Since my last post put me on the subject of advertising, I thought I'd talk about the book that most influenced my thoughts about that subject. It was "They Laughed When I sat down" by John Caples. It's the same name as the famous ad (above). He influenced my ideas about animation and cartooning, and even influenced how I write this blog.
Caples bucked the system by advocating ads with lots of copy, where the readers learned something and were influenced by the personality of the writer. He respected the intelligence of his audience. Not only that but he believed that people respect ads that don't pretend to be something else. People actually like to be pitched to. I know I do.
Why? Because the world really is an interesting place, and a pitchman makes you realize how wonderful even the small details of life are. In that sense he's like a poet.
I think of Vince doing the ShamWow commercial (above). He made wiping up stains seem almost sacramental! For the price of a simple cloth you got to enjoy picking up all the spills you'll ever have to pick up for the rest of your life. What an incredible bargain! But the thing is, if it's going to work, the cloth really does have to be something special. An ordinary cloth won't do.
If I were a professional ad man I'd much rather sell soup and gum than cars or Viagra or pianos. That's because most people can afford to chew the best gum or eat the best canned soup. They can afford to try different brands and figure out what the best one is. They know you're right on the money when you talk about how great Campbell's Chicken Broth is. BUT...
...but you're not really selling the broth. You're selling the opening of the can, you're selling the wonder of pouring liquid and of fire igniting on a stove. You're even selling the feeling of a warm spoon in the mouth. In other words, you're a poet selling the joy of having senses and being alive. The product is just an excuse.
if you're hired to sell a product you believe in then you're free to explore the really deep essence of it and show what you've discovered to others. That's a wonderful thing.
BTW: which of the ads above do you think sold a lot of soup? It's a cheater question because the right answer in my opinion is neither. Can you guess what's wrong with both of these? The answer's on the comments page.
Also BTW: Vince recently got in a lot of trouble for beating up a prostitute who bit his tongue and wouldn't let go. The pictures are on Smoking Gun. They're pretty gruesome.