I don’t think many copywriters enter the ad industry believing they’re going to be paid millions, never mind millions every year, but in 1907 one copywriter came along demanding just that… and he got it too!
That man was Claude C. Hopkins, a legendary copywriter who worked in the early 1900s on behalf of many companies, including: Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company, Swift and Company and Dr Shoop’s Patent Medicine company.
It was only after making some very successful ads for Schlitz beer that his fortunes grew astronomically. He was 41, and was approached by the advertising agency, Lord and Thomas. He agreed to work there full-time after being offered a wage of $185,000 – the year was 1907 – by today’s standards that comes in at a whopping $2 million. Nice if you can get it eh?
Several years ago my art director and I devised a campaign for Rolls Royce that we called ‘whispers’. The campaign was created in reaction to the belief within BMW Innovations (which ran the marketing for Rolls Royce) that Rolls Royce did not need to advertise due to the prestige nature of the brand.
Our ‘whispers’ campaign went like this. We had a new Rolls Royce Phantom that would basically be seen in all the right places. From Yacht Clubs in the South of France, to events around the world held at prestigious places where only the very A-list people would be seen.
A couple made-up of an older gentleman (think George Clooney look-alike) and his younger gorgeous model-like wife, would pull up for lunch at a Yacht Club or attend a party. They would be allowed to leave their Rolls Royce Phantom outside the front entrance or in the near vicinity… before walking into the party, enjoying themselves and then driving home.
Saturday morning, whilst tucking into my crunchy nut cornflakes, I watched a rather interesting news piece on the BBC about how newspapers are essentially suffering from a failing business model; and are looking at new ways to raise income due to the falling numbers of people buying papers… mainly because of the Internet.
Their immediate solution is to start charging readers a subscription fee for looking at content online, an initiative that is being championed by Rupert Murdoch, and admit that one day, newspapers will no longer be around.
As an ‘Ad Man’, I find something incredibly sad about the migration of newspapers away from traditional print and on to online. Especially as it seems very real that one day newspapers will no longer exist… especially with the rise of e-readers… meaning we could one day say farewell to the beautiful art-form that is the ‘long-copy advert’, which these days is a rare beast, but when it appears it’s a compelling and persuasive one.
I know… I agree… it does seem strange having the words ‘fun’ and ‘insurance’ in one headline but have you noticed nearly all the leading insurance brands are attempting it? I know that Meerkat has just popped straight into your head but it’s not the only insurance brand to be using a ‘character’ to try and instil more fun (and consequently more brand recognition of course) into the fight for your insurance quote.
We all hate getting them… whether its quotes for home, car, pet, buildings, contents (the list goes on) and all we really want is the lowest price with of course the most comprehensive cover, so is this approach working for insurance brands and how are they achieving it?
I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is you are only a few short words from success in your next email campaign. The bad news is that establishing what those “few short words” should be is a task that takes a great deal of deliberation and consideration. Well, it certainly should be. Subject lines can literally make or break an email’s performance – influencing everything from the opening rate to the click through rate. Obviously there are other contributing factors – the day and time of send to name but two – but without a doubt the key influencer has to be those “few short words”.
Now, I’ll be up front with you. I’m not going to give you a magic formula for “can’t fail subject lines.” For one thing I don’t believe such a one-size-fits-all solution actually exists. However, what I am going to give you is a series of tips and factors that you should always consider, when trying to establish what works for your audience. Bear in mind this is not a something you will complete in an afternoon. It will take a great deal of time and patience, but the rewards can be substantial.
A couple of months ago, I booked a weekend break with cottages4you – one of the UK’s leading holiday property companies and, incidentally, one of my favourite Red C clients (because they let me write copy like this). Just before I was due to go away, it was suggested that I write an account of my holiday cottage experience and post it here on this website. Naturally, I started to panic. What if it was a holiday from hell? What if I turned up to find a glorified tool shed decorated throughout with kitten vomit? Luckily for me, I needn’t have worried. Everything about the place was just about perfect… Read more…
Our love for our smartphones has led to two quite cringeworthy nicknames “iNat and Katieberry”. Which is best though? Is it my lovely white 16gb iphone 3GS or is it Katie’s sexy Blackberry curve? We aren’t the only ones to be having this debate, the internet is littered with articles and forums where other smartphone users have either argued their case or sought advice from other users before making that all important purchasing decision.
In terms of popularity, Research in Motion, the company behind the Blackberry phone, shifted 382,000 handsets in Q3 2009, compared to 254,000 iPhones sold by Apple.
Katie and I have given this some serious thought – she has tried to persuade me (even through some rap songs) but im pretty convinced that my iPhone beats her Blackberry curve hands down!… Over to you Katie… Read more…
Once upon a time, back when I was young and carefree, I dreamt of being an advertising creative. An art director to be precise. There was something about getting paid for drawing pictures at the pub that really appealed to me as a university student… I forget why.
It was during this time that I took a trip to the Tate Modern to get some inspiration for a Yellow Pencil winning idea. After an interesting half day I ducked into the gift shop and found myself face to face with this weeks’ book; ‘No Copy Advertising’ by Lazar Dzamic.
At Red C we love working with talented and passionate individuals, which is why we thoroughly enjoyed working recently with Trevor Forrest… who was the Cinematographer on our recent commercial for Cottages4you and also qualifies for the status of ‘bloody nice bloke’.
The Director of the commercial, Phil Taylor, told me how he had wanted to work with Trevor for a long time… and having worked with him on this project I can see why. The consummate professional at all times, Trevor worked his socks off to ensure the shot that was captured on camera was as lush and inviting as it could be… which has led to a great looking commercial.
Yep, it’s that time of year again where the whole agency get into the festive spirit and have a go at coming up with new ideas for the agency Christmas card! This year’s challenge certainly caused a stir with an extra sprinkling of motivation coming from the special prize of a brand spanking new iPod Nano for the winner. So everyone quickly huddled in their groups making sure their ideas weren’t over heard – we’re not competitive – honest.
And this year’s winner is… drum roll… Mrs Katie Shoard! Our Senior Copywriter.
The judges had a hard time choosing the winner but decided to go with Katie’s copy-based route that uses a quirky, colourful illustrative design that pokes fun at Christmas clichés and conveys Red C’s fresh approach.
I don’t think many copywriters enter the ad industry believing they’re going to be paid millions, never mind millions every year, but in 1907 one copywriter came along demanding just that… and he got it too!
Once upon a time, back when I was young and carefree, I dreamt of being an advertising creative. An art director to be precise. There was something about getting paid for drawing pictures at the pub that really appealed to me as a university student… I forget why.
At Red C we love working with talented and passionate individuals, which is why we thoroughly enjoyed working recently with Trevor Forrest… who was the Cinematographer on our recent commercial for Cottages4you and also qualifies for the status of ‘bloody nice bloke’.
Yep, it’s that time of year again where the whole agency get into the festive spirit and have a go at coming up with new ideas for the agency Christmas card! This year’s challenge certainly caused a stir with an extra sprinkling of motivation coming from the special prize of a brand spanking new iPod Nano for the winner. So everyone quickly huddled in their groups making sure their ideas weren’t over heard – we’re not competitive – honest.
