I’ve been reading a 65-year-old book written by an old-school “Mad Men” ad agency era legend – “Communications of an Advertising Man” by the late Leo Burnett…
It’s eerie how long a time it’s been since that book…
…yet most of the lessons inside are still just as relevant today.
(And will continue to be – because they’re not based on trends, fads or algorithms… but rather on invariant human behaviour.)
If I copy-pasted the start of this chapter onto an article today, I doubt anyone could tell it was written in 1961:
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Revolt of the consumer – the problem of advertising today
National advertising – particularly national magazine advertising – is on the spot, and has been on the spot for a number of years.
This is manifested by a skeptical attitude on the part of many people you meet in ordinary contacts, but is more pointedly expressed by the rapid rise in organized efforts by the consumer to obtain honest, uncoloured information about products offered for sale and the values they represent.
This movement has come about gradually and has been ignored by many advertisers who have gone blithely on with their ballyhoo or self-glorification type of advertising.
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Well i hate to disappoint you Leo…
But things haven’t changed much at all – every day I receive a „ballyhoo or self-glorification“ type marketing email in my inbox…
- „Here’s Your Reload: 35% Off Today 💪“
- „📣 THIS WEEKEND ONLY: $2 Energy Cans!“
- „March Sale Has Landed! Up to 75% Off!“
Those are the Subject Lines of just some of the ballyhoo blatant sales pitch emails I received from different supplement brands…
TODAY.
And the people being skeptical side of things?
Yeah, that’s gone completely through the roof Leo – the moment people sniff out you just want to siphon money out of them…
…they’ll hit you with a „nice try diddy“.
(Don’t ask Leo, it’s a long story.)
You have to have – just as you said – „greater imagination, greater creativity and greater respect for public appreciation of fresh things“…
…to break down the Fort Knox level defense mechanisms people hold towards being marketed anything nowadays.
Sadly, it seems…
No one has listened to your timeless wisdom Leo – at least in this, supplement industry.
No one except…
This Frankie… the „Email Storyselling“ guy?!?
His emails aren’t like any other:
While others take the pretty-poster style graphic-heavy approach…
…he does plain-text emails.
While others run with the overly-transactional salesman-shouting-from-a-megaphone Subject Lines…
…his are always something interesting, implying entertainment, and are – frankly – even downright weird at times.
(A Subject Line of one of his emails – promoting some pre-workout – was „DIE!!“. That’s literally what it was, he has that email in the Appendix of his Book if you’re interested.)
While others promote 13 different supplements in a single email…
…he always just focuses on promoting ONE.
Whenever others zig…
He seems to zag.
And you know what the best part is Leo?
He is so generous that he offers to do that for OTHERS.
Yes, you can exchange your hard-earned money…
…for him to apply – what he calls – his „Email Storyselling“ emails…
…onto your supplement brand.
[Part of this email’s content has been removed from this Email Echoes version of it.]
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