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Suppose a newspaper article states that a certain women was the most beautiful in the
city. That article would be of interest to that woman and her friends. But neither she nor
her friends would ever read it if the headline was "Egyptian Psychology."
So in advertising. It is commonly said that people do not read advertisements. That is
silly, of course. We who spend millions in advertising and watch the returns marvel at the
readers we get. Again and again we see 20 per cent of all the readers of a newspaper cut
out a certain coupon.
But people do not read ads for amusement. They don't read ads which, at a glance, seem
to offer nothing interesting. A double-page ad on a women's dress will not gain a glance
from a man. Nor will a shaving cream ad from a woman.
Always bear these facts in mind. People are hurried. The average person worth
cultivating has too much to read. They skip three fourths of the reading matter which
they pay to get. They are not going to read your business talk unless you make it worth
their while and let the headline show it.
People will not be bored in print. They may listen politely at a dinner table to boasts and
personalities, life history, etc. But in print they choose their own companions, their own
subjects. They want to be amused or benefited. They want economy, beauty, labor
saving, good things to eat and wear. There may be products which interest them more
than anything else in the magazine. But they will never know it unless the headline or
picture tells them.
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