Brain Kurtz sure came up with a zinger when he decided to swerve into the direct response television FAST LANE in 2008. The multi-channel success story combined direct mail (which Boardroom and Bottom Line seemed to "corner the market on" at its … [Continue reading]
Beaconing to Your Target Prospects in the Headline
The full page ad for the FastHelp medical assistance device for seniors has been going strong since July 2017 with tens of thousands of insertions. It's one of the most successful gadgets advertised in print because of the almost exclusively … [Continue reading]
Ed Mayer’s 40-40-20 Success Formula in this Book Ad (“Get the VA Benefits You’ve Earned”)
It seems like marketers can go to the well forever with offers like, collecting from social security at any age. This full page ad for "Veterans Benefits for You" is a first cousin. While it was possible to bump into an ad like this in a … [Continue reading]
“How to Scheme Your Way to Profit” Part 1 Info Marketers Who Make Millions (WITHOUT an Original Idea)
Ogilvy famously said: “Originality is the most dangerous word in the advertiser's lexicon." Perhaps that's doubly true in the information product world. I'd love to get back just a fraction of the dollars (and time!) squandered on brilliant ideas … [Continue reading]
HIGH TICKET Business Development Seminar (And Home Study) Selling from 1995! (PLUS the “Perfect” Pen Name)
Here's another BLAST from the past. This one comes right out of the pages of the March 1995 issue of Success as a full blown 24-page insert... for a $5K seminar no less. Anyone who's been around the block already recognizes the man on the cover … [Continue reading]
More Legendary Lead Gen from the $211 Billion Boys at Fisher (UPDATE)
Here's a new lead magnet I just discovered on LinkedIn from Fisher Investments, now with $211 billion in funds under management. As you may know, I'm a huge fan of Fisher's lead gen, both in print and online. Since there's little readership in … [Continue reading]
CBD: Fast-Acting Pain Relief (Autoship Offer for a Hot Product)
It's interesting to see the giant purveyor of collectibles and costume jewelry, the Bradford Exchange, getting into the CBD/pain relief market. There's no mistaking what's on tap with an envelope like this, is there? … [Continue reading]
Ad Archivist’s Amazing AI Adventures (PLUS $8,727.40 an Hour!)
It pays to escape your own echo chamber once in a while. In my case, my very sanity rides on it. Because the solitary world many of us inhabit -- be it copywriting, programming or archiving -- can be as suffocating as it is solitary. As a … [Continue reading]
“Are YOU unknowingly operating… a HALF business?”
You can tell a real copywriting connoisseur must have gotten his hands on this package twenty years or so ago. It's a little weather-beaten and there are some hand-written notes and mark-ups in the letter. Oh, and since this was from the early … [Continue reading]
12-Year Diet Plan Control That Beat the Odds in a Sea of Charlatans
No supplements for sale in this 1,971 word epic. This weight loss ad lasted the equivalent of several lifetimes (from 1992-2004) at a time when outrageous claims dripped off the page of almost every diet ad. This one is different. What are … [Continue reading]
“He Died with Arteries Like a Baby!” (PLUS: Envelope Packages in 2023)
Some say health books are dead. Not so! Others say envelope packages are passé. No way! … [Continue reading]
“High Above Sea And River Your Own Half-Acre Caribbean Villa Site On Jamaica’s North Coast”
Real estate advertising these days is usually overshadowed with photography and video, often to the detriment of the sale. … [Continue reading]
Direct Mail Marketing for “After the Crash” (“Land Big Profits Or Become Shark-Bait?”)
I was just watching Louis Navallier's VSL for "How to Survive [and Even Thrive] In Socialist America..." And then this blast from the past, focusing on the Stock Market Downturn of 2002, with a young looking Louis N, crosses my path. He references … [Continue reading]
“How you can turn an uncertain stock market into pure profits” (Link Corrected)
This was a successful lead generation ad from the late George Fontanills, founder of Optionetics. Fontanills led seminars across North America for his options trading products and subscription services. This was a solid, successful seminar ad … [Continue reading]
They Laughed At the John Caples Swipe… Until! (UPDATED)
John Caples was the great story selling adman of the early 20th Century. Seems like "They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano" has been swiped more times than memory champion Akira Haraguchi can recite π (Pi)... to 111,700 digits in 2015. But … [Continue reading]
POWER Proof Elements You Can Take to the Bank… Forever!
Street cred doesn't get any better than this in direct response selling. This case study may be from 1981 but the SELLING POWER of a proof element like this transcends time and markets... And I'll never grow tired of it. … [Continue reading]
Desperate Nerds and The Power of “Personality in Copywriting”
Hide the warts or show the warts? Not every product or service begs the question. But for those promoters who aren't nameless, faceless service providers and product pitchers... It's a vital question that can have an impact on your bottom … [Continue reading]
Rodale Classics and the “Mass Misremembering” of J.I. Rodale’s Death on TV
Rodale was built on the back of direct response copywriting since the early days in the 1940s when J.I. Rodale advertised farming and gardening books in display advertising. … [Continue reading]
Give Me 3 Minutes… And I’ll Show You the Secrets of a Fascinating 1920 Ad
I know what you may be thinking, . How does anyone in his right mind (even an ad archivist) stumble on noteworthy ads from over a century ago? … [Continue reading]
“Can’t get to Dartmouth to study Shakespeare?”
Here's some of the finest advertising you'll find in the higher education for the masses arena... With the fine art of long form direct response. You can't help but walk away with a plethora of great ideas when you dig into the exciting … [Continue reading]
Which Headline Won? (“How To Double Your Child’s Grades in School”)
For my money, this phase of Gene Schwartz's career is close to his apex. I recently read (August 2023) that the landmark mail order book, How To Double Your Child's Grades In School, sold over 800,000 copies worldwide in multiple languages, but … [Continue reading]
2 Years and Thousands of Insertions Later for this Men’s Hair Loss Testimonial Headline (UPDATE)
It's hard to keep a good ad down. And this full page ad for Dr. Sears' "Re-Nourish" formula dominated the pages of print for two solid years from August of 2020 to September of 2022. Al Sears has spent decades and millions establishing himself … [Continue reading]
Secrets of an Eternally Young Beauty Brand of One (Perfect Positioning & UPDATE)
I've shared quite a few emails over the years with this eternally young beauty brand of one. Mostly about "Schwartzy," as she liked to call him... a.k.a. Eugene Schwartz. Like a lot of overly ambitious entrepreneurs who get into the … [Continue reading]
What the EXPERTS Do When THIS Happens
You've seen this type of headline in many shapes and forms. Headlines like these: "When Doctors 'Feel Rotten' -- This Is What They Do!" "What a Sexologist Does in Bed" "Veterinarian's Own At-Home Pet Cures!" Similarly, this was a … [Continue reading]
This offer headline could put you in the PENTHOUSE… and this in the “big house”
"Would you spend $5 to feel like a million?*" was a 1990's BREAKTHROUGH headline. The product? "MDR Fitness Tabs." The product was basically a rebranded vitamin with AM and PM formulas. And yet, this simple vitamin ad with the DYNAMITE … [Continue reading]
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