Here's a textbook men's health magalog. You may have noticed the shift in claims in this market and the "one pill wonder" approach for an assortment of maladies -- rather than just one, like waking up six times a night -- is becoming the standard … [Continue reading]
There's hardly a better question that CRYSTALIZES the understanding of your role in marketing and business than: "What are we really selling?" This isn't a static concept, in some markets it's constantly evolving. This mid-1990s bodybuilding … [Continue reading]
This old school, 35-page maglaog for Larry Crane's The Abundance Course mailed for something like two decades. The product is evergreen and the copy and appeals are refined and tightly woven together, much like Neo-Tech, after touching down in so … [Continue reading]
When you think of the late, great Ted Nicholas Peterson, what comes to mind first? - Copywriter? - Publisher? - Ultra entrepreneur? - Master at buying media for a fraction of the rate card? He was all of these things, plus a GREAT … [Continue reading]
Oleda Baker is the eternally young beauty brand of one whose anthem was: "Any woman can be more beautiful." And her credo? From the aptly titled: "'29 and holding' at 42: Oleda Baker is making money at 42 by looking 29" from Floridan March 13, … [Continue reading]
This was posted on the penultimate day of 2022, December 30th. This tabloid newspaper mailed in late 2022 and early 2023 and is a typical penny stock promotion. There's a sufficient number of entries on this site to give you a flavor of this … [Continue reading]
Here's what happens when an ad agency couple strike gold as entrepreneurs... er make that diamonds. The Wellington Counterfeit Diamond had it all -- fantastic ad copy, unbeatable positioning and powerful proof elements. … [Continue reading]
One of the unusual "fringe benefits" of archiving direct response advertising is all the books I've amassed over the years. Here's the lowdown from a self-professed sucker who swings for almost anything that "sounds good." … [Continue reading]
Viviscal is a BIG brand in hair that's been around since 1998. The company's flagship product has been hair growth tablets, but it's diversified into a full-fledged product line including shampoos and leave-in elixirs. This insertion is a … [Continue reading]
This direct mail package -- a cross between a bookalog and a magalog -- is the fruit of focusing tremendous firepower in direct mail copywriting. Between the years 2001 and 2005 the late, great Clayton Makepeace worked almost exclusively with one … [Continue reading]
How is it that two advertisers can both succeed with essentially the SAME headline in the same space of anti-aging with radically different price points? One is a $69 dollar product, while the other is a $20,000+ service (uh sorry, microcylinder … [Continue reading]
"Is your business suffering profit decline and morale decay due to the recession? Perhaps, it's time to try a new agenda. Perhaps it's time to adopt the new but proven system that can bring you great business in tough times. Martin Edelston's … [Continue reading]
Here's one of those classic prospect driven or "prospect parlance" headlines that cuts right to the chase. As opposed to a testimonial headline, a "prospect parlance" headline SOUNDS like it came right from the mouth of a bonafide prospect, in … [Continue reading]
Here's the latest for Dr. Sears' Omega Rejuvenol. … [Continue reading]
I've really grown to detest the popular copywriting term, "swipe"... even though I've been a decades-long exponent of it. It's not that it sounds larcenous, but it suggests someone who's uncultured, instead of the very opposite. … [Continue reading]
It’s hard to believe Clayton Makepeace is no longer with us. Clayton broke the mold and there will never be anyone like him again in direct response. I think he would have a field day -- in the copy sense -- with the world in late 2023 if the … [Continue reading]
Brian Keith Voiles was a salt of the earth soul... who passed away earlier this year. He was a counterpoint to a lot of the "materialist-hedonist" focused positioning that many "in the spotlight" copywriters embraced round the turn of the … [Continue reading]
It just occurred to me this advertorial or "Dear Abbytorial" as I like to call it -- since this advertorial is formatted to look like an advice column -- has been going strong since 2012. "Dear Abby is an American advice column founded in 1956 by … [Continue reading]
Two things, . First, an embarrassing mea culpa. … [Continue reading]
For those unsatisfied with their output... Look no further than the fine folks at the Harvard Business Review. They've got you covered on all things time, talent and technology that can make -- or break -- your business. … [Continue reading]
Now THIS is how to properly advertise luxury residential estate. And given the advertising lineage of this promoter, it's no surprise. Incredible 7.2 Acre Lakefront Estate in Mid-Country … [Continue reading]
Was it brilliant? Or was running double page spreads for free stuff "like throwing money out of a helicopter?" I'll say this. My admiration for this campaign still stands, as long as I'm not the one bankrolling it. But sometimes you have … [Continue reading]
Here's a memorable headline from Martin J. Stone's Moneytree. Moneytree came on the scene around the same time as Ralph and Shoshana Ginzburgs' Money's Worth. They had similar appeals, offers and bullet copy. … [Continue reading]
Here's another great pitch for the 16-volume “Good Housekeeping Illustrated Encyclopedia of Gardening.” Good Housekeeping had the capital and the copy. This ad sported Elvin McDonald, the Midwest's boy genius of botany. Even though this … [Continue reading]
I received this mailing some years ago when I was a rabid consumer of Nightingale products. It was long before Audible and long before streaming. If you were going on a long drive... Or heck, just around the corner... … [Continue reading]