Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

COMMON SENSE ADVERTISERS

SEND US $1.00

and we will send you this
LARGE, LUXURIOUS

Common-Sense Rocker

A most magnificent piece of household furniture-a constant source of solid comfort—suitable for parlor, library, den or sitting room,—beautifuldurable—and never before offered at so low a price.

get a chair while they last at this price.

The Common-Sense Rocker is made of choice selected, thoroughly seasoned, quarter sawed oak, polished to a mirror like brilliancy. The broad heavy arms are supported by seven strongly turned spindles, and the entire construction is of the highest order of workmanship, thereby guaranteeing a substantial rocker, one that will last a lifetime and descend to the next generation. The front of this beautiful rocker is magnificently carved in a fancy scroll design. It is a thoroughly comfortable chair, built with every regard for ease as well as beauty.

Never in your life were

Write at once and

[graphic]

we are doing it in order to introduce COMMON-SENSE to a wider circle of readers. COMMON-SENSE has a mission to help you attain your ambition, to suggest ways of increasing your earning abilities, and to make your life a greater success. If a single number fails to give you practical, working suggestions for advancement, we will refund its price. You will benefit by this invest

you offered such value. Send $1.00 to us at once COMMON-SENSE

and we will ship the chair-then you pay 75 cents

a month for nine months--which completes the pay-
ments on both the chair and the magazine.
Remember the publishers of COMMON-SENSE 88 Wabash Ave.
stand back of this offer-everything is just as we
say it is.

Naturally you wonder how we can possibly afford to make you such an unheard of offer. Frankly,

Editor COMMON-SENSE:

Attached find $1.00. Please ship the Common-Sense Rocker: also enter my name for one year's subscription to COMMON-SENSE magazine.

FILL IN NAME AND ADDRESS AND SEND THIS COUPON.

[ocr errors]
[graphic][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed][subsumed]

Volume VI

COMMON-SENSE

FEBRUARY, 1906

Number 2

ADVERTISING: THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY
OF ITS BEING UNDERSTOOD BY BUSI-
NESS MEN, AND HOW IT
MUST BE TAUGHT

A COMPREHENSIVE AND INSTRUCTIVE PAPER DELIVERED BEFORE THE NATIONAL COMMERCIAL TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION IN CHICAGO

BY EDWARD T. PAGE

Advertising is not a branch of business knowledge, like bookkeeping, stenography, banking, etc., but it is the underlying principle which governs the success of every business, trade and profession in the world to-day. Men succeed in an enterprise so far as they apply to its promotion the principles of right publicity, and they fail when these principles are not applied.

Public

This may sound to you like an exaggerated statement, but I can soon show you that such is not the case. To make myself perfectly clear, allow me to direct your attention to the fact that there are three specific kinds of teaching in the world, and for as many purposes: school trains the student to self-control, to consecutive thought, and furnishes him with definite information that adds to his intelligence; the business college equips the student to perform duties required by commercial life, and for which a salary is paid; advertising instruction gives him definite information concerning the preparation of advertisements and the managing of a firm's advertising, and, more important still, it opens his eyes to his opportunities in the world and enables him to make the very most of his chosen line-to use his tools to the very best advantage.

You may have an erroneous impression that the sole mission of a knowledge of advertising is to enable one to write copy to fill space in a newspaper or a magazine. This is only the primary or mechanical use to which an advertising man puts his education. The real purpose and effect of such an education is far wider and broader than this. It enables men and women in business in every line to make a greater success of their undertakings. For example: If

the new grocer who settles in your neighborhood understands the principles underlying proper publicity, he will make his store and his windows so attractive, be so affable himself, and announce his wares in the local paper in so fresh and interesting a manner that everyone in the neighborhood will soon prefer his establishment to every other one; the correspondent who understands advertising will realize the necessity of infusing his letters with strong selling points. Having learned that old dead forms make no impression on the reader, he will write naturally and briskly, with a view to bringing out the essential merits of his proposition. He will know that his letter, as well as an advertisement, must not deal in mere abstract generalities. A bookkeeper who understands advertising will know how to buy supplies to the best advantage, the price of paper, printing, etc., and thus be able to save money for his firm; also his judgment concerning when the firm should practice economy and when the very best materials should be used is of the greatest value; a stenographer who understands advertising will become of actual worth to his employer, instead of remaining a more or less perfect machine; a salesman with a knowledge of advertising will be a far better salesman, he will more quickly see the selling points of his proposition, and he will more readily read the mind of his customer; a teacher who studies advertising learns the art of conciseness, of quickly getting the point, and of dwelling on essentials rather than non-essentials; a professional man is enabled to succeed in his profession through applying the laws of publicity to his daily work. A minister will learn.

་་

the art of giving his congregation, if not exactly what they want to hear, at least, what they do not want to hear, in a tactful manner that will insure his being listened to and appreciated.

In professional lines, the great requirement, second to knowing thoroughly one's profession, is knowing how to impress one's personality on the public. There are many followers of each profession equally competent to attend to its manifold duties. The ones who, in addition to being competent, understand the art of making the public know they are competent, are the ones who succeed. Those who depend wholly on their own merits will remain about where they and their sheepskins started on their graduation day. A politician, above all people, should understand modern advertising methods. He is in a business where the slightest flaw in the article (himself) put before the public will be made much of by his opponents. He is a living advertisement of his claims to distinction and acceptation by the public. If he desires to reach great heights, he must begin early to make himself popular. He must remember that every unwise statement made in his callow days will go against him at the critical moment, when he is to be accepted. or rejected by the people. He should bear in mind that his life is but an advertising campaign which must make his strong points so very evident that when he is really at last on the market he will be gladly taken.

A youth in whom burns the fire of oratory, who dreams of some day commanding the Senate by his magnetic personality, could do nothing that would come so near assuring him of a realization of this ambition as to master the principles of modern publicity.

A striking example of the power of advertising is the successful career of James Hamilton Lewis, the brilliant orator, United States Representative from Washington, the greatest criminal lawyer of the Northwest, and now corporation counsel for the City of Chicago. Mr. Lewis has great ability-this is not doubted for one moment by anyone who has listened to his perfect oratory, or heard him give even a five minutes' talk at a club dinner. But you remember that one of the requisites of a successful advertising campaign is the worthiness of the article put on the market. In this case the article was worthy; Mr. Lewis evidently had the shrewdness to see, however, that worthiness alone could not win. He chose unique methods of directing public attention to himself. As a very young man, some years ago, he decided upon a public career. Living in Georgia at the time, he looked over the states and territories and chose Washington as his race track. He went to Seattle and there cast in his lot. From the day of his arrival in the little seaport village, he became copy for the newspapers. The doings of James

Hamilton Lewis were heralded in nearly every publication. He went to work, too. He worked hard, and he developed along with the proud young state; but the public was kept fully aware of his development. When the time finally came that he was named for the United States Senate he carried everything before him, running way ahead of his ticket. He had the voters of the state because they knew him, they had been reading about him for years; they knew the article put on the market, and they were ready to

buy.

Dr. Lorenz, famous the country over for his wonderful manipulation of displaced bones, did nothing that has not been done over and over by other physicians, but the world never heard. of the others. Publicity has given Dr. Lorenz the reputation and the fees of a great surgeon. His greatness is not disputed, but had he worked more quietly, had not the papers given him such publicity, he would not be known outside of his own hospital. The point is this: it in no way detracts from the merit of a man to let the world know about him, and be very sure that if the man is not really worthy, publicity will make this evident also. The public is in little danger of having a poor article foisted on it. Advertising is too expensive to be wasted on subjects that cannot "make good."

At a banquet of the National Advertising Association given at the Waldorf, in New York, Chas. Emery Smith, editor and president of the Philadelphia Press, and lately Postmaster General under President McKinley, responding to the "Legitimate Advertiser," said: "The greatest advertiser in the world is President Roosevelt. He does things in an unique manner and accomplishes results which herald themselves-this is true and substantial advertising, and produces opportunities for more of its kind."

The

Three things are essential to the promotion of an enterprise, a commodity, or a career. article or subject must be a worthy one; the time must be ripe for its presentation to the public; and it must be properly presented. The educated advertising man is not only capable of preparing advertisements which are to be inserted in various publications, on street cars, billboards, etc., but he has his fingers on the pulse of the public, and he knows whether or not the time is ripe and whether or not the article is what the public wants or can be made to think it wants. Thus you see his knowledge is of a wide and general nature, giving him a discriminating understanding of times and conditions.

Some one has said, "Give me the money to advertise it, and I can sell boxes of sawdust to every family in America." This is a mistaken idea of advertising, unless the advertiser belongs to the class of fake schemers who bob up from

Common-Sense

year to year, and do a sweeping business through misrepresentation, before the authorities have an opportunity to stop their nefarious dealings. But even these fakers are being gradually eliminated.

Barnum is responsible for the statement that American people like to be fooled. This condition no longer exists. The American people have been educated by high-class advertisements, and they are quick to see the merits or demerits of an article. If it is honestly represented and this representation appeals to them, they readily give the new article a trial; if the goods are as represented, they become part of the household utilities, and the advertiser has succeeded.

It is no longer sufficient to insist that an article is well made; that a man is honest, etc. These things we naturally expect. The article-or the man-must have other qualities in addition to these to recommend it-or him.

Remember that advertising today is of an educational nature. We are told of the ingredients We are told of the ingredients of a breakfast food, the method of manufacture, the process of packing, the effect on the nerves, the brain, the stomach. In fact, we are given a physiological and hygienic analysis of each new food we are called upon to eat. If it is a piece of furniture, we are told the kind of wood used, where it is obtained, how ornamented, whether quarter-sawed oak, curly maple, or walnut; how put together, and all about it, until we have a fair idea of the cabinet makers' art from reading the advertisements. If it is a school, we know the faculty, the professors' records individually, their especial merits, education, experience; the moral tone of the community, the healthfulness of the climate, and all other facts geographical, biographical, etc., until we know the school thoroughly, and are more intelligent for the advertisement. Thus you see that modern advertising (and when I speak of advertising I mean only that which is legitimate, as the brass band hullaboloo style of some followers of the art has no more relation to standard publicity than a quack doctor has to a physician of the regular school)-modern advertising is educational, entirely. It puts the whole proposition plainly before the public. Every point is made clear, and it is left to the public to accept or tɔ reject. Thus you readily see that the commodity must support every statement made concerning it, if the promoter hopes to remain permanently in business.

Now for the second requisite, the ripeness of the time; educational advertising has changed the tone of advertisements. What the public accepted ten years ago it would not consider for a moment today. This has been well illustrated in the wide, sweeping condemnation of patent medicines during the past year or so. Time was when the public accepted the statement on the

7

label, that the medicine would cure countless aches and pains. Today people demand to know just what is in the medicine, and they reject the cure if the ingredients do not appeal to them as Fashions proper to be taken into the stomach.

also prevail in medicine. We have little tablets, candies, pellets, etc., where formerly there were noxious doses in liquid form, powders and teas. I know of a man from a remote part of the country who was ready to put thousands of dollars in placing a root having healing properties on the market. He had his tons of root dug, cleansed, ground and shipped to Chicago, and then came on himself to enter upon an extensive advertising campaign. In his mind's eye he saw every family in America drinking his herb tea. He knew his article was good. there was no doubt on that point, and he had the money to push it; but a diligent search among Chicago's advertising men failed to find one who would undertake the promotion of his herb tea. They herb teas and drink them. The only thing for knew the people would no longer bother to make herb teas and drink them. The only thing for the man to do was to compress his herb into a tablet or a candy. He did so and made a fortune. Had he gone ahead with his own plan regardless of the advertiser's advice, he would have spent thousands of dollars before he would have learned the simple little lesson that any well educated advertising man could have told him in five minutes: namely, that there is a fashion in medicines as in everything else, and herb teas were decidedly not the fashion. Neither are heavy iron cooking utensils, rag carpets, chromos, wax flowers, haircloth furniture and numerous other things that were once eagerly purchased. The advertising man must positively know the wants of the public.

And now for the third point, the proper presentation of the article. Flashy, pyrotechnic advertising will not do, if one is to appeal to the great average intelligent class of people. Such advertisements may catch a few unthinking people, the kind who run to every fire, but it will not build up a steady, thriving business. You must remember that the people who run to one fire will to another. Your great pyrotechnic display may call forth the crowds while it lasts, but let another fire break out in another quarter and away they go. The kind of advertising that pays is the kind that establishes the strong points of a commodity, an enterprise, or a man in the people's minds so strongly that they hold to it year by year. It is the advertising that teaches and convinces, beginning with its first appearance, and subsequently substantiates every point made and makes others. It is an educational campaign, attractively carried on.

From the foregoing it is readily seen that advertising is not an art to be explained between the covers of a text-book, passed on by a school

« AnteriorContinuar »