The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1919-07-03
ADVERTISING COMMON SENSE

At a big convention held this spring
the following short address on the
way to advertise was given by George
w. Talbot of Sioux Falls, man with
a big reputation and experience in
how the merchant can reach his Gus
toners.
Every successful merchant, and |
a part of his success to advertising
in some form or another. The warp
of the great business fabric of the
world is advertising. 1t is the fila
ment upon which the 'woof' or '6ller'
of the fabric is woven. 1t creates new
business and holds and increases es-
tablished trade.
1T is not too broad a statement to
say that the late world-war was not
only caused, but was won by adver-
tising," he said. THE influence of
advertising may have been indirect in
both cases, but it was present never
the-less The slogan: Made in Ger
many was without doubt, the indirect
cause of the conflict, and the virile
phrases, Join the Marines, Buy An
other Bond, ETC., had a lot to do with
the winning of it, | do not mean that
words themselves were directly re-
sponsible, but the action they stim-
ulated awoke' America and her allies
TO the Importance of the task at hand
Not all advertising is good adver.
tising, of course, and there are almost
as many opinions on the value of any
specific examples as there are read
ers of it. Many who are absolutely
unable or unqualified to construct an
advertisement feel competent to crit
icize the efforts Of others who may
have given a lifetime of study to the
subject. The only real test of an ad-
vertisement, | suppose, is the results
it brings but that is not always a
true test either, because conditions
existing at the time an advertisement
is printed effect the results it might
bring. | have seen what | thought
were wonderful examples of good ad-
of adverse weather conditions on the
day the advertised items were to be
sold.
The primary object of any adver-
tisement is to compel attention. That
is the reason newspapers use head
lines, and magazines pay high fees to
artists for illustrations for their Stor-
les. OF course, once the attention IS
arrested the advertisement must carry
a message of sufficient interest to holo
it and be couched in terms that car
ry conviction.
The subject assigned to me is
Newspaper Advertising-and newspa-
pers advertising is, or should be, moth
ing but selling talk. I'm afraid too
many advertisers do not realize that
fact, because their advertisements
sound differently to me than any sell
ing arguments | have ever heard used
by successful statesmen.
II said a while ago that the pri-
mary object of any advertising was
to compel attention, therefore news
paper advertisement must be attrac-
tive 1t must be distinctive. There
must be something about il that will
make it stand out from the other ad-
vertisements in the newspaper, be-
cause if it is a successful newspaper
it is we'll filled with ads, and if it isn't
a successful newspaper you should
not advertise in it. Don't advertise
in any medium with the idea of char
ity in your mind-buy your advertis-
ing space as you buy merchandise
and get what you pay for, And fol-
lowing. the same line of thought, dis
play your copy as you display your
goods, as attractiveiy as possible. The
public is apt to judge your store by
the appearance of your ads. just as II
is likely to judge your merchandise
by the general appearance of your
store
Most printers are just as anxious
to have your ads look we'll as you are.
They have professional pride in their
NOIh, Dul lew VI llclI diC iSoNs
ers, and if you don't give them a lay
out for your ad or at least offer them
suggestion as to how you want your
copy displayed, it is obvious that they
cannot follow your ideas and unpleas-
ant misunderstanding are apt to en-
sue. Another thing to remember is
that yoV are not the only person ad-
vertising in the paper, and that If you
get your copy into the hands of the
printer early, he can give you better
service than if you wait until the last
minute before the forms are closed to
file your copy.
when L said that your ad. should
be distinctive in order to stand out
above its fellows, did not mean that
it should be freakish. Above al
things keep your advertising up to the
dignity of your store. | once knew
a man who actually advertised him
self out of business by using freak
od IIo bod oOpd store and car