By Claude C. Hopkins and Troy S. Laughren

© 2005 Troy S. Laughren All Rights Reserved
No part of this 2005 version May be reproduced in any form.

A person who desires to make an impression must stand out in some way.  Being eccentric, being abnormal, is not a distinction one should desire.  But doing admirable things in a different way gives one a great advantage.

So it is with salesman, in person or in print.  There is a uniqueness that belittles and arouses resentment, or there is a refreshing uniqueness that enhances, which we welcome and remember. Fortunate is the salesperson who enhances.

We try to give each advertiser an attractive approach.  We make him distinctive, perhaps not in appearance, but in manner and in tone. He is given an individuality best suited to the people he addresses.

One person appears rugged and honest in a product line where rugged honesty counts.  One may be a good fellow where choice is a matter of favor.  In other product lines the person stands out by positioning himself as an authority.

We have already cited a case where a woman made a great success in selling clothing to girls, solely through a created personality which won their hearts and minds.

That's why we sometimes sign ads - to give them personal authority.  A man is talking - a man who takes pride in his accomplishments - not a "soulless corporation."  Whenever possible we introduce a personality into our ads.  By making a person famous we make his product famous. Bill Gates at Microsoft, Steve Jobs at Apple, Ronald McDonald of McDonalds and so on… When we claim an improvement, naming the person who made it adds to the effect.

Then we must take care not to change the persona of that individual that has proved appealing.  Before a person writes a new ad on that product line, he gets into the spirit adopted by the advertiser.  He plays a part as an actor plays it.

In successful advertising great pains are taken to never change our tone.  That which won so many is probably the best way to win others.  Then people come to know us.  We build on that acquaintance rather than introduce a stranger in strange costume. People do not know us by name  alone, but by looks and mannerisms. Appearing different every time we meet never builds any confidence. We don't want people to think that salesmanship is made to order, that our appeals are created, studied, or artificial.  They must seem to come from the heart and the same heart always - save where a wrong tactic forces a complete change.

 There are winning personalities in ads as well as people.  To some we are glad to listen, others bore us.  Some are refreshing, some ordinary.  Some inspire confidence, some caution.