TwosWrite things down

Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz

Breakthrough Advertising by Eugene Schwartz

by Parker · 470 things on Twos

Preface
There is a way to develop an entirely new market for a new or an old product
We are all simply creating or exploiting markets for our products
This book talks about the sentences that make up the primary appeal of a product to a market
This message will show you how to find you dream market and how to drive it into a national feeding frenzy
People don't change, only the direction of their desires do
It takes only one slip of paper to direct all those millions of people to your stores, or your catalogues, or your wholesalers
It is about helping to shape the largest and strongest market possible, and then intensifying that market's reaction to its basic need or problem, and to the "exclusive" solution you have to offer it
Introduction
How to write a headline—and an ad that follows it—that will open up an entirely new market for its product
Copy writing has to do with the hopes and fears and desires of millions upon millions of men and women all over the world
They cannot be made to want anything, nor is it necessary to create want. All that is necessary is to be able to channel those wants into the proper products that offer legitimate satisfaction for them
No formula works twice. You can't copy the people who came before you
What works is innovation. Continuous, repeated innovation. A steady stream of new ideas—fresh new solutions to new problems
Part 1 - The basic strategy of persuasion
How to write a winning headline that no one has ever written before
Chapter 1 - Mass Desire: the force that makes advertising work—and how to focus it onto your product
The power, the force, the overwhelming urge to own that makes advertising work, comes from the market itself, and not from the copy
Copy cannot create desire for a product. It can only take the hopes, dreams, fears and desires that already exist in the hearts of millions of people, and focus those already- existing desires onto a particular product
Channel and direct the mass desire, hopes, dreams, and fears
Mass Desire is the public spread of a private want
No single advertiser can afford to educate the American public. He must rely on forces far greater than any advertising budget to build this mass desire
Permanent forces
Mass Instinct. The desire of women to be attractive, or men to be virile, or men and women both to keep their health
A mass technological problem. Bad television reception, or corroding automobile mufflers, or the time it takes for aspirin to bring relief. Until the problem is finally solved, the customers will buy and try—buy and try again. And here the copywriter has the same problem—to offer the same claim of relief as his competitors, but offer it in a new way
The Forces of Change
The beginning, the fulfillment, and the reversal of a trend. Style.
Here he needs sensitivity, foresight, and intuition. He must be able to see and catch the rising tide when it's almost imperceptible—a sense which of the several appeals that are built into his product he should stress at any particular moment, and when to shift to another—and, always, how to be there first
The copywriter is faced with a society containing dozens— even hundreds—of these already-existing mass desires. His first job, therefore, is to detect them—inventory them—chart their force and direction. This is a study that will occupy part of every working day for the rest of his life
The copywriter in his work uses three tools: his own knowledge of people's hopes, dreams, desires and emotions; his client's product; and the advertising message, which connects the two
Choose the most powerful desire that can possibly be applied to your product.
Every mass desire has three vital dimensions. The first is urgency, intensity, degree of demand to be satisfied
The second dimension is staying power, degree of repetition, the inability to become satiated
And the third dimension is scope—the number of people who share this desire
Every product appeals to two, three, or four of these mass desires. But only one can predominate; only one can reach out through your headline to your customer. Only one is the key that unlocks the maximum economic power at the particular time your advertisement is published. Your choice among these alternate desires is the most important step you will take in writing your ad
You try to tap a single overwhelming desire existing today in the hearts and minds of millions of people who are actively seeking to satisfy it at this very moment.
Acknowledge that desire—reinforce it—and/or offer the means to satisfy it—in a single statement in the headline of your ad.
If he is not aware of your product, but only of the desire itself, your headline starts with the desire. And, if he is not yet aware of what he really seeks, but is concerned only with a general problem, your headline starts with that problem and crystallizes it into a specific need
And then you take the series of performances that are built into your product—what your product does—and you show your prospect how these product performances inevitably satisfy that desire
The physical part of your product is of value only because it enables your product to do things for people. The important part of your product is what it does
The Physical part of your product justifies its price
By documenting the quality of your performance
By assuring your prospect that that performance will continue throughout the years
By sharpening the reader's mental picture of that performance
And, above all, by giving your product's claim of performance afresh new basis for believability
So much for the physical product. It is always subordinated to the functional product—the product in action—what the product does
It is the performance of your product, satisfying the mass desire of your market, that provides the selling power of your ad
Your first task, then, in studying your product, is to list the number of different performances it contains—to group these performances against the mass desires that each of them satisfies—and then to feature the one performance that will harness the greatest sales power onto your product at that particular time
Your ad can feature onlv one of these performances; can effectively tap only one mass desire at a time
If your first thought holds him. he will read the second. If the second holds him, he will read the third. And if the third thought holds him, he will probably read through your ad
Convince your reader that performance and that satisfaction can come only from your product
Chapter 2 - Your Prospect's State of Awareness—how to capitalize on it when you write your headline
You have defined the mass desire that makes up your market and you have selected the one performance in your product that satisfies that desire most deeply
Your ad always begins with your market, and leads that market inevitably into your product
The headline concerns itself entirely with your market. It may never even mention your product or its performance. It is based entirely on the answer to these three questions:
What is the mass desire that creates this market?
How much do these people know today about the way your product satisfies this desire?
How many other products have been presented to them before yours?
Your headline doesn't need to sell at all
It does not have to mention your product
The headline has only one job—to stop your prospect and compel him to read the second sentence of your ad
The second sentence has only one job—to force him to read the third sentence of your ad
The more of your story you can force your prospect to read, the more thoroughly you can sell him
It is the copy writer's job to force the prospect to read his client's full story—not just a skimmed version of it
The Most Aware
The customer knows of your product—knows what it does— knows he wants it
Your headline—in fact, your entire ad—need state little more except the name of your product and a bargain price
Revere Zomar Lens, Electric Eve Camera—Formerly $149.50—Now Only $119.95
The remainder of the advertisement can summarize quicklv the most desirable selling points. Then add the name of a store, or a coupon, and close
There is nothing creative about his job, and he should receive the lowest possible scale of pay
The customer knows of the product but doesn't yet want it
Reinforce your prospects desire for your product
Steinway—The Instrument of the Immortals
Joy—The Costliest Perfume in the World
Tastes like you just picked it—Dole
The skin YOU love to touch—Woodbury
Life Saver—Please don't lick this page
Twos—The best place to write things down
Sharpen his image of the way your product satisfies that desire
At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in a Rolls Royce is the electric clock
The amazing story of a Zippo that worked after being taken from the bellv of a fish
Twos, the first all-in-one system to simplify your life
Extend his image of where and when your product satisfies that desire
Anywhere you go. Hertz is always nearby
Thirst knows no season—Coca Cola
Every day is Twosday
Introduce proof, details, documentation of how well your product satisfies that desire
9 out of 10 screen stars use Lux Toilet Soap for their priceless smooth skins
Jake La Motta, 160-lb fighter, fails to flatten Mono paper cup
In Boston, the #1 tea-drinking citv, the #1 tea is Salada
People forget 90% of things they learn when they don't use Twos
Announce a new mechanism in that product to enable it to satisfy that desire even better
Hoovers new invention washes floors and vacuums up the scrub water
Worlds only dog food that makes its own gravy— Gaines Graw Train
*Things* make remembering anything easy
Announce a new mechanism in your product that eliminates former limitations
You breathe no dusty odors when YOU do it with Lewvt
A new Zenith hearing aid—inconspicuous beyond belief
Stop using 12 different apps and notebooks to remember things
Completely change the image or the mechanism of that product, in order to remove it from the competition of other products claiming to satisfy the same desire
Display the name of the product—either in the headline or in an equally large logo—and use the remainder of the headline to point out its superiority
The body of the ad is then an elaboration of that superiority—including visualization, documentation, mechanization
How to introduce new products
Name the desire and/or its solution in your headline
Prove that that solution can be accomplished
Show that the mechanism of that accomplishment is contained in your product
The execution becomes more and more important than the mechanics
You need to analyze and define the particular market most receptive to your product, its location in the relation to your product in terms of awareness and sophistication, and the driving emotional forces that have created both that market and the potential for the sales of your product within it
Intuition helps sense a trend at its start, gauge its force and direction, determine the precise moment when it burgeons into a profitable market
Verbal creativity helps give a name to the still-undefined. To capture a feeling, a hope, a desire, a fear in words. To create a catchword or a slogan. To focus emotion, and give it a goal
How to Introduce Products That Solve Needs
The prospect has a need, he recognizes the need, but he doesn't yet realize the connection between the fulfillment of that need and your product
Start by naming the need and/or its solution in your headline. Then dramatize the need so vividly that the prospect realizes just how badly he needs the solution. Then present your product as the inevitable solution
How to Open Up a Completely Unaware Market
The prospect is either not aware of his desire or need—or he won't honestly admit to himself without being lead into it by your ad
A headline which will work to a market in one stage of awareness will not work to a market in another stage of awareness
Path to planning a headline
Eliminate all mention of price. It does not mean anything to a person who does not know your product, or want your product
Keep your product out of the headline. The name of your product means nothing to a person who has never seen it before. Be wary about breaking the mood or disguise of your ad with a prominent logo
Do not mention the performance of your product or the desire it satisfies in your headline. A direct statement of what your product does, what desire it satisfies, or what problem it solves, simply will not work.
You should mention your market. Concentrate exclusively on the state of mind of your market at this particular moment. You are writing an identification headline to call your market together. You are selling nothing, promising nothing, satisfying nothing. Instead, you are echoing an emotion, an attitude, a satisfaction that picks people out from the crowd and brings them together in a single statement
The headline never attempts to sell a product or a performance, but simply tries to sell the remainder of the ad itself
The only function of this headline is to get the prospect to read the next paragraph. And this second paragraph pulls him into the third; and the third into the fourth: and right on down the page, paragraph after paragraph. Meanwhile, these paragraphs are building a steady progression of logical images, from the first identification with the headline, to a growing awareness of the problem or the desire to the realization that a solution is at hand, and to the inevitable focusing of that desire and that solution onto your particular product
Chapter 3 - The Sophistication of Your Market: how many products have been there before you?
Questions you must answer before you can determine what goes into your headline:
What is the mass desire that motivates your market?
How much does your market know about your product?
How many similar products have they been told about before?
Be simple. Be direct. Above all, don't be fancy
Give the need or claim in your headline—nothing more
Dramatize that claim in your copy—make it as powerful as possible
Bring in your product; and prove that it works
If you are second to market, copy the original successful claim, but enlarge it. Drive it to the absolute limit. Outbid your competition
Chapter 4 - 38 Ways to Strengthen Your Headline Once You Have Your Basic Idea
Increase the impact of a headline by the way in which it is stated:
Strengthen the claim—bv enlarging upon it, by measuring it, by making it more vivid, etc.
Make the claim new and fresh again—by twisting it, changing it, presenting it from a different angle, turning it into a narration, challenging the reader with an example, etc.
Pull the prospect into the body of the ad—by promising him information about it, by questioning him, by partially revealing mechanism, etc
Here are some of these guideposts for your own thinking:
Measure the size of the claim
20,000 FILTER TRAPS IN VICEROY!
I AM 61 POUNDS LIGHTER . . .
WHO EVER HEARD OF 17,000 BLOOMS FROM A SINGLE PLANT?
1 PLACE TO REMEMBER EVERYTHING
Measure the speed of the claim
FEEL BETTER FAST!
IN TWO SECONDS, BAYER ASPIRIN BEGINS TO DISSOLVE IN YOUR GLASS!
Compare the claim
SIX TIMES WHITER W ASHES!
COSTS UP TO $300 LESS THAN MANY MOD- ELS OF THE LOW-PRICED THREE!
Metaphorize the claim
MELTS AWAY UGLY FAT!
Sensitize the claim by making the prospect feel, smell, touch, see or hear it
TASTES LIKE YOU JUST PICKED IT!
THE SKIN YOU LOVE TO TOUCH!
Demonstrate the claim by showing a prime example
JAKE LAMOTTA, 160 POUND FIGHTER, FAILS TO FLATTEN MONO PAPER CUP!
AT 60 MILES AN HOUR, THE LOUDEST NOISE IN THIS ROLLS ROYCE IS THE ELECTRIC CLOCK!
Dramatize the claim, or its result
HERE'S AN EXTRA 850, GRACE—I'M MAKING BIG MONEY NOW!
THEY LAUGHED WHEN I SAT DOWN AT THE PIANO—BUT WHEN I STARTED TO PLAY . . .
State the claim as a paradox
HOW A BALD-HEADED BARBER SAVED MY HAIR!
BEAT THE RACES BY PICKING LOSERS!
Remove limitations from the claim
SHRINKS HEMORRHOIDS WITHOUT SURGERY!
YOU BREATHE NO DUSTY ODORS WHEN YOU DO IT WITH LEWYT!
Associate the claim with values or people with whom the prospect wishes to be identified
MICKEY MANTLE SAYS: CAMELS NEVER BOTHER MY THROAT!
9 OUT OF 10 DECORATORS USE WUNDA- WEAVE CARPETS FOR LONG LIFE AT LOW COST!
Show how much work, in detail, the claim does
NOW! RELIEF FROM ALL 5 ACID-CAUSED STOMACH TROUBLES—IK SECONDS!
RELIEVES CONGESTION IN ALL 7 NASAL PASSAGES INSTANTLY!
State the claim as a question
WHO ELSE WANTS A WHITER WASH—WITH NO HARD WORK?
COULD YOU USE $25 A WEEK EXTRA IN- COME?
Offer information about how to accomplish the claim
HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE!
HERE'S WHAT TO DO TO GET RID OF PIMPLES FAST!
Tie authority into the claim
BOSS MECHANIC SHOWS HOW TO A VOID ENGINE REPAIR BILLS!
HERE'S WHAT DOCTORS DO WHEN THEY FEEL ROTTEN!
Before-and-after the claim
BEFORE COLDENE A CHILD GOT OVER A COLD AFTER 5 DAYS OF ACHING, SNEEZING, WHEEZING, DRIPPING, SUFFERING, COUGH- ING, CRYING, GAGGING, SPITTING
WITH COLDENE A CHILD GETS OVER A COLD IN FIVE DAYS!
Stress the newness of the claim
"ANNOUNCING! GUIDED MISSILE SPARK PLUGS!
NOW! CHROME PLATE WITHOUT HEAT, ELECTRICITY , MACHINERY!
Stress the exclusivity of the claim
OURS ALONE! PERSIAN LAMB ORIGINALS— $389.40!
ONLY GLEEM HAS GL-70 TO KEEP TEETH CLEAN ALL DAY LONG WITH ONE BRUSHING!
Turn the claim into a challenge for the reader
WHICH TWIN HAS THE TONI? AND WHICH HAS THE $15 PERMANENT?
DOES SHE OR DOESN'T SHE? HAIR COL- ORING SO NATURAL ONLY HER HAIRDRESSER KNOWS FOR SURE!
State the claim as a case-history quotation
LOOK, MOM—NO CAVITIES!
WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT—I HAVE A COLD!
Condense the claim—interchange your product and the product it replaces
NOW! A RING AND PISTON JOB IN A TUBE!
POUR YOURSELF A NEW ENGINE!