Issue #64 – Wednesday,
July 31, 2019
Posted by Denny Hatch
The Secrets of Making a Tiny Ad Work for You
James McNeill Whistler, Rotherhithe
(1871)
The year is 1913. Imagine yourself as a poor blighter in the Rotherhithe section of London. For years you’ve knocked around the River Thames finding work where you can get it, picking up a few shillings here-‘n’-there. Your wife is always nagging you to find steady work. You have trouble putting porridge on the table let alone bangers and mash. The kids are underfed and always hungry. Your life is going nowhere.
Suddenly a chum from the
dockyards shows you this little ad in The
Times of London “Help Wanted” section:
The effect is immediate and
electric.
This is an advertising masterpiece. It
would as effective 2019 in exciting out-of-work millennial Xbox addicts living
in their parents’ basement as it was 116 years ago.
This ad is the stuff of legends—tiny,
cheep, just 30 words.
It reportedly generated hundreds of
responses from which Ernest Shackleton put together a crew of 27 adventurers
for a celebrated expedition to the South Pole.
Creating the Ad
Legendary British Polar
explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was knighted (Order of the British Empire) in
1911. Two years later he wanted to put together a third expedition to the South
Pole.
He needed a crew. Tough, hardy guys who were looking for work and wanted
to do something with their lives.
How did Shackleton accomplish
it? Where would he find them?
Let’s start with David Ogilvy.
“The wickedest of all sins is to run an
advertisement without a headline.” —David Ogilvy
“Advertising is not an art form, it’s a medium for information, a
message for a single purpose: to sell.” —David Ogilvy
“When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you
find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the
product.” —David Ogilvy
What’s Ogilvy talking about? This kind of nonsense:
What the hell is this? Who
should read it? What is it selling? What does it want the reader to do? How can
someone respond? How could it possibly pay for itself?
For copywriter,
designer and client it’s like peeing in blue serge; it makes you feel warm all
over and nobody notices.
Shackleton’s Headline: “MEN WANTED”
“The
headline selects the reader,” said Swedish direct marketing wizard Axel
Andersson.
The
unstated sub-hed: “Women and children need not apply.”
Duh.
It’s a guy thing…
“When reason and emotion come into conflict, emotion wins every time.
—John J. Flieder
For a man desperately seeking
work, these 31 words—and myriad implied benefits—could cause storm of emotions
and hope to boil up inside.
“The seven key copy drivers—the emotional
hot-buttons that make people act: Fear –
Greed – Guilt – Anger – Exclusivity – Salvation – Flattery.”
—Bob Hacker and Axel
Andersson
The entire ad was pinned to flattery:
“I’m talking to you
man-to-man. This is something you can do. I know you can do it. It will change
your life! Your life will matter after all.”
• Job possibility.
• Money—not a lot, but better than none.
• Excitement of travel.
• Challenge of hardship.
• Thrill of danger.
• Honor and recognition in case of
success.
Alas, expedition ended badly.
Their ship, Endurance was trapped in
ice and was finally crushed. The men
got recognition, but not the kind they hoped for.
They endured 10 months in subfreezing
weather on a diet of seal meat, penguins and their sled dogs. All were damned
lucky to get out alive.
Three men did die—members of the four
rescue teams sent out to bring them back.
But by all measurements, the little ad
worked like gangbusters.
###
Word
Count: 601
At age 15, Denny
Hatch—as a lowly apprentice—wrote his first news release for a Connecticut
summer theater. To his astonishment it ran verbatim in The Middletown
Press. He was instantly hooked on writing. After a two-year stint in the
U.S. Army (1958-60), Denny had nine jobs in his first 12 years in business. He
was fired from five of them and went on to save two businesses and start three
others. One of his businesses—WHO’S MAILING WHAT! newsletter and
archive service founded in 1984—revolutionized the science of how to measure
the success of competitors’ direct mail. In the past 55 years he has been a
book club director, magazine publisher, advertising copywriter/designer,
editor, journalist and marketing consultant. He is the author of four published
novels and seven books on business and marketing.
CONTACT
dennyhatch@yahoo.com
Note to Readers:
May I send you an alert when each new blog is posted? If so, kindly give me the okay by sending your First Name, Last Name and e-mail to dennyhatch@yahoo.com. I guarantee your personal information will not be shared with anyone at any time for any reason. I look forward to being in touch!
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Invitation to Marketers and Direct Marketers:
Guest Blog Posts Are Welcome.
If you have a marketing story to tell, case history, concept to propose or a memoir, give a shout. I’ll get right back to you. I am: dennyhatch@yahoo.com
You Are Invited to Join the Discussion!
CONTACT
dennyhatch@yahoo.com
Note to Readers:
May I send you an alert when each new blog is posted? If so, kindly give me the okay by sending your First Name, Last Name and e-mail to dennyhatch@yahoo.com. I guarantee your personal information will not be shared with anyone at any time for any reason. I look forward to being in touch!
IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE POSTING A COMMENT… Write Me!
Google owns Blogspot.com and this Comment Section. If you do not have a Google account, contact me directly and I will happily post your comment with a note that this is per your request. Thank you and do keep in touch. dennyhatch@yahoo.com
Invitation to Marketers and Direct Marketers:
Guest Blog Posts Are Welcome.
If you have a marketing story to tell, case history, concept to propose or a memoir, give a shout. I’ll get right back to you. I am: dennyhatch@yahoo.com
You Are Invited to Join the Discussion!
Thank you, Denny -- I have referred students in my Marketing Promotions class to your post. It provides such crystal clear descriptions of why good copywriting is good. The textbooks these days are full of terms (such as I.M.C.) that are confusing to them. As always, your copy punches through.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment.
DeleteI have no idea what I.M.C. means. I tried goggling it and a whole bunch of stuff came up.
The mania for “data-driven marketing” is out of hand. The Direct Marketing Association—once a vibrant and valuable resources—adopted the slogan “Data-Driven Marketing” and promptly went out of business.
My expertise and career are all about communications—effective words and images—that generate results in all media: direct mail, off-the-page-ads and e-efforts.
If any of your students would like to sign up for my weekly blog posts, give them my email and I’m happy to put them on the list. Free. No obligation. Cancel any time.
Thanks again for writing.
dennyhatch@yahoo.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDenny,
ReplyDeleteOf course I have seen the story about the Shackleton ad before...but it took this latest reading to impel me to do my typical "Real or Fake?" Google search. Turns out that this smithsonian.com article maintains it is most likely a fake.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/shackleton-probably-never-took-out-an-ad-seeking-men-for-a-hazardous-journey-5552379/
No disagreement with with your judgement that it's a fantastic ad...just that it likely didn't contribute to Shackleton's success -- as it was probably written decades after the fact.
Hey, Peter!
DeleteGreat hearing from you as always. And thank you, thank you for the “learned” Smithsonian debunking of the Shackleton ad. I am delighted to have the link the article. I really appreciate your sharing with me—and my readers—so they can judge it for themselves.
Of course over the years I had heard rumors this masterpiece was a fake. I never bothered to research it. Life is too short (and at age 84, it’s getting shorter).
My opinion: it’s bullshit.
Okay, the great art forgers—Elmyr de Hory, Banksy, Han van Meegeren—can produce brilliant paintings, fool critics like Abraham Bredius or Bernard Berenson who, in turn would authenticate for Duveen or Sotheby’s or Christie’s who sell the things and start the trail of legitimacy and provenance.
A painting is a physical thing. It is what it is.
But we’re talking print.
Okay, let’s say somebody with the copywriting chops of Bill Jayme or Hank Burnett or David Ogilvy set out to perpetrate a hoax ad, any of them very likely could have pulled it off.
But having written it and designed it, what then? Where would they publish it to give it the provenance?
First of all, hoaxers are ego driven. They love creating the forgery. But then they want the world to know how smart they are.
In short I cannot believe a copywriter that good would spend time faking an ad and then spend time figuring out how to give the thing provenance. And then fade into oblivion. Great copywriters like to make money, not do circle-jerks.
My bet: maybe the ad did not run in The Times of London, but in some other Brit early 20th century publication.
Anyway, it’s fun to speculate and second- and third-guess.
Thanks again for taking the time to straighten me out.
I still say this ad is real and the Smithsonian is bullshit.
Do keep in touch.
And come see us in Philly!
Cheers.
Good evening, Denny!
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of the fact that a chap once said to me, "It's a little-known fact that the human body decreases in weight by 21 grams when someone dies. That is the weight of the soul departing from the body."
Another fellow nearby said, "I can assure you that if that were true, it would be anything but 'a little-known fact.'"
Personally, I suspect that applies here. It's a great story, and one certainly wishes it were true, but the absence of evidence after this amount of time suggests otherwise.
Best regards!
Tim Orr
Tim,
DeleteDelighted to hear from you!
I love controversy. Thank you for contributing to it!
My feeling: “Absence of evidence” cuts both ways.
The Shackleton ad is so real, so powerful, and been around ever since I can remember.
If anybody can prove it’s a hoax, I will print a retraction.
Do keep in touch
Hi Denny,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your latest article which this week came to 'my' side of the Pond! In Rotherhithe they would also have eaten jellied eels (not my cup of tea!)
Is the article real or, as President Trump might put it "fake news"? Who cares! It made for another interesting piece from you.
And I know for certain what I.M.C. stands for...
"Internet Marketing Conmen"!!!!
Keep up the good work and best wishes. Nick from the U.K.
P.S. Following on from last week's article about databases... I had a smile when I saw that one of my hand-written addresses was for a 'Mr G.Halbert' in Glasgow, Scotland! I immediately thought of Mark Twain's famous 'reports of my death...' quote!
Nick,
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure to hear from you.
Love the definition of I.M.C.
Do keep in touch!