I met an up and coming copywriter a few years ago who admittedly eats... sleeps... and breathes... copywriting. I told him: "Don't worry... you'll grow out of it!" But he wouldn't let this jaded old schooler rain on his honeymoon... and I don't … [Continue reading]
I was in the UK and Ireland in May and June of 2023 and spent a portion of my time there doing what hardened direct response people do... Spontaneously breaking off from the family... and popping into the local Centra in Ireland or the corner … [Continue reading]
If the late Canadian philosopher and media theory pioneer, Marshall McLuhan, had only come up with the one dictum: … [Continue reading]
Selling doesn't happen in a vacuum. Amazon may have "cornered the market" when it comes to search for products. But direct mail remains the anti-search medium of marketers who know how to wield its power. … [Continue reading]
Here's a series of plastic surgery ads that covers the big areas like: "Refresh Your Face, with Long-Lasting Results" "For Men, It’s the Midsection or Face that Often Prompts Action" "The Ultimate Mommy Makeover" … [Continue reading]
If you desire entrée into the world of high priced serums and supplements, there are a only handful of marketers you NEED to study. This brand is on the short list. … [Continue reading]
Like a direct response Picasso, Gene Schwartz had several periods during his career. Perhaps, the most wholesome period was focused on education -- childhood, adult and executive -- between 1964 and 1971. You may have seen one of the featured … [Continue reading]
If you can't turn a profit with a good publication about vinegar for health... Perhaps, info marketing isn't for you. I could come up with a dozen different marketers who've made hay over the years with this subject... if push came to … [Continue reading]
This 27-year control in both the mail and print wasn't top dog for lack of competition. Let's hear it straight from the copywriter's mouth. … [Continue reading]
Suli Go splashed on the anti-aging scene in 1984 and never looked back. After a generation of selling high priced cosmetics, she's now retired and living in Hawaii, but her salon tellingly occupies the same piece of turf on Camden Drive in Beverly … [Continue reading]
You remember Joan Collins and Dynasty and... oh, forget it. It was so 80s. But Bob Sidell's CV as the Hollywood make-up artist to the stars (The Waltons, Dynasty and more) helped move warehouses full of the anti-aging SilkSkin System. … [Continue reading]
Here a men's health package wending its way through the mail system as I type this in late June 2023. It has all the familiar staples of this market, plus it's from a mainstream supplements marketer, not one of those fly-by-night companies whose … [Continue reading]
I never tire of the "Marty and Mel Files" and this 2002 ad, though running 8 years after Mel Martin's passing... has all the deft touches of the publishing and copy legends respectively. This print insertion highlights the copy and marketing of … [Continue reading]
Ah, it's the old penny pitch for the smoking hot lithium market. Here's an earlier lithium promotion with the lowdown on the penny stock category. This one has all the familiar trappings including Warren Buffett, Chairman Xi and the usual … [Continue reading]
It's startling... it's historic... it's a Gene Schwartz ad WITHOUT a call to action. Schwartz was one of the most prolific copywriters in the history of direct response. He wrote ads in more markets than most of us will ever go near. Like … [Continue reading]
Never heard of Reno Air? Me neither. But I know good advertising when I see it -- even in an industry laden with ads that put readers to sleep. You've got to admire Reno Air's fast reading long copy and memorable unique selling proposition: … [Continue reading]
22 years on and we're STILL influenced by the IMPACT of this ad AND the product it promotes. After all, how many products can boast a $135 price point for six ounces of serum, right out of the gate. It's been a long journey for this off-label … [Continue reading]
If you've been a subscriber here for a while... You surely know who this advertiser is. While their last newspaper insertion (prior to this one) occurred on April 24, 2020 in the Wall Street Journal... Operation Lockdown put a nail in the … [Continue reading]
Here's a textbook teeth whitening ad from the late 1990s and early 2000s. The before-and-after picture is a hallmark of the weight loss and anti-aging markets. Of course, in a black and white print ad, no one can say it's not easily photoshopped, … [Continue reading]
This is surely one of the most PERSUASIVE investment ads ever to appear in print... newspaper print that is. There were only a handful of copywriters on the planet at the time who could have devised this pitch. It's PACKED with iron clad proof … [Continue reading]
How many times do you reckon the 122 year-old Jeanne Calment has been used as a proof element for longevity in alternative health marketing? I'll go out on a limb and say DOZENS. As copywriters and marketers we can take NOTHING for … [Continue reading]
It's hard to imagine a bigger book breakthrough in the world of health and fitness than Bill Phillips' Body for Life. That's not just because of the more than 3 million copies in print, translated into 15 languages. No, that's just the tip of … [Continue reading]
AKA, the American Writers & Artists Institute... hailing from 2002... with all the accoutrements of classic direct mail: - Teaser copy laden envelope - 12-page sales letter - 4-page testimonials sheet - Lift letter - Old school reply … [Continue reading]
This is one of those promos that could be a blockbuster or an also-ran. Conventional wisdom says you're NOT supposed to use play-on-words or cliches in headlines. … [Continue reading]
Here's a recent one from the great Gary Bencivenga. This promo is as much about business building... when you already have a successful gourmet food brand AND subscription business... as it is about copy. … [Continue reading]