"Defiant Child?" is one of the all-time great ads with a compact, two-word headline — right up there with "Better Than Botox?" — and it’s also a keeper in the area of winning lead generation. While this ad lacked that level of gravitas, it … [Continue reading]
Here's a successful envelope package received multiple times from 2022 through 2024. The headline is commonplace in this market and is often attributed to Russian-born French bacteriologist and Nobel prize winner, Élie Metchnikoff … [Continue reading]
You wouldn't think there's enough readership in a general circulation newspaper nowadays for a fisherman's stream and lake map. And yet this insertion runs in 2025. Mind you, this is no ordinary map -- and that comes screaming through loud and … [Continue reading]
What could be more emasculating than wandering into a proper pub in the UK or Ireland and ordering a cup of tea? Well, if you're a teetotaler like me -- 6 years and counting -- you don't pay it much mind. But wearing a bright yellow "Drive on … [Continue reading]
When it comes to "Free + Shipping" direct response, you can't beat NewsMax. You know the drill. … [Continue reading]
Veteran marketing maven, Ray Schultz, relates this story on his TellAllMarketing Blog about John Stevenson and his renowned copywriter. … [Continue reading]
Hey I tried it already... And she laughed in my face! But seriously, it's important to pay attention not just to copy, products and offers... but to media. And it's not everyday you'd see a full page ad for a Nightingale-Conant product in … [Continue reading]
Bill Bonner is the undisputed heavyweight champ of enargia in copywriting. Enargia may not flow off the tip of the tongue, but this word of Greek origin for "vividness," has a great track record for selling, both in direct mail and in … [Continue reading]
When you've got a direct mail package that's killing it in the mail, it makes sense to give it a roll in print. Of course, this ad from the mid-2000s wouldn't be a likely newspaper insertion in 2024. … [Continue reading]
I have a big "mea culpa" for this entry. There's no envelope and no order form for this HOT high ticket offer. Or to be more precise, I think they can be located, but it'll take a minor archeological expedition to locate them in my archival … [Continue reading]
Here's your typical penny pitch for one of the industries du jour - lithium. And this package, like just about every direct mail package for penny stocks, is really a Trojan Horse. … [Continue reading]
I've run across clients on both sides of the Atlantic who have a fetish for what is proper. "This isn't a supper club!" I shot back at one. "We're here to sell." … [Continue reading]
The product has been on the market since 1967. The headline has been SELLING it by the bushel since 1977. How does an ad sell for almost a half-century without the slightest sign of fatigue? Here's the instructive full page insertion and … [Continue reading]
Print advertising in U.S. newspapers has been on life support ever since the covid-related pandemonium put a giant dent in newsstand sales. The same is true in other countries. On a trip to Australia earlier this year, I was disappointed to see … [Continue reading]
Even if you never plan on selling a high-yield real estate trust deed - or even know what one is - this 1979 ad from Pacific Plan is a masterful lesson in mass-market persuasion. Think how often prospects have been burned by the lure of big … [Continue reading]
I only know one person on the planet who talks this way... in marketing circles or otherwise. Here's what he says of this two-page spread which appeared in the November 1, 2019 edition of USA Today. "Recognize how we used posture, performance, … [Continue reading]
Not everyone was thrilled with the idea of two 110-floor towers being built in Lower Manhattan. The big objection to the World Trade Center project in the late 1960s was that the gargantuan new towers -- the tallest in the world at the time of … [Continue reading]
Marty Edelston built Boardroom (and later BottomLine) into a world class publisher and one of THE direct mail operators to watch. His right hand man, Brian Kurtz, played no small role either. … [Continue reading]
Self-help is a market that's smaller than many, but it's got two things going for it. First, most self-help products tend to be evergreen in nature, so a good self-help book or course can stay relevant for a decade or more. Admittedly, there are … [Continue reading]
Ah, the good ole' days of print advertising when you could ran an ad like this in a general circulation newspaper and get rocking response. This ad from the fine folks at Windsor had plenty of insertions in British tabloids back in 2009. The copy … [Continue reading]
GovMint and Stauer are sister brands based in neighboring cities in Minnesota, USA under the Asset Marketing Services umbrella company. And though they represent quite different markets – one is coins and currency, and the other costume jewelry – … [Continue reading]
Would you like to know one of the joys of archiving winning ads? Whenever I find an ad like this, that had thousands of insertions from 1962 to 1975, I'm compelled to ask the question: Why was this ad such a SMASH hit? … [Continue reading]
Run an ad like this today only if ORANGE is your absolute favorite color. Prison orange. Seriously, there are just too many ways to end up in HOT water with the powers that be if you're loosey-goosey with claims in the weight loss market. You need … [Continue reading]
It's no wonder this package had a long shelf life. Just about every prospect who's 55 and over has the desire to be sound of mind and body and keep her freedom. And that's exactly the target market for the alternative-health newsletter, Second … [Continue reading]
How often do you see a full fledged real estate investment pitch like this in the New York Times? This ad was on fire in the Wild West of workshops in real estate investing and had thousands of insertions. … [Continue reading]