In 1973, investors not only worried over rampant inflation and the possibility of market collapse, but had to deal with the crushing effects of the 1973 Oil Embargo, including lines that stretched for blocks to fill up their gas tanks. Fifty years … [Continue reading]
It's easy to understand what's going on in early 2023 in the world of money and banking. Just read an ad from 1973. And not just any ad but a SMASH hit during the Oil Embargo of 1973 with off the charts inflation and banks teetering on the … [Continue reading]
The Silicon Valley Bank collapse is the topic du jour, but there's nothing novel about bank busts and financial panics. The great Clayton Makepeace extensively treated each in his glorious tabloid magalogs of twenty years ago. But please don't … [Continue reading]
If you talk to many from Gen Z nowadays -- particularly university students -- climate change is almost an article of faith. It's discussed with the matter-of-factness as the morning sunrise and adhered to with the fervor previous generations … [Continue reading]
I guess this is the print counterpart to “Do NOT deposit another dollar in your bank account until you read THIS book!” This lead has a strong track record of winning readership. And Newsmax excels in this much shrunken space of marketing books … [Continue reading]
When you see the biggest direct response mailers testing with the frequency of mating bunnies during springtime... It forces you to look at your own creative and ask.... "Am I testing as much as I could be?" … [Continue reading]
No one should beat themselves up about not being able to get a "brilliant" ad to work in print nowadays. Especially in a general newspaper publication where the readership for your product or service likely is just not there. And when we're … [Continue reading]
"Get My New 2023 Survival Guide" (Rude Awakening) "Dear Lawrence, As I reveal here, once Biden Bucks fully rolls out I believe that all hell could break loose. We could see a breakdown of society as riots break out nationwide. … [Continue reading]
This magalog was the victor after a year of ferocious testing for Second Opinion. Respondents... and heck even most marketers and copywriters... have no idea just how bloody these mailbox gladiatorial games get. So in the spirit of adhering to … [Continue reading]
This print ad is a class act that's been going strong since May of 2022. It's certainly one of the more tactful men's health ads with a readership that's clearly in the target demographic for this product. … [Continue reading]
This is a classic OLD SCHOOL direct mail package that's as relevant in 2023, as when it mailed twenty years ago. Perhaps even more so. Take this headline: "A business strategy that may be common as dirt in one industry can have the effect of an … [Continue reading]
This sales letter for Peak Organic Superfruits (1-month supply, trial offer for $ 49.95 plus$ 8.95 shipping) comes out swinging with power proof elements right from the get-go. Naturally, when you're selling a super food or super drink, you've got … [Continue reading]
Here's a compact 4-page sales letter with a classic contrarian's alternative health headline... for the book, "Hushed Up Natural Heart Cures And Common Misconceptions of Popular Heart Treatments." There's a boatload of captivating bullets from … [Continue reading]
Make an outlandish prediction long enough and eventually it may come true! And if you see much financial direct mail in your mailbox or inbox these days, this omnipresent theme is familiar... except 2024 is now less than a year away! "The year … [Continue reading]
This headline is reminiscent of Jeff Paul's "How You Can Make $4,000.00 A Day, Sitting At Your Kitchen Table, In Your Underwear!" The copywriter for this full-throated business opportunity is most likely T.J. Rohleder and the promo is for an old … [Continue reading]
Here's another one from the fine folks at Stauer whose sister company is the ever-present Govmint.com Anytime I see a direct response offer for sunglasses, it's impossible not to compare it to the STANDARD the late, great Joe Sugarman set with his … [Continue reading]
Here's a fine example of personality in copy. It features the "Carpet Kings." Einstein Moomjy employed several ad agencies during its history, but the apex of their advertising was in the 1970s and 1980s. (I'm trying to track down the agency in … [Continue reading]
Howard Ruff was the top dog in the newsletter world in the late 70s through the mid 80s. He's also the source of one of my favorite quotes about advertising "creative." Ruff's first rule of plagiarism: "Once I have stolen it, it's mine." But … [Continue reading]
"Seniors born before 1964 can claim these discounts" looks familiar. Here's where we've seen it before. … [Continue reading]
This Agora bookalog is so old, British MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg's father, Lord Reese-Mogg, is one of the subjects :-) of this promo. Subjects... get it? This 115-page bookalog mailed in 1993 and represents a collaboration between James Dale Davidson … [Continue reading]
Caples on Copy, published in 1978, was part of the brilliant “The Wall Street Journal. It Works.” campaign. This print ad is like getting a bite size version of Tested Advertising Methods. (Note: the 4th edition or earlier of that book is the way … [Continue reading]
Almost everything this publisher mails is evocative of Lyle Stuart's maxim about direct mail being THE medium for "making money in the dark." What's the opposite of "money in the dark?" There's no better example (and warning!) than this case … [Continue reading]
I'll level with you, . This entry isn't so much about my love of book advertising... Or my occasional zeal for polemics... No, here's the real reason. … [Continue reading]
Here's an insertion from Royal National Lifeboat Institution in The Field, originally billed as "the country gentleman’s newspaper." … [Continue reading]
As I'm typing this, on December 22, 2022, the weather headline of the day in North America reads: "Bomb cyclone and Arctic blast put 300 million under weather alerts" It's cold, dang cold, -24 degrees in Calgary, Alberta. What better ad to … [Continue reading]