Sunday, February 14, 12:47 AM
Dear Friend,
I’m sleeping on the couch alone in my home office tonight of all nights… Valentines day!
What the heck did I do wrong?
All I know is the Colombiana reacted quite strongly (and not in a POSITIVE way) when I presented her Valentine’s Day card.
Here’s a copy:
And here’s page 2:
Ladies, can you help me out and explain why the Colombiana got so upset?
Ain’t I a stinker! 
I’m just having a little fun with you today… but there is a marketing lesson in all this.
My, how times have changed!
Imagine if you swiped an ad from this time period for a product sold to women. How successful do you think your swiped ad would be?
Swipe files are great for generating ideas and seeing what has worked in the past… but the key words are “in the past”.
Markets are constantly changing and evolving. Even an ad that was successful just a year or two ago may be a complete flop in today’s market.
So yes, go ahead and use your swipe files to study successful ads and generate ideas… but to really write a successful ad, you need to enter the conversation going on in your customer’s head… at this very point in time right now.
All the best,
P.S. Guys, just for fun, show the Good Wife’s Guide to your wife and tell me what her reaction was in the comments section below.
On second thought, that might not be a very good idea… unless you like sleeping on the couch.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
the needs of ME outweigh the needs of EVERYBODY ELSE!!!
Dan I dont see any problem with your meager requests on VD DAY!
lol
Dan, I had that ad about a year ago and took it to a family function to show the women of the family. The conversation got BRUTAL! Where did the good-old-days go to? (-:
For a real study in ad material I go to the main library and pull old magazines from the 1930's to the 1960's. What a great study that is. Dan
I got a good laugh out of it, too.
DD
Hey Dan, if you liked that one, you'll love these (and yes, these are real ads)..
http://www.curiousread.com/2010/02/sexist-vintage...
However, you might not want to circulate these (semi-NSFW, but too instructive to headline writers not to include — seriously, consider the work it took to find the shared interest between reader and copywriter)…
http://www.curiousread.com/2010/02/if-men-wrote-w...
Thanks, John. Those are hilarious!
DD
Dan & John,
I liked the second post, If Men Wrote Womens Magazines. Pretty funny for us guys. Wouldn't the world be different if men wrote them, though? I think women totally miss the boat if they always get their answers to relationship questions from other women; what makes them think if they don't know the answers another woman does?
There must be a marketing or copy writing lesson in there somewhere……like if you want to learn something, learn it from someone who has a proven answer.Or, learn to look at things from the other side.
Owen
Definitely a copywriting lesson in there!
DD
I will be sleeping on the couch today AND tomorrow! Plus, as an added bonus… I "get to" cook my own meals.
lol
You can't say I didn't warn you.
DD
Thats so true!
My granddad lent me a big book, which was a collection of newspaper ads and articles from a particular newspaper in Australia, from 1890-1993.
I saw a weight loss ad in the 50s with the headline…
“I am PROOF You Can Reduce And Stay Reduced With The Tafon Eat-And-Reduce Plan”
I am not sure how well using the word “reduce” would work nowadays!
My wife asked if you were a newly wed?! Something about not learning your lines yet!
Thats so true!
My granddad lent me a big book, which was a collection of newspaper ads and articles from a particular newspaper in Australia, from 1890-1993.
I saw a weight loss ad in the 50s with the headline…
"I am PROOF You Can Reduce And Stay Reduced With The Tafon Eat-And-Reduce Plan"
I am not sure how well using the word "reduce" would work nowadays!
I haven't seen "reduce" used in weight loss ads since probably the 60's.
How things change, huh?
DD
Dan,
That early vitamin ad–with the "Sexist" ads–was great! Too funny. Got me to thinking about how we will view our current nutritional supplement and muscle building ads. My guess is that in 20-30 years we'll be even more aghast at the current days nonsense!
You make a great point with this–one I've brought up a number of times with people. So many "experts" are selling the "what worked" solution–not at all considering the rising and changing consciousness of the public and consumers.
If you've ever seen "The Pendulum" presentation at The Wizard Academy than you have a sneak preview into how things are currently changing–and what the future will bring. When you can get ahead of that curve, you win.
Times have been changing… and most marketers will figure it out the hard way 5 years after it's totally shifted.
Thanks for the reminder.
Shawn
You bring up a really important point, Shawn:
"…changing consciousness of the public and consumers."
I'm re-reading "Breakthrough Advertising" by Gene Schwartz at least one a month. It contains some really detailed info about the different stages of markets and how to address each different phase. I'm hoping that will help me stay ahead of the curve.