My dad was an independent insurance agent.
But though he was not in advertising, he did once write
a couple of ads that got really good results.
The first was a small newspaper ad he ran when he and
my mother first got married — almost 70 years ago.
Mom and dad grew up poor and didn’t have money.
They were looking for an apartment in the Bronx, but
the rents were a bit too high.
However, dad didn’t want to disappoint his new bride.
So he wrote a small ad and ran it in the paper.
The ad in its entirety read:
“My wife doesn’t believe there is an apartment in
the Bronx available for rent at $70 a month.”
Within 24 hours, dad got a call from a landlord.
The man offered my parents an apartment in a building
he owned.
The rent? $70 a month.
They took it immediately.
The copy in dad’s ad wasn’t cutesy, or funny, or
sappy, or pleading, or emotional, or clever in any way.
It was simple, straightforward, and plain speaking.
And especially because it worked so well so quickly, I
believe there’s a good copywriting lesson in the
story of mom and dad’s search for their first
apartment.
Do you agree?
[headline type=”h3″ title=”Robert W. Bly”]
Robert W. Bly is a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant with 3 decades of experience in business-to-business, high-tech, and direct marketing. He is the author of –
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