The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-03-20
THE LESSON OF A LIFE.
Advertising World.

more widely known than any othe
mortal Oh the glObe-Gerhard Mcnnen
Gerhard Mennen-Not reader O
The Advertising World but has seer
that name coupled with the words
"Borated Talcum Toilet Powder" in
hundred places, and always accom-
panied by the trade mark ofthe owner
face. He was the most ubiquitous O
advertisers.
Fifteen years ago, Gerhard Menner
was RUNNING drug store in Newark
working fifteen hours a day and sever
days In the week to keep things to
gether, for the drug business was beins
decidedly overdone. Mennen was Z
man Of greater ideas than the average
druggist and soon originated "onc
night corn cure"and doomed it mod
estly into quite brisk selling article
The reign of corns, however, was dc,
parting with the advent of the modern
well-ftting shoe, and he turned his at.
tentiOn to discovering something ol
universal demand. He found it In q
"Baby Powder" useful alike for infants
and adults Of either sex. Gerhard
Men men did not make the first baby
powder, for druggists the world over
were making the article, but he did
produce superior grade of baby pow.
der, and, d,-here is the meat of the ar.
ticle-advertised it.
The writer does not believe that Ger
hard Mennen f1resaw the extent to
which his baby powder business would
grow at the time, but the pan was evi-
IDENTIFY deeply imbued xfS the wis
dom Of constant publiciS md re 'olved
to go to the bottom of lne theory "ad-
vertise to the limit; the returns VIII
come"
Mennen wisely stuck to his drug
store, which was now paying well.
Every Saturday night he paid off his
help, settled his bills and set apart q
modest living expense and every cent
Of money left over he spent in advertis-
ing Talcum Powder. This continued
Tor months with but moderate results
md finally Mennen resolved to test the
The theory to the full and began to
plunge"
In his selection of advertising me-
1iums he was shrewd. The "plunge"
began by the taking of one whole page
'ne Sunday in the New York Herald
It cost of five hundred dollars. Then
ollowed syndicate advertising through
he best papers in the country. and
ystematic magazine exploitation.
1t was a crucial time. Every cent
hat the man had was going into the
he hopper and the sale of Talcum
Powder was not responding in proper
ion. Talcum Powder was literally "a
lrug on the market" form expectation
If vast sales enormous quantities had
,een manufactured. The bills for ad-
kept piling up and according
o Mr.. Mennen himself ran up to three
dollars day-a sum which
vas sucking the life out of his re-
ources.
~ could not sleep nights" said Mr..
Iennen afterwards to a friend, refer
ing to that time "Ruin was staring me
n the face and L walked the streets
how to meet my bills and
rying to prepare for the crash which
eemed inevitable. Then, suddenly
nd withou warning, the tide turned
nd the Whole country, North, East,
outh and West, seemingly went mad
yer my Baby Powder. In single
'eek my large stock melted away and
he orders pouring in kept us hustling
we could not begin to fill them.
In 1901, the proprietor of the Baby
'owder spent quarter of million
ollars in advertising. All the sure
lediums of publicity, newspapers, ma
azines and bill boards were used to
le limit. Five thousand dollars for
ne page in magazine was nothing
,e results were promptly forthcoming.
The lesson to be drawn from the ex-
crience of this shrewd business man,
ut off from life by pneumonia at the
&c of forty-fve-dying a millionaire
simple. Concentrate on a single ar
Gle of merit, and advertise it with
nlldog tenacity and the results will
'me as sure as Spring follows Winter.
erhard Mennen's experience is that
every successful advertiser to-day. 1t
up to every reader of the Advertising
iorld to Ego thou and do likewise"
t4ss EDGAR d. PRICE,
Irvington, N. j.
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