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Advertising is much like war, minus the venom. Or much, if you prefer, like a game of chess. We are usually out to capture others’ citadels or garner others’ trade. We must have skill and knowledge. We must have training and experience, also the right equipment. We must have proper ammunition, and enough. We dare […]

An ad writer, to have a chance at success, must gain full information on his subject. The library of an ad agency should have books on every line that calls for research. A painstaking advertising man will often read for weeks about some problem that comes up. Perhaps in many volumes, he will find few […]

Many things are possible in advertising which are too costly to attempt. That is another reason why every project and method should be weighed and determined by a known scale of cost and result. Changing people’s habits is very expensive. A project which involves that must be seriously considered. Yet countless advertisers try to do […]

Pictures in advertising are very expensive. Not in the cost of good artwork alone, but in the cost of space. From one-third to one-half of an advertising campaign is often staked on the power of the pictures. Anything expensive must be effective, or else it involves much waste. So art in advertising is a study […]

Whatever claim you use to gain attention, the advertisement should tell a story reasonably complete. If you watch returns, you will find that certain claims appeal far more than others. But in usual lines, several claims appeal to a large percentage. Then present those claims in every ad for their effect on that percentage. Some […]

Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck. They leave no impression whatever. To say, “Best in the world,” “Lowest price in existence,” etc. are at best simply claiming the expected. But superlatives of that sort are usually damaging. They suggest looseness of expression, a tendency to exaggerate, a careless […]

The competent advertising man must understand psychology. The more he knows about it the better. He must learn that certain effects lead to certain reactions, and use that knowledge to increase results and avoid mistakes. Human nature is perpetual. In most respects, it is the same today as in the time of Caesar. So the […]

The difference between advertising and personal salesmanship lies largely in personal contact. The salesman is there to demand attention. He cannot be ignored. The advertisement can be ignored. But the salesman wastes too much of his time on prospects whom he can never hope to interest. He cannot pick them out. The advertisement is read […]

The severest test of an advertising man is in selling goods by mail. But that is a school from which he must graduate before he can hope for success. The cost and result are immediately apparent. False theories melt away like snowflakes in the sun. The advertising is profitable or it is not, clearly on […]

Remember the people you address are selfish, as we all are. They care nothing about your interests or your profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and costly mistake in advertising. Ads say in effect, “Buy my brand. Give me the trade you give to others. Let me have […]

To properly understand advertising or to learn even its rudiments one must start with the right conception. Advertising is salesmanship. Its principles are the principles of salesmanship. Successes and failures in both lines are due to like causes. Thus every advertising question should be answered by salesman’s standards. Let us emphasize that point. The only […]

Published in 1923, Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins marked a revolution in measuring the effectiveness of advertising. You may think it’s not relevant to you because you’re not involved in advertising, but in the broader sense, advertising encompasses all forms of communication designed to influence the decisions of others. Advertising includes the content of web […]