New-York tribune., 1903-07-12
Careers for the Coming Men.
Practical and Authoritative Discussions Professions and
Callngs Open to Young Americans
XVII.
By NJ. NJ. GILLIAN.

To effectively advertise a business is one OF
the most important elements in successfully
conducting it. The competitive enterprise that
attempts to do without advertising has no
chance whatever to attain great success. 1t is
all very we'll to "Iet tell another" but that
sort of thing while the very best of advertising,
can only be inspired by deserving and made en-
thusiastic by large activities
There is a tendency on the part Of so-caled
advertising experts" to Shrow mantle OF mys-
terry over the art and practice of advertising.
and to claim that only transcendent genius
can properly present the attractions Of busi-
| ness to the public To my mind this is simply
rubbish.
The very heart and soul Of good advertise
ment is to hold up such phase Of the PROPOSE
| ton will present feature likely to appeal to
| the readers interest or cupidity. There must
| be sound business sense on the part Of the writer
or he cannot do it. He must have the capacity
| to be a good talking salesman or he cannot do
it Mere words prettily strung together. gram
| naticaI rhythmic, sententious what not, are
| not enough. Many years ago the late Eben d.
Jordan, of Boston said You must love your
| goods or you can't sell them" There is a world
of business truth in the thought
| The salesman who believes in his goods who
loves them, can surely sell them. He wouldn't
love them except for their fitness. tmeliness.
!
he can make possible customer enthusiastic
| for them. Nothing is more contagious than en-
| thusiasm. Without study, without special
! thought he will say just the right things TO stir
the interest of the visitor if that visitor is at all
| inclined to such a purchase
| This is of the biggest secrets Of the ad-
| vertising business
| There must be belief and enthusiasm behind
the advertisement if it is to do the best possible
| he Of indi
| effort behind it. Any advertisement matter
how widely circulated. is in effect, no more than
| a talk to one person. There may be million
readers, but to all intents and purposes each one
| is singly and alone absorbing what the adver-
| tiser says.
| The words may be joggly. the grammar may
! limp but If there are earnestness and enthusi-
asm in the work based on knowledge, it will be
| effective.
if there are quaint and striking expressions, pat
and pointed so much the better. Those things
help, but they not fundamental
| So much for the writing of an advertisement
| the part that to the tyro seems about all there
| is of it.
| AS to whether an advertisement should be
| wordy or not depends. If the desire is TO ex-
plain as well to attract there must be some
| talk Ordinarily, explanations are necessary-a
| shout as it were, to call attention. then an ar
! gument or a statement. If a new proposition
| is being presented, or phases Of an old one,
there should be some elaboration. How much?
There is. there be. no hard and fast rule
The safest plan is to err the side Of saying
too little rather than too much. Better leave
the grain Of wheat a little too bare than bury
it in a mass of chaf. 1t is always safe to credit
| the reader with a fair share of comprehension
The vital thing is to have such a presentation
| as will arrest attention and such sentence
Introductory as will pin it. if but for moment
| If the story is that the reader is interested
in he will read the rest of it, even if the type be
small and the space crowded.
| For instance the word rheumatism" in bold
| capital letters at the head of a story in solid
agate will be sure TO command the attention or
! any rheumatic sufferer who chances to see il.
and the more acuteIy he feels the twinges Of his
ailment the more carefully he Will read it.
| But a very large percentage Of all the adver-
! tising that is done is meant 10 appeal 10 the
general reader rather than 10 a special class.
That is why brief statements, in easily read
type with strong. eye catching head words. are
so necessary for the best results.
| Contrast is feature that is often made OF
great value in the presentation Of an advertise
nent Indeed unless there is some degree of con-
| trast with surrounding matter. the strikingness
| Of the advertisement is largely lost. In the IUs
| John Wanamaker adopted old style plea as the
| type for his announcements. using this for
| plain straightforward daily talk on store feat
ures of interest There were no display lines.
no eye catching features; the matter was set in
| single column and without leads
ProbabIy no more effective style Of advertis-
| ing was ever devised. The matter could b read
at a glance; it was conspicuous by contrast with
| either the usual reading matter Of the paper or
with the usual display advertising It was made
| still more effective by always appearing In the
same part Of the paper. This advertising
wrought something OF revolution in methods
for presenting the news Of stores. It was irni-
! tated and copied from ocean 10 ocean. In time
there was very little distinctiveness to old style
| plea put up in single column 1t could be seen
| IN the advertising Of maybe dozen houses IN
the same paper Then came general move ,
nent away from that type. and now IL is very
exceptional TO see any announcement IN plain
old style plea
The rise and fall of this type in advertising
favor illustrate the Importance of novelty ana
contrast in such publicity That particular race
OF type is just as good as II ever was. just [
as easy TO read. Just as conspicuous in contrast