Lead Gen that Rocked Response in the Silver Market… to a 3,300 Word Double Page Spread (Dan Rosenthal Dynamite)
  • The Power of Demonstration… During a SEISMIC WAVE of Demand
  • In Memory of a Marketing Legend (Joe Sugarman 1938-2022)
  • SMASHING 800-Pound Gorilla Objections in Your Headline
  • Copy Test: “Write If You Want Work” (UPDATE)
  • Charlie Allen’s AMAZING Golf & Fishing Advertorials
  • “525 Castles & Palaces $15” (“Ogilvy Orchestration” Travel Advertising)
Your Christmas Present?
MAGIC HEADLINES Vol. 2
 

Secondary Sidebar

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Interview with Ogilvy & Mather CEO, Ken Roman

 
 
 
 
 

Breakthrough Business Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6890 E. Sunrise Ste. #120-118, Tucson, AZ 85750 USA 866-863-4850
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Earnings Disclaimer