The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-06-15
Testimony of An Advertiser.

OF the Willys-Overland Automobile
Company, at meeting Of the Toledo,
o., Ad Club should be of interest to
all advertisers, since it gives the opin-
Ion of the biggest advertiser in the
world on the value of newspaper ad-
vertising:
II do not know of q subject that is
SO intensely interesting. and at the
same time so confoundingly confus-
Ing as advertising. a lot Of us think
we know great deal about il; as a
matter of fact. nothing very definite
Is known or probably ever will oe
known of it. IL is an absorbing ctudy
in psychology.
THE only concrete and definite ad-
vertising advice that can be given a
merchant or manufacturer, is-to ad-
vertise.' When IL comes to WAYS and
means. the how and why. the advice
of the most talented advertising men
In America Is at best. partial COM
mercial gamble.
by that l mean just this-ddvertis-
Ing men naturally know their busi-
ness, but as to how the presentation
of the advertised product will take
with the people. no one can tell un-
I'll after the money Is spent in great
chunks. The outcome of an advertis-
ing campaign Is as uncertain as the
production of @ new play. No one
can predict with any amount Of cer-
tainty.
AS my technical knowledge of ad-
vertising is rather limited. | am Civ
ing what the boy asked the druggist
to give him. that is to say short
weight'-a small dose. A small boy
went to drug store and asked FOR
five cents worth of salts; while the
man was weighing 1t he said: Say,
boss. don't give full weight: 1t is me
that has got to take it,
while. as | said ! do not know
much about the subject of advert!s-
Ing. still / do not know of anything
that Is 80 intensely interesting. My
advertising man tells me that ] am
the largest individual advertiser in
the world I believe this must be so
If judged by the size Of my bills
that flow in at the end of the month.
But i believe also. and am proud and
pleased of the fact. that while / am
a big advertiser. my business has
prospered in proportion. My busi-
ness. as you probably all know. has
been pretty successful. and / feel that
no small part Of my success is due to
the proper. consistent. sane and
broad use of printers ink.
Some merchants occasionally suf-
fer slight attack Of what they term
Advertising They will take no ad-
vice from those who know; they kick
IL half tone costs twenty-five cents
an inch. claiming that they can have
Ii done for twenty cents-they loudly
claim the printer Is rough neck
and 'robber' and point To his COM
position charge as evidence. and last,
but most fatal. think four-inch ad Is
just as effective as twelve-inch ad.
For several months they continue
along this deadly course, then sud-
denly have a sinking spell, and final
ly flicker out of existence-dead to
the world
This is the type of man who says
that advertising does not pay. lie
never had a particle of practical en-
perience, yet he knew it all.
THE most successful advertisers i'm
the world are those who pick COM
petent advertising men and leave it
to their Judgment. The most unsuc-
cessful are those who pick incom-
petents and buy lot of cheap. mex
perienced advice.
"As you probably know. | am very
much against the big stick in poll
tics. but | am for it strong in adver-
Il
ries of strong. powerful, effective
blows. by that mean big copy and
often.
| THE advertising business has great
openings for young men. 1t is a
lgrowing business--but an infant The
demand for trained men is big. The
quicker YOU learn. the faster you pro-
ceed.
| personally. / ann a great believer
in newspaper advertising. The news
papers are welcome guests i'm every
home. and the newspapers have come
To be the guide by which people buy
almost everything from soap To auto
mobiles.