My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising (Advertising Age Classics Library)

For some reason that I'm not exactly clear on, I really don't find biographies or autobiographies to be that interesting. That doesn't mean that there aren't any interesting people out there; there are. For some reason I just don't find reading about other people to be that interesting. This book is an exception.

It is actually two books, not one: My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising. The first is the autobiography. The second is Hopkins' tips and strategies for getting the most out of your advertising and marketing efforts.

For once I actually enjoyed reading a biography. I think the reason is that Hopkins doesn't spend a whole lot of time talking about his life. He does talk about his life, he just doesn't spend much time on it and what he actually does say is interesting. Something else that made his biography interesting is that he actually talks about different advertising campaigns he did and how he made them successful.

In other words, he doesn't make that fatal mistake that most autobiographies make: he doesn't go on and on about himself until you are bored to pieces.

The second book is Scientific Advertising, and this is the most important classic in the field of advertising and copywriting. This book is so important to anyone that writes copy that legendary copywriter David Ogilvy says you need to read it at least seven times.

Many of the techniques outlined in this book that copywriters use today are techniques that Hopkins invented. Hopkins covers all of the most important elements of writing your copy, including headlines, art, and telling a story within your copy. He also shows you how to test your campaigns so that you don't waste your money on campaigns that don't work.

Whether you are a copywriter or a business person who wants to get more from your advertising efforts, this book is a classic and a must read for getting more from your advertising efforts.

This book is easy to read and is very informative. It is a must read.

Claude C. Hopkins (1866-1932) was a pioneer in the advertising industry. This volume consists of his two books: Scientific Advertising written in 1923, and My Life in Advertising written in 1927. NBC and CBS were founded around the time of Hopkins' retirement, so his work predated the broadcasting era. The media of his time were newspapers, magazines, and direct mail.

"Salesmanship-in-print is exactly the same as salesmanship-in-person." If the purpose of advertising is to sell, then its effectiveness can be measured by resulting sales volume. Hopkins tested ads on a small scale before risking money on a large-scale campaign. He also compared results using different headlines in order to discover the best performing approach.

"Never seek to amuse. That is not the purpose of advertising." Hopkins would likely be disturbed by a great deal of modern advertising where creativity overshadows salesmanship.

Hopkins used free trials to successfully penetrate markets, but he felt the word "free" cheapens a product. Instead he would say, "We will buy your first package." He did not find it effective to give away samples to people who did not request them.

"Some say, be very brief... That would be an unthinkable handicap... Every ad. in my opinion, should tell a complete story. It should include every facet and argument found to be valuable. Most people I figure, read a story once, as they do a news item. I know of no reason why they should read it again."

Scientific Advertising consists of 21 short chapters:

Ch1: How advertising laws are established
Ch2: Just salesmanship
Ch3: Offer service
Ch4: Mail order advertising - what it teaches
Ch5: Headlines
Ch6: Psychology
Ch7: Being specific
Ch8: Tell your full story
Ch9: Art in advertising
Ch10: Things too costly
Ch11: Information
Ch12: Strategy
Ch13: Use of samples
Ch14: Getting distribution
Ch15: Test campaigns
Ch16: Leaning on dealers
Ch17: Individuality
Ch18: Negative advertising
Ch19: Letter Writing
Ch20: A name that helps
Ch21: Good business

The vocabulary sounds surprisingly modern, with a few exceptions here and there, such as dilatory, folly, palaver, rudiments, and trifle. The prices (one cent postage stamp) and car brands (Chalmers, Hudson, Mitchell, Overland, Reo, Studebaker) add a bit of early twentieth century flavor.

Scientific Advertising (100 pages) may be purchased as a standalone volume. The autobiography (200 pages) adds additional context through stories about various campaigns.

With today's trend towards data-driven decisions and increased scrutiny of marketing budgets, this 85-year-old book is surprisingly relevant. While some of the techniques from Hopkins' time may no longer be effective, the fundamental message of Scientific Advertising is timeless.

This book is a must read for anyone in advertising.

There are real life case studies and little bits of advertising wisdom throughout this book.

There are two very valuable books here.

These books were first published over 80 years ago. But that does not in any way mean they are less important today than they were when first written. The fact that they have withstood the test of time and are still considered highly valuable works today validates the importance of the message.

The third paragraph of Scientific Advertising gives a preview of the lessons to be learned. "Therefore this book deals, not with theories and opinions, but with well-proved principles and facts. It is written as a text book for students and a safe guide for advertisers." They are both based on well proven facts.

Both books contain very valuable lessons learned by Claude Hopkins during his amazing career in advertising. He gives a very solid philosophy of advertising and then backs it with many actual examples of advertising in action.

If your business conducts any form of advertising, you would do well to read these two books. As Hopkins points out, "The only purpose of advertising is to make sales. Treat it as a salesman. Force it to justify itself."

A recurring theme of both books is all advertising must have a means to measure the results. "In no other way can real service reveal its advantage. Doing anything blindly is folly."

Most businessmen today believe they know their market. Hopkins has some strong words for those who rely on their opinion rather than testing the market. He says, "Sometimes those who judge the world by themselves, succeeded. Four times in five they failed. I know of nothing more ridiculous than gray-haired boards of directors deciding on what housewives want." "Only the obstinate bone-headed, will venture far on personal opinion."

Claude gives some great lessons in selling. "And every effort to sell creates corresponding resistance." Don't engage in selling. Interest those people who want what you have. Clearly show them the benefits of your product. But don't try to sell them. It will backfire. "Changing people's habits is very expensive." "People will do much to cure a trouble, but in general do little to prevent it." So don't try to sell prevention. Sell the cure.

There is some overlap between the two books. Some examples are cited in both books. But it is very interesting reading, learning how Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice were marketed. There are countless other examples of how appropriate marketing created demand and distribution.

It is easy to say that times have changes and what worked in the early 1900's will not work today. There is no doubt that a lot has changed. But not basic human behavior. So the principles are still the same. Your job is to learn the principles and figure out how to apply them to your product or service.

The two greatest lessons from these books are to measure your return and to get rid of your own opinion about what the customer wants. Learn to ask them. Find out what they want. Trying to sell what you think the market wants can be very costly.

Delightful and easy to read. Full of knowledge you can put to use in your business right away.