Albert Lasker, known as “the father of modern advertising,” called it one of the greatest and most important ads ever.
Partly, because it looked and sounded classy.
Partly, because it drove up sales.
But most of all, because it was the first ad to feature sex appeal.
I’m talking about the Woodbury’s Soap ad, which you can find below, if you are the curious type.
For me, it’s hard to get aroused by the sex in this ad. Yes, because I grew up with the Internet. But also, because the sex appeal in this ad was mainly targeted at women, and women and I have differing tastes.
Still, I get aroused by this ad for another reason:
The Woodbury’s ad is an example of a class of ads from the early 20th century, which were not really direct response ads the way we know them today… but which still featured a direct response offer.
For example, the Woodbury’s ad features an offer to write in and get a print of the beautiful painting in the ad, without the company logo or the ad copy. Oh, and you get a sample of the soap too, all for just 10¢ worth of coins or stamps.
The thing that’s interesting is that making this sale isn’t really the point of the ad. After all, this ad continued to run for many years after, without the direct response offer.
My guess is that the direct response mechanism initially served to tell J. Walter Thompson, the marketing agency behind this ad, how effective this ad was in terms of capturing readership, interest, and brand recognition.
Which I think is something you can use today as well.
As I’ve written before, we are entering an age where brand advertising and direct marketing blend. Not just for soap companies. For your own personal brand as well.
And if you do some brand awareness work… whether that’s a podcast appearance… or a livestream… or even a daily email in which you don’t have a product to sell…
It can make sense to put in an offer. Not the real thing you’re selling. Something else.
It can be free. It can also be quick and easy, without any back-end setup. And yet, it can help you gauge how effective your spiel was… and how valuable the channel in which you delivered it.
For example:
If you write me an email, I will direct you to a cool resource for learning more about classic ads like the Woodbury’s ad. These ads all hold great ideas that you can apply to your marketing today. And you can get them in a resource that’s available for free, online — and that I’ve never heard anybody talk about.
Like I said, just write me an email, and I’ll tell you what this resource is.
Oh, and here’s a sample of the Woodbury’s ad, all for just 0¢ worth of coins or stamps:
