New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-07


rnede IN the Imagination of his reader
a lot has been written about adyertis-
ING copy based on logic, or reason
wbv." but. as matter OF fact, most
advertising men are coming to reaIize
that "ar0umentative" advertising IS as
likely 10 repel as TO attract, ana thaI
tho easiest way into the readers IN
terest IS through the imagination
Now unlike the advertising experts
wbo nrepare the beautiful advertising
we see in the national magazines. the
donartment store advertising office al
wavs must do things in a hurry. Eacn
day is full. and there are thousands OF
limos Of merchandise 70 be offered 10
the public. in place Of just one product
oYered by the average national adVer-
tiser. Probably undoubtedly the
denartment store advertising writers
had the time. and if newspaper space
were not so expensive, they could turn
on, advertising which would MAKE inc
uublic rush to the stores, and It never
would be necessary TO name 4 single
comvarative value. As the Iact re-
mains. however, department store al.
vertising, like all other branches Oh
newspaper work. IS hurried, and there
is lust one appeal which can be maze
in a hurry and which IS understood ny
all womanldnd and that Is the fof-
,,icy selma DJice. If the store or de-
partment behind the comparative vaiue
named IS honest, the comparative price
will be an honest one. and II IT "a not'
neither Mr.. Adams nor The Tribune
will know the truth more quickly tnan
the women who answer that advertise
lneut by going 10 the store.
Comparative Values DO Not Sell Mer-
chandise.
And here is another point-an i'm
rortant one and one which Mr. Adams
eoerns TO have overlooked Compare
tive values do not sell merchandise
THEW merely attract attention to that
merchandise. aud il they have any IN
Auence ut all on the average shopper
thew serve to whet her appetlte-to
/ lead her 70 expect more value, and to
make her dissatisfied if the merchan-
! disc Is not actually worth more than
: the price at which il is offered. Thus,
/ if a garment is offered at $50 and Is
] claimed TO be of the $50 value, &c Is
not likely to make a favorable appeal
if the woman upon examination rnds
il is worth lust 500. or even bit more.
Needless TO say, the advertiser hasn't
the SLIGHTEST intention of sharpening
the public's critical faculties in using
comparative values, but 1t works that
/ way, nevertheless.
What the Comparative Price Tells the
Reader.
! As business is conducted nowadays,
/ E. 81 70 hn
1 certain retail price grades. If we take
women's suits, for example, We VIII
find that suits made to sell at $40 are
likely TO have better materials, Innings
and workmanship than suits made to
sell at $50, and that the $50 suit IS
/ better in these particulars than the
( S25 suit. and so on down the scale.
/ Now, then, if certain store has pur-
chased a lot of $40 suits and has sold
enough of them to establish the fact
that the $40 price is q fair one, but a
spell of unreasonable weather or some
p thing else interferes with business, and
it is decided to mark these suits down
to $50, in order to dispose of what re-
mains as quickly as possible, why is 1t
in any way misleading or untruthful 10
say Former price $40, now offered at
$780," or something equivalent thereof
. True, Mr.. Adams mas lald DOWN lne
dictum that things never are sold for
less than their true value, and he is at
least partly right. If that store could
be sure within a reasonable period of
getting $40 for those suits it is unlikely
/ that-except to stimulate buying in
other lines, where values are not so
good-the suits would be offered at the
reduced price. Consequently, in strict
est truth, Mr. Adams would say, they
are not worth $40.
AS matter Of fact they are not, and
not one woman in ten thousand fails to
see that if she had bought that suit
earlier in the season she would have
enjoyed more use of it before a new
season or mid-seasonal style changes
could detract from its desirability.
When the average woman reads such
an advertisement as | have suggested
she is attracted chiefly by the fact
that the suit offered Wds of the $40
grade, for that tells her it is made of
superior materials and that the work
manship is better than a suit she would
buy for $50, which had not been re-
duced in price.