Here's how one of the best in the biz sells cosmetic dental procedures. When you're selling services for $10,000 and over, it helps to tell the COMPLETE story. Sometimes it takes 24 pages to do so. … [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]
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]
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]
A 6-year run for ANY ad is worth taking note of. But an advertorial like this, for one of those ubiquitous men's products, demands a deeper look. We've all learned from the great John Caples about the power of the advertorial. One of his … [Continue reading]
This risk free offer combined with this media works like gangbusters for this advertiser. You can adopt it to almost any product (pill or potion) in health and beauty, The success of this lead generation piece is worth testing as long as you … [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]
Who's ever heard of a business opportunity ad in Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal or even Cosmopolitan? The trailblazing Joe Karbo didn't look much in his rear view mirror. He was the first to knock down the barriers to biz-op advertising in … [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]
Here's the latest 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]
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]
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]
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]
This was posted on the penultimate day of 2022, December 30th. This tabloid newspaper is mailing in late 2022 and is a typical penny stock promotion. There's a sufficient number of entries on this site to give you a flavor of this market and … [Continue reading]
There's a reason KLM, the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands, stuck with David Ogilvy and his merry band of ad wizards. Imagine an American traveler contemplating a trip to Europe in the 1970s, two decades before the Web. There were travel … [Continue reading]
Too late for those inclined to get out their pitchforks over the "class-bound" name of this 125-year old British aid society. The "Old Gray Lady" hammered the Distressed Gentlefolk's Aid Association in a 1989 article entitled "Lifting a Pinkie for … [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]
If you've been a subscriber here for a while... You surely know who this advertiser is. While their last newspaper insertion occurred on April 24, 2020 in the Wall Street Journal... It's hard to say good-bye to the medium that brought them … [Continue reading]
Here's an ad for the sequel to the million-copy bestseller Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. The 95 year old Betty Edwards IS the brand. Frankly, I miss old school print ads like this, especially in the realms of self-help and creative … [Continue reading]
Here's a BOLD promo running through the mail chutes of America from a larger than life vaquero... originally from the northern burbs of Baltimore... familiar to everyone in direct response. It's dark. It's gloomy. It's doomy. … [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]