Len Bailey

Dear ,

A funny thing happened to me this past week. Amidst the deadlines … client meetings … and other chaos, I rediscovered how much I truly love direct response marketing.

All because a book literally fell off my bookshelf.

My family and I recently moved into a new house, you see. And in the interest of unpacking as quickly as possible, I had simply shoveled books on the bookshelves. No rhyme or reason to the placement – my wife would no doubt reorganize them anyway (and do it much more sensibly).

However, she hadn’t gotten around to it just yet … and while placing a new book on one slightly-too-full shelf, several others tumbled to the floor. And when I reached down to pick them up, I found myself holding a book that belongs on every marketer’s bookshelf: Ogilvy on Advertising.

This tome is nothing less than pure 24-karat direct marketing gold. And though I’ve read it at least a dozen times, I once again found myself turning the pages … devouring the stories … discovering and rediscovering invaluable lessons …

And falling in love with this business all over again.

So today, I thought I’d share
one of David Ogilvy’s all-time classics …

And not just any Ogilvy ad, either – this week’s Swipe just might be the most famous automobile advertisement ever written.

To create this ad, David first did his homework. He spent three weeks reading about the car, soaking in every piece of information the client provided. And eventually, he came across a single sentence that he turned into one of the most memorable headlines of all time.

Then he followed that headline with 607 words of factual copy that showcased the product’s benefits and a simple, but effective call to action.

So whatever you do, do NOT just admire this as a piece of advertising history. Take the time to study the piece as a whole, and each component individually.

Observe the big, colorful photograph to catch the eye. And how the placement of the copy below the photograph eliminates the need for “reverse-color” fonts and makes the copy easy to read.

Soak in the headline and deck … the way they grab your attention while providing the allure of insider knowledge delivered by an expert.

Note how the copy is organized into thirteen short and interesting facts about the product – each of which more interesting than the one before.

Finally, consider the simple, almost understated call to action that’s so different from the “shouted-in-your-face” ones so common in advertising today (when they aren’t left out altogether).

Click here to add this Ogilvy masterpiece to your swipe file today – and see why it has a permanent place in my own.

Oh, and in case you wondered … this ad ran in just two newspapers and two magazines. The cost? $25,000 – nearly twice the price of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud it was selling!

Best wishes for success,

Len Bailey
Makepeace-Trained Copywriter
Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE

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