Negative
Advertising To
attack a rival is never good advertising. Don''t point out others''
faults.
It is not permitted in the best mediums. It is never good
policy. The selfish purpose is apparent. It looks unfair, not sporty.
If you abhor knockers, always appear a good fellow.
Show
a bright side, the happy and attractive side, not the dark and
uninviting side of things. Show beauty, not homeliness; health, not
sickness. Don''t show the wrinkles you propose to remove, but the face
as it will appear. Your customers know all about wrinkles.
In
advertising a dentifrice, show pretty teeth, not bad teeth. Talk of
coming good
conditions, not conditions which exist. In advertising
clothes, picture well-dressed people, not the shabby. Picture
successful men, not failures, when you advertise a business course.
Picture what others wish to be, not what they may be now.
We
are attracted by sunshine, beauty, happiness, health, success. Then
point the way to them, not the way out of the opposite.
Picture
envied people, not the envious.
Tell
people what to do, not what to avoid.
Make
your every ad breath good cheer. We always dodge a Lugubrious Blue.
Assume that people will do what you ask. Say, "Send now for this
sample." Don''t say, "Why do you neglect this offer?"
That suggests that people are neglecting. Invite them to follow the
crowd.
Compare
the results of two ads, one negative, one positive. One presenting
the dark side, one the bright side. One warning, the other inviting.
You will be surprised. You will find that the positive ad out pulls
the other four to one, if you have our experience.
The
"Before and after taking" ads are follies of the past. They
never had a place save with the afflicted. Never let their memory
lead you to picture the gloomy side of things.