Why Your “Special Snowflake” Ads are Bound to Fail (and What to Do About Them)
I dipped my bucket into the veritable well of knowledge that is Claude Hopkins to find this gem for you.
If you haven’t heard of him, Hopkins was known as the father of modern advertising. His book, Scientific Advertising, is one of the greatest introductions to advertising ever written. David Ogilvy (the “King of Madison Avenue” and founder of the Ogilvy & Mather ad agency) said no one should be allowed to create an ad until after they read Hopkins’ book… not once, not twice… but at least SEVEN times.
Well, success does leave clues. And I’ve come to realize that the old Scotsman Ogilvy was right.
There’s something about Scientific Advertising that “catches” me every time I go through it. I can’t help myself. No matter how thoroughly I read, I just can’t resist going back to it like a drunken gold miner and shaking the pan again.
But I always find something shiny in that pan. Something that I can use and you can use, too.
Ready? Wait a second. All you “special snowflakes” out there, brace yourselves! I don’t want to damage your sensitive egos (too much).
Still with me? O.K. Now grit your teeth and repeat after me…