Evening star., 1936-10-18
Simpler Words and More
Informative Methods
Bring Big Change.
NEED FOR INTERPRETING
ITSELF is RECOGNIZED
Pompous "Institutional' Copy
Gone-Publishers' Bureau Issues
Brochure Collection.
BY J. G. DONLEY.
Srecial Dispatch to The Star.

NEW YORK. October 17-Business |
is beginning to talk to the public |
through newspaper advertising in |
language the public understands. It
seems to this writer almost as II q |
great many business men have sud-
denly gone "horse-sense," and that
perhaps they may be using the same |
method so fruitfully employed by a
mail order merchant many years ago
The mail order man had in his en-
ploy young British girl. bit deficient
in English perhaps. but with keen
mind of her own and thorough un-
derstanding of plain human nature. |
She didn't know about copy-writing |
for mail order catalogues, but they |
couldn't fool her with forty-dollar
words.
Procedure in preparation Of a new
catalogue in that place was to take
each piece of copy for the catalogue to
Teresa. She would read it laboriously,
and ask what that mean?"-"what
you say here?"-"no understan' this"
After conferences with Teresa. each bit
of copy was rewritten until it went over
with the simple and sincere critic.
And Teresa asked lots of questions
about merchandise which served TO
change the emphasis of descriptive
matter. The.first Teresa-revised cata-
logue was the most successful piece of
selling matter the house had ever
put out.
Institutional Copy Fades.
Perhaps a great many people have
not yet noticed the change from the
old type Of so-called institutional
copy" because 1t has been scattered
about in localized newspaper adver-
tising. That sort Of copy was long re-
garded as something which must every
now and then be administered to the
public in order to SELL the prestige
of the company back of the product.
1t used to be pretty snooty, pompous
and stodgy stuff. Pictures of the plant,
the founders and sometimes allegorical
figures were used in a sort of church:
window effect, which, often as not.
brought about in the readers mind the
reaction that the men back of such an
outfit must be bunch Of stuffed shirts.
But the new institutional copy"
Is not at all Of a piece with the
old. The Bureau of Advertising of
the American Newspaper Publishers
Association has just issued a brochure
collection of advertising specimens
which throws interesting light on the
new note in business advertising. The
new copy is directed at new con-
ditions, and, as the specimen book
says, 1T recognizes popular dis
content which has been fomented
and kept alive by many vocal forces,
varying all the way from sincere re-
formers to plain demagogues. It is
born of opposition and seeks to meet
attacks. 1t is not wholly individual
istic. because it recognizes the COM
mon need of business to interpret
ITSELF"
Written for Customer.
Run briefly through the collection
OF advertisements in the A. N. P. A.
booklet and you will find that they
are written from your side of the
fence. For instance, a big chain
store company tells in Texas paper
how it spent $15,011, 1921 last year
with these Texans"-and it pictures
q circle of sketched-in faces repre-
senting truck farmer, fruit grower,
dairyman, etc. Up in Syracuse, N.
Y, a manufacturer of business ma
chimes addresses the community on
the subject of labor dispute.
Out in st. Paul bank prints a
picture of grumpy looking old ram
under the headline, From him comes
capitalism. the letterpress explain
ing that "in early times sheep and
cattle were used as currency. Being
counted by the head, they were called
"capitale" whence our economic
term capital and our common word
cattle" A baking company in South
Bend tells readers that the more din
ner pals filled with its bread, the
more dinner pals will be swinging,
because of the bakers own purchases
in South Bend.
Capital Transit Cited.
And the once high and mighty New
York Stock Exchange advertises a
free booklet on "its functions and op-
erations." This is tough on both
but it's worth It'll" A transit COM
pany in Washington, D. c., tells read
ers, explaining q track change which
may be costing you few moments
delay occasionally"
In language Teresa would under
stand, the National Association of
Manufacturers prints copy and pic
ture charts to tell the public its
side of "the myth about men and
machines"
''Fifty-eight Years of Friendly
Service to Albany" heads up an oil
company advertisement expounding
the idea that it is good company
to deal with" And so it goes-the
new keynote Is what business does
and can do for you, rather than what
it can do you for. May the senti-
ment sink in-for keepSl