COLUMNIST – COPY CLASS
Where’s Rosser Reeves when we need him?
HERSCHELLGORDONLEWISrecalls
theadlandveteran’stimelessphilosophy.
Mostcopywritersdon’tknow WhatUSPcanofferus Thesearecodifiedinthree
whoRosserReeveswas.Pity. WhatseparatesUSPfromall linkedstatementsthathave
Powerful
Thatthisfellowisn’tpartof thoseother‘Here’showtosell’ survivedforalmosthalfa
presentationof
theirhistoricalbaseisn’t advisorieswasandisa century.
surprising.RosserReevesdieda double-barrelledphilosophy. Thefirststatement:
auniqueselling
quarterofacenturyago. Thefirstbarrel,onethata “Unlessaproductbecomes
Thatwasbeforethemajor majorityofadvertisingagencies outmoded,agreatcampaignwill
propositionis
sophisticatingfactor,theWorld resistedthenandresistnow, notwearitselfout.”
WideWeb,existedasa wasanapproachbasedonthe Thesecondstatement:
wherethe
commercialmedium. propositionthatproductclaimis “I'mnotsayingthat
top-level
Reeveswouldbe100years amorepowerfulsalesweapon charming,wittyandwarmcopy
oldnextyear,ifhewerestill thanbrandimage. won’tsell.I’mjustsayingI've
copywriterand
alive.Soanyinfluencehemight Thesecondbarrelrefines seenthousandsofcharming,
havewieldedwouldbeobsolete. thefirst:Findandexploitwhat wittycampaignsthatdidn’tsell.”
thepotential
Right? mostpeople,exposedtoyour Andthethirdstatement:
Wrong! message,willacceptasabenefit “Youmustmaketheproduct
buyerget
Veteransofourongoingwar uniquetoyourproductor interesting,notjustmakethead
married.
toforceourfairmarketshareof service.Thatconcepteliminates different.Andthat'swhattoo
whateverwe’reselling,notonly thetoo-common‘fishforit’ manyofthecopywriters...
rememberRosserReevesbut approachtypifiedbylaundry don'tyetunderstand.”
–ifwe’resmartenough,astute lists–‘18reasonswhyyou OK?
enough,andsavvyenough shouldbuynow’. Here’smyownstatement:
–applyaprinciplehecodified. Powerfulpresentationofa Gothouanddolikewise.
ReevesheadedTedBates, uniquesellingpropositionis
anadvertisingagency(long wherethetop-levelcopywriter
sinceabsorbedintooneofthose andhis/herlawfulprey,the
multi-agencyconglomerates). unawarepotentialbuyer,get
Theseminalyearforhis married.Thebuyerismorethan
claimtoimmortalitywas1961, abuyer.Heorsheisan
theyearinwhichhepublisheda advocate,becauseresponseis
booktitled,‘Realityin toaclaimcompetitorsmight
Advertising’. havemadebuthaven’tmade.
Inthatbook,heexplaineda Thereactiontoa
philosophyofdynamic USP-generatedmessage,
marketinghecalledUSP–the properlyworded,parallelsthe
uniquesellingproposition. reactiontoaone-to-one
HerschellGordonLewisisthe
principalofLewisEnterprises,
Usingthistechnique,he encounterwithamerchantwho PompanoBeach,Florida,
fatheredsometimeless pointsouttoyouspecific
throughwhichheisavailable
advertisingcampaigns,suchas reasonswhyyoushouldtake
ascopywriter,consultantand
speaker.MrLewis’latestbook
M&Mcandy(‘Meltinyour advantageoftheoffer.
ishis31st.Phonehim:+1954
mouth,notinyourhand’)and Acomplicatedapproach? 7821750,orvisithiswebsite:
Pepsodenttoothpaste(‘You’ll No.
www.herschellgordonlewis.com
wonderwheretheyellowwent’). Regardedastoobasicby
Eventually,theadvertising toomanymarketers?
worldconcludedthathewas Regrettably,yes.
playingaone-stringfiddle,and
hisapproachfellintodisfavour. Threeexplanatoryquotes
It’stimetoresuscitate, Allofuswhotoilinthedirect
especiallyinourvibrantworldof responsecreativedungeonscan
directresponsewhichhas benefitfromRosserReeves’
postedthebansforformalising explanationsofwhathemeant
nuptialswiththeWeb. bybenefit.
20 May2009 www.dmi-news.com
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