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wasn't rigged out to be an ad writer and I can't do it. I can close-haul a sail with the
best of them. I know how to pick out the best fish of the catch. I know just which fish will make the tastiest mouthfuls, but I'll never learn the knack of writing an ad that will tell people why my kind of fish -- fresh caught, prime-grades right off the fishing boats with the deep-sea tang still in it -- is lots better than the ordinary store kind. "But I can't explain it, at least you can taste the difference. So you won't mind, will you if I ship some of my fish direct to your home. It won't cost you anything unless you feel like keeping it. All I ask is that you try some of my fish at my expense and judge for yourself whether it isn't exactly what you have always wanted." This kind of copy sold tens of thousands of tubs of mackerel all across the country. And the reason this type of advertising succeeded was due to the character of an authentic Gloucester fisherman personified by Sackheim. Does this technique still work? You betcha'. Several years later a copywriter named G. Lynn Summer wrote an ad for a pair of pear growers. The ad with the headline "Imagine Harry and Me Advertising Our Pears in Fortune!" And here's how Summer wrote the copy: "Out here on the ranch we don't pretend to know much about advertising, and maybe we're foolish spending the price of a tractor for this space; but my brother and I got an idea the other night, and we believe you folks who read Fortune are the kind of folks who'd like to know about it. So here's our story:..." The prospect believes the pear growers actually wrote this message. Notice the simple language, just like a farmer might use. And how about the headline? I don't think that's proper English but it sure sounds just like we talk. This ad launched an entire industry of selling fruit by mail. Maybe you've heard of a little mail order company called Harry and David's. Could this concept work again? Yes, yes and yes. Joseph Sugarman (the man responsible for the incredible success of Blu-Blocker sunglasses) tells about a 1977 seminar attendee, named Frank Schultz, who sold grapefruit by mail. He'd never been able to make space advertising work until he wrote an ad based on the "character" formula. The headline is "Fluke of Nature" and his copy opens like this: "I'm a farmer. And the story I tell you is the absolute truth, as incredible as it may seem. It all started in a grove owned by Dr. Webb, our family doctor. One of the
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