When I became a copywriter, in the last quarter century of the last millennium, I was well prepared by advertising giants like David Ogilvy, Claude Hopkins, John Caples, and of course Jerry Della Femina. And while I was motivated by a crusade against what I considered dumb ads, I was – and remain – more motivated by a passion to win in the marketplace. To make my clients successful. To outsmart the competition.
After a few months in the business, it had become clear to me that the cause of what I considered bad ads was not necessarily untalented people, as I assumed, but people with a rational commitment to results. They were practicing what was then called formula advertising, gleaned from a “scientific” approach: (more…)
