Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1912-12-20
ADVERTISING COPY
NEEDS DISTINCTION
Most Successful Ads Are Those
That Attract Greatest
Attention.
BY GEORGE w. MERCER.

BY GEORGE w. MERCER.
If your style of advertising is to be
distinctive and In class by itself, or
unusual, your copy of every printed
announcement, or otherwise. must tell
a story In words or picture or both.
It must serve a definite, distinctive
purpose. indicated by some trade ne
cessity, season phase. public need or
transient circumstance. either singly
or jointly and universally. The ad-
vertisement that is not distinctive
and has not style Of its own Is the
advertisement which fails to bring
advantageous results. either directly
or indirectly. although not instantly.
no matter how cleverly written. Illus
trated. created or circulated.
There never was, or never will be.
an acceptable substitute for sound
metal legitimate goods. or honest
men. The conscious satisfaction Of
possessing the genuine. to say Doth-
ing Of the recognized and negotiable
worth OF the real thing. outweighs
every consideration for the tawdry and
the false, however artfully disguised.
Your advertising copy viii be distinc-
tive and will ring. or show solid gold
II 1t possesses that ingredient Of "a
carat It must be genuine to possess a
style Of its own.
One of the most distinctive adver-
Using features of any retail business
Is the merchants show window. II
is in his show window that the mer-
chant can create a style Of his own.
Originally. the window performed its
complete function when 1t introduced
into the establishment as much light
as its varying degrees Of opaqueDess
and the universal presence Of dust
laden cobwebs permitted. That was
in the good old days" before the
store window was promoted into the
sales division and forced itself into
its present place at the head Of the
procession as a money producer.
Light can be produced In various 9TH
er ways, but business drawn into the
store by reason Of goods displayed In
the show window cannot be obtained
In any other way. Hence. the mod
ern show window.
A Silent Partner.
The display In the window has be-
come q partner in the business A
silent partner. to be sure. but one
whose silence is particularly golden.
The power of the display window is
measured by the cash In the register
at the end of the week.
The real value of the distinctive
window display is measured by these
two standards Of business units: New
customers made and Increased sales
to old customers. Now. II anything
more can be asked from a bit OF
space confined within the limits Of q
pane Of plate glass. two walls and q
background. would Ike to have
someone name It. The development
that has come in recent years II
based on such a principle that n
seems almost incredible that 1t was
60 long In reaching the present stage
Perhaps that is due to the fact that
only within recent years was 1t dis
covered that window glass may be
cleaned by the use of certain com
pounds OF water, soap and elbow
grease, and 1t is surprisingly true that
we have some merchants on our mair
streets today that have not discovered
the peculiar properties Of the above
compound
The principle is this: Every one
wants to buy what he can" The con
verse of this principle is about 20 pei
cent. true, that Is. mo one wants t.
buy what he cannot see." Your ad
vertising copy. to be distinctive and
have a style of its own. must be JUS
as opaque as the merchants window
80 that "he who runs can read" Al
we are all running today.
Example Of Distinction.
One of the best known and distinc
tive advertisements that had a styl,
of its own of the pictorial class Tia
has ever been published was the fam
GUS Bovril illustration of the or II
the teacup. In addition to Its effec
tiveness for It's primary objects ant
purposes 1t was also. In striking de
gree. typical of the business tendenc,
Of the time-the condensation ant
capitalization Of whatever lends II
self to the process.
Advertising Is not an exact science
II II were everything could be dom
by rule Advertising IL an expert
mental science. Each case must b
treated on its own merits and In &C
cordance with its special conditions
II Is needless for me to say tina
one of the most engrossing matter
of concern In the conduct of moderl
business is advertising. It is no long
er theory but condition that con
fronts the merchant, and its compel
ing force is felt in every department
OF trade. Without advertising an IN
dertaking has little or no chance Il
the long run. Publicity is wave o
information which rolls along an
gathers force by its very momentum
Study IT over. your advertising. Stud
1t over. your copy. Study 1t. you
proof, and here in closing ] want .