Favorite Historic Advertiser

The assignment was to write about their favorite historic advertiser, their method of advertising and why they liked it (referenced in their book The Copy Workshop Workbook by Bruce Bendinger). These are their responses, and very good ones at that.

Advertiser: David Ogilvy

Response 1:

David Ogilvy is by far my favorite historic advertiser, and not just because we share a first name (although that can’t be overlooked). What Ogilvy did, and I hope I am not misreading the information in the book in thinking he was the first to do this, with personifying his ads was ingenuity at its best.” The man in the Hathaway shirt” is the first we read about in the book, and this was quite possibly the most memorable thing in this chapter, just because of the way Ogilvy created this. The poetic style of this slogan sticks in your head and immediately brings to mind the handsome eye-patched man standing tall and proud, looking ever so good in the very product he is selling. This repetition of use of the man (Ted Turner I believe his name was) effectively burns the image in the consumer’s mind, forever imprinting the idea of the man in the Hathaway shirt. Repetition with this is the key.

Again, he did this with the Schweppes ad. “The man from Schweppes.” And using the classy, sophisticated, well-groomed man as the face of the ad, it again burns the image of his face into the consumer’s mind. Repetitive use of this face and the appeal it has to his audience, the “I want to be just like him, so I’ll use his product” factor really makes these ads effective. It is hard to say that one of these historic advertisers is better than another, for they have all contributed so much to the industry and without a single one of these men we would not be anywhere close to where we are today. However, I am most particularly fond of David Ogilvy and the work he did with putting memorable, distinct faces to his advertising.

Response 2:

I chose David Ogilvy as a vintage adviser whose advertising methods were remarkable and stood out amongst his competition. His campaign “at 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this news Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock” were ahead of his time when it comes to descriptive advertising things stands out. When you hear the loudest thing in a Rolls-Royce, you can’t help but think this car is fast with a soothing sound engine.

Ogilvy main advertising method was to write from one human being to another human being. This advertising method is always something I look for in an advertisement. The best advertisements appeal on an emotional level to the consumer. If you connect on an emotional level, then you have the consumer wanting more, and you know you have their attention. Ogilvy image method was also the start of a new age in advertising. The Hathaway story is a great example of Ogilvy using image, the images he chose made you want more.

Response 3:

My favorite historic advertiser would have to be David Ogilvy. I personally enjoy his method of advertising from one human being to another human being. I enjoy his style of copy so much, that I follow this very method in my copy work. Ogilvy also does an excellent job of making his advertisements easy to read by filling them with humor. This keeps the consumer engaged and not just breeze past the ad. The witty snippets he likes to include translate very well to the viral nature of advertising in its current state. Ogilvy’s off the wall eye catching ability is memorable at the very least, as well as highly effective. Ogilvy is the kind of advertiser I want to be. He is fun, quirky, and memorable in his work. Another reason I am drawn to Ogilvy is his individuality and disdain for rules.

Advertiser: Bill Bernbach

Response 1:

Bill Bernbach caught my eye when reading chapter one in the textbook, for his unique way of capturing his audience.  The graphics on his pages were so different than anything else in that time, especially the way they were positioned and sized on the page. He know how to give his audience the maximum amount of impact. I personally like the approach he took on Levy’s Jewish Rye Bread.  The headline on each ad was “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s” and each page included a picture taking up the majority of the page of someone of an obvious culture or social group, smiling while eating a sandwich.  The ad was eye catching, and targeted multiple groups of people.

Bill was a visionary in that he found a way to point out a company’s flaw and turning it into something positive.  If a company was number two to another company in the same business, Bill knew to point out that they were number two because they were a smaller franchise.  He relates a company to the average reader, and makes them appreciate their hard work to get to the top.  Each ad possessed an eye-catching graphic to go with the copy. Additionally they had an attention-grabbing headline that drew you into the copy. Bill Bernbach had a gift for being different and realizing a negative can be turned into a positive.  

Advertiser: Rosser Reeves

Response 1:

Rosser Reeves is my favorite historic advertiser.  He is my favorite because he found something unique about his product and focused his energy on that uniqueness.  His way of promoting products was different in its own way.  I enjoy his M&M and Colgate slogans. I believe they had a big influence on consumers back then because the slogans would have made me want to buy those products.  Which is why I like him even more, because his 60-year-old slogans would still work today.

Along with that, I like his tactics because he was trying to sell more than just the product it self, he was also selling the benefit of that product.  He would find something his product had to offer that his competitor’s product could not or did not.  Then he capitalized on it.  Also he came up with catchy slogans that go repeated over and over in the consumers head, which created brand awareness and recognition.  

Response 2:

Rosser Reeves; author of Reality in Advertising, chairman of Ted Bates and Co., and my favorite historical advertiser. I like the idea Mr. Reeves had about finding a unique aspect of your product and finding a way to put it out for the consumer to see or hear repeatedly. I think this is effective because if you hear something over and over again it automatically gets stuck in your head, and you start thinking about it at random times of the day. If it’s a fun or catchy slogan or song, it’s fun to sing along or say it along with the radio. For example, if it’s late at night and I don’t know any numbers for a pizza place I automatically hear the pizza shuttle song in my head and can get the number from the song, because it is played so much. In Rosser Reeves case, he had the M&M’s and Colgate slogans so popular that consumers automatically pared the slogan to the product.

Not only can you use slogans or jingles to catch someone’s attention, you can also use characters that go with that product. An example of using a character in an ad is the AJAX commercial, not only do you notice the fun commercial but also the little elves advertising AJAX. Rosser Reeves also believed that you couldn’t just make the ad different, you had to make it in a new and interesting way to attract people to it.  One of the things he said in the book was not every ad has to contain fine writing but it needs to work effectively, that really made sense to me and I respect that type of creative writing.

 

Advertiser: Leo Burnett

Response 1:

The historic advertiser that caught my attention based on the readings was Leo Burnett. Beside the fact that “everyone loved Leo,” he seems to be a guy who genuinely cared about what he was doing. His advertising “showed love and respect for people” writes Bendinger, “It felt homegrown and authentic,” which only makes me like Burnett more. When he started his agency, people were telling him he would be selling apples on the street; he pushed on and ended up with one of the largest agencies in the world. Burnett believed in “inherent drama” that is, that the advertisement emphasizes the benefits of purchasing a product and he believed in Middle America (who thought the way he did).

His company had long-term campaigns that didn’t change even when the creative team did. They stuck with the same brand images, freshening them up to stay with the times. “The mission of the Leo Burnett Company is to create superior advertising.” I think they have achieved this by making those long-term campaigns that are still well-known today such as: Tony the Tiger, the Keebler Elves, Pillsbury Doughboy and Charlie the Tuna. I think Burnett believing in “inherent drama” and putting that to use in his advertisements along with the brand images is a brilliant idea to go on. Not only does it make a company/product grab your attention and make you want to know more, it is memorable. To this day there are apples in the lobby of his agency in Chicago – it’s like their own branding.

Response 2:

My favorite historic advertiser would be Leo Burnett. His style worked with and aimed at hard-working Middle Americans, which I would consider a lot of Kansas to fall under that category. Also his advertisements were based on simple imagery and inherent drama. I feel like simple imagery is the easiest way to get a message in front of your audience, and with hard-working Americans I think it’s a perfect match. Middle Americans don’t want sophisticated images and copy; they want to know that the product is hardworking and simple like them.

When Burnett wanted his ads to have inherent drama, I think he meant that the ad or image with the product could build upon itself for years to come. After a while that imagery with that product would be known to its audience that they almost don’t need to see the name of the brand but instead see the ad and its style and know exactly what brand it was for. The Golly Green Giant and Keebler Elf’s have been around for so long that I would only have to see them on a paper or walk onto screen to know that I would be seeing a green bean or cookie ad. This knowledge that this product has been around so long and actually knowing what it is or where to get it, also builds a trust between its aware audience and the product. I would think people would be more likely to buy a product they know has been around for a long time when seeing the elf or green giant in a store aisle rather than some random product. 

Response 3:

My favorite historic advertiser was Leo Burnett. His work was so profound that many of his company’s creations are still in use today. For example, Charlie the Tuna, the Phillsbury Doughboy, the Keebler Elves, Tony the Tiger, and the Jolly Green Giant are seen regularly in advertisements. I liked that Leo used daring strategies that many were afraid to try, like putting red meat on a red background. He also took chances, like moving a cigarette company to Marlboro County and changing its British name to Marlboro. He was not afraid to stick with ideas because he knew that it would help create brand imagery (Marlboro Cowboy). Leo Burnett’s advertisements are enjoyable because they are lively, memorable, and personality prevails through the ads. My favorite Leo Burnett ad was the Altoids Wintergreen because it was funny and reminded me of the classic movie “A Christmas Story.”  

Leo Burnett is my favorite advertiser because of the way he ran his company. He had everyone working together on projects, even from different departments, because they would bring different perspectives to the table. Burnett’s company always put the client first. His company had fun, but also put in a lot of hard work. His company was smart in the fact that they sold the “inherent drama,” which is selling the idea through imagery. I as a consumer enjoy smart imagery in advertisements, rather than reading text about the product. It is faster, simpler, and gets the point across. I really love Leo Burnett’s company’s slogan because it really pushes advertisers to not be afraid to go above and beyond. Here is that slogan, “When you reach for the stars, you might not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”

Response 4:

I really appreciate Leo Burnett's advertising work. I noticed that a lot of his advertisements are still very famous after over 75 years. They are a more simple type of ad, yet remain very eye catching while still getting the point across. I also found it cool that his ideas derived from others ideas. An example of this came during the Marlboro ads. I found it cool to learn that this all derived from the King Ranch in Texas, which I have some connections with.

The fact that some of Burnett's advertisements are still the basis of many companies says a lot. He continues to live through his hard workers under a business built upon his ideas. Marlboro still will pull out a cowboy for a few of their ads and he Keebler Elf is on every single box and ad that they put out. I feel that Burnett's ads will continue to live and be the face of many companies today.

Response 5:

One of my favorite historic advertisers I have read about it Leo Burnett. There are several factors of why I am a big fan of Leo Burnett including his ability to stretch his boundaries. Leo wasn’t afraid to go above and beyond to become who he is today. By doing such ads as putting red meat on a red background; creating such characters as the Jolly Green Giant, the Pillsbury Doughboy, the Keebler Elves and others. Leo’s great mind is still on display today as most all of his characters he created decades ago still live on to this day. What I love is most all of these ideas started out small, but once they gained traction they just exploded into something huge.

What made Leo so successful was his ability to create “homegrown” and truly “authentic” advertising. It was something that was friendly to all and had plenty of strength behind it. Leo believed in “inherent drama” which means he believed in going up against controversial issues and interpreting reality in it. Leo’s ability rubbed off onto all of his employees. His agency has immense teamwork, great client partnership, and long-term (and very successful) campaigns. There is no wonder why Leo is considering one of the greats of all time by many.

 

Advertiser: Claude Hopkins

Response 1:

My favorite historic advertiser is Claude Hopkins. The way he saw advertising was by not thinking of “people in the mass, but rather as an individual who is going to like what you are selling.” I liked that, because I feel like if you give a message as if you were talking to a single person, that person is more likely to like the brand or its message. I agree, of course, to a point where the message is not too intrusive to the person. His quote also reinforces what the book says, “talk to people, one at a time.”

Another reason of why Claude Hopkins is my favorite historic advertiser is because he invented “pre-emption.” I think that’s a real good advertising technique, because you get to play with a “product’s feature or a quality generic to the category.” One of the examples in the book is “It’s Toasted” which is a slogan for a cigarette brand. I think this technique is useful and gives results, and we know that by present brands using “pre-emption.” These are the reasons of why Claude Hopkins is my favorite historic advertiser.

Response 2:

Times have changed quite a bit since the early 1900’s when advertising was just being figured out. With the technology and knowledge of what has worked and what hasn’t in the past, there are many admirable advertisers of today to look up to. But who I admire the most was around since the beginning. Claude Hopkins was a copywriter for the company Lord & Thomas in 1908. The words he put in ads made millions for his clients, and he put his secrets into his own book called Scientific Advertising. In his book Hopkins says gives great advice that stands true today. Don’t look at people as a whole, you must think of a typical individual who wants what you’re selling. He also says An advertising man studies the consumer and tries to place himself in the position of the buyer.

Hopkins also came up with the “pre-emption” technique in which you take feature of the product or a generic quality it may have and make it yours, and “image” advertising. While words were his strong suit, there is no denying that people have a stronger reaction to pictures. One of his biggest “image” ad successes being Palmolive soap, that we all know and love now, but at the time it was just an unknown soap made of palm and olive oils. Another technique that helped with his success were free samples and free trials. His ads for items just as Sunkist orange juice and Van Camp’s baked beans are classic and will always be a great source of inspiration and learning.