New Britain herald., 1926-06-24
A GOOD "AD"


 What constitutes good adver-
 tisement has been told to local
 business men, and the information
 no doubt was reliable and pointed.
 Yet. in the matter of ads. like in most other things, there is a differ ence of opinion among the experts. As every man writing advertise n,ents considers himself more or less of an expert, and as there is a great divergency in the character of advertising meeting the public gaze, 1t naturally follows there must be as great a difference Of opinion about this vital subject as there is about horse racing.
 Not posing as an expert, but merely as a reader of ads, and also noting how ads are read in the family circle, we naturally do not agree with all the experts as to the "best type" Of sales attacks. The idea that there should be minimum of words in an ad might annIv to some lines of trade but not to others. The first point about an ad is to compel attention, to get the reader to take notice as he turns the pages. This done, the job is to hold his attention and inter est long enough to whet his appe- lite for more information. And then. give him some convincing in formation about the goods and why fl would be to his advantage to buy them.
 It makes a difference, as said at the beginning. what one is selling. The most critical ad readers are the women of the city, and it usually takes more than q cryptic statement or a smudge of ink to convince them they ought to hurry down to Hassenpheffer's depart ment store and obtain some of those fancy silk hose being sold for less than half the usual price. II she reads how the hose are made, how they are double thick at the toes, are made of extra quality SIX from the famous Peerless mills. and are guaranteed to wear twice as long as the ordinary kind CT money will be refunded, she will be at the scene of distribution at 9 a. m. -- and incidentally buy other articles she read about in the ad.
 But try to tell her all this in half a dozen well chosen words it isn't being done.
 Perhaps there are many lines, however, in which the big-spaee- few-words system of advertising works well, at least so far as call ing attention to some standardized product is concerned. For years a | cereal food concern has been run ming attractive pictures with scarce ly more reading matter than the name of the product This adyar- Using depends upon re.teraion for its effect, year in and year out ! emphasis in the same way. To dis i cover what the ad ought 10 say one . must buy the stuff and taste fl. But then. the plan may be work ing satisfactorily to this concern, ! The fact that its advertising has not deviated in character for more l than decade would indicate what l some of the present-day experts are . is no new thing.
 The instance cited of an ad pie . turing hand turning a switch, which was chosen by an electric 1. concern as a stellar example Of ef- fe-,iye advertising, must be ana Iyzed with regard to inc field it oc- cupies. The ad illustrates tne con- of using electricity and electrical apparatus. Electric wash ing machines are being extensively |. but fancy any of their manufacturers, in a highly com petitive market, trying 10 tell housewife the good points Of any particular make by such methods. Before q woman pays out her money - or her h"bhy's - for q washing machine she wants to snow considerably more about it han what a picture or a three sord slogan can convey
 But as stated in the beginning. Iobody apparently knows all there B to know about adrertising Its echnical requirements seem to be hove the layman and the expert like. General rules and principles nay apply, with changes possible