Here’s a fantastical story about writing ridiculously profitable ads for you:
Many years ago Michael Senoff interviewed a guy (Michael Samonek) about his insanely popular (promoted all over the Food Network at the time) book about special effects recipes that move, and smoke, and do crazy stuff, that he sold primarily via direct response and media publicity.
And, at the start he talked about his main copywriting inspiration:
Comicbooks.
He said he just got fascinated by how the ads in those comics (pre 1990’s, when they were all direct response, before they started accepting boring corporate advertising) got into his soul and knew exactly what he wanted, even if he didn’t even know it at the time.
I suspect a lot of old school comicbook fans can relate.
Those ads were sometimes BETTER than the content around them — more fascinating, more exciting, and more interesting.
Mail-order millionaires were sometimes made from a single ad at the time.
But, you may wonder, exactly how did they crawl right into your soul?
Well, it went way beyond just “copywriting.”
In fact, the writing isn’t even all that great in a lot of them.
Look at the ridiculously popular Sea-Monkeys ads.
We ain’t exactly talking Caples, Halbert, or Bencivenga-level copy.
To understand what they were doing, you have to put yourself in the shoes of the average comic book reader at the time: introverted & awkward teenager who is an outcast and total “girl repellant” — scrawny, bullied, lived in his own head, thinks of himself as the damned amongst his peers going on dates and getting girlfriends… and using comicbooks as escapism to experience what it was like to be tall, powerful, and superhuman, and not so timid, awkeward, and afraid of his own shadow.
So he’s reading these comicbooks about people with superpowers.
And amongst these stories about people with super powers are ads.
But these ads did not just promise “bEnEFiTs!” like lesser copy solely focuses on. No, these ads promised something quite different. Something far better. Something literally irresistible no matter how bull shyt the ads sounded.
And what these ads promised the tortured, scrawny, “girl-repellant” yutes was:
Super powers!
* X-ray vision (like Superman!) glasses.
* Skinny-to-muscular (like the Hulk!) overnight programs.
* Long-lost ancient secrets from the Orient (like Iron Fist!) to kick ass.
* How to grow taller (like Hank Pym!)
* Pets (Sea-Monkeys!) that live in a little underwater magical kingdom.
* How to impress people with magic (Dr. Strange!) tricks.
* And even how to control other peoples’ minds (like Professor X!), become a “rockstar-level” guitarist (like KISS!) in 7-days, perform strong man stunts (like The Thing!), become rich (like Bruce Wayne!) selling newspapers… to becoming a secret agent with a spy camera (like James Bond!) – and all for just a postage stamp plus $1.00 for shipping!
Totally irresistible.
Anyway, they make great case studies for marketers.
Dan Kennedy ain’t just whistlin’ dixie when he says:
“What works to sell the incredible, sells even better to sell the credible.”
Powerful advice.
And often used by those who write powerful ads, emails, sales copy.
For more on the Email Players Newsletter go here:
Ben Settle
