In 1911 at Earl’s Court station the people who ran the underground knew they've got themselves into a problem.
They just unveiled something no one had seen before.
It was totally unheard of.
A 'new machine' that could carry people between floors of the station.
An escalator.
It took everyone by surprise.
It's worth pointing out just how radical novelty this was at the time.
Remember, this was in the days of gas lamps and horse-drawn carriages.
The idea of jumping on the moving steps that would carry you up or down, until you got to the end and had to jump off was, put it mildly, not very appealing.
Women, who wore long skirts, were freaking the most.
Well, if I had to negotiate an escalator wearing those ridiculous skirts, I would have second thoughts myself.
Authorities put up posters and tried to reassure everyone of the escalator’s safety.
All in vain.
Londoners remained skeptical and refused to use the escalator.
Then someone got a brilliant idea. (Funny, isn't it. There's always someone with a brilliant idea.)
Proof always works better than a claim.
Legend has it, the railway company hired a one-legged guy by the name of Bumper Harris.
His job was simple.
Just ride up and down the escalator to show everyone how safe this machine was.
When the scared passengers saw him, they stopped worrying and hopped on.
Soon, everyone was using the escalator as if it was the most common thing and the problem was gone.
I admit I have some doubt about the truth of this story, but the lesson is clear.
Don't tell them, show them.
Putting up posters saying the escalator is safe is one thing.
Seeing a one-legged man using it effortlessly is something else.
It's a clear demonstration.
A fact, if you will.
Seeing is believing.
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” -Anton Chekhov
If you can demonstrate product benefits visually and dramatically, do it.
The simpler, the better.
People don’t buy the object, they buy the story, so dress it up, build a story around it, and let the story do the work.
Here are 9 legendary ads, that were executed in this way.
1. Here’s a timeless piece.
David Abbott was a hell of a copywriter and creative director that once put his life on the line to sell a Volvo.
First, you eyes are drawn to the floating cherry red Volvo in the air.
Then you see a guy in a suit lying underneath it.
Of course, it’s David himself.
Finally, you end up exactly where David wants you to, on his headline.
Now that Abbott has captured your Attention and piqued your Interest, you feel a strong Desire.
You can't resist.
"It’s so well built you can bet your life on it.”
You feel like you want to take Action, right?
AIDA
2. This famous Ogilvy’s ad is very factual, using short sentences in short paragraphs.
Ernest Hemingway would be proud.
The real beauty comes from the headline.
A headlines is the most important part of your article.
The majority of people use headlines to decide whether or not to read your piece.
Doesn’t matter how good or bad the content is.
If it has a weak headline, it won’t get read.
“On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar. If you haven’t done some selling in your headline, you have wasted 80 percent of your client’s money.”- David Ogilvy
3. Ever wondered how long does a VW beetle float?
It’s a question you don't get asked every day.
This was a clear demonstration of how watertight the car was.
4. "Are you in the market for the hardtop?” is now a legendary question.
Here is Volvo’s answer to the roll-over accidents that were so common on rural roads in Sweden.
5. Do you know how it feels like to sit in a Mercedes-Benz?
Ok, maybe you are the lucky one.
But let’s step it up a bit, shall we?
Do you know how it feels like to be shot at with an AK-47 in a Mercedes-Benz?
Hands down, the CEO shows he stands by his claim.
6. As Dave Trott pointed out in his blog, when you write your marketing copy, make the statistics dance. Dave Trott types here:
"When I was junior at BMP, we got a poster brief.
The brief was for the Renault 5, saying it did 56 mpg.
What the client wanted was just a shot of the car and a big headline: RENAULT 5 – 56 MPG.
I thought that seemed a wasted opportunity, so I started playing with the statistics.
If it does 56mpg, how much petrol would it take to go 1 mile?
Well, there are 8 pints in a gallon and each pint is 20 fluid ounces.
So that’s 160 fluid ounces, divided by 56.
That’s roughly 3.5 fluid ounces per mile, give or take.
So what does 3.5 fluid ounces look like?
I looked in a cookbook and it said it was a tablespoon.
So that was our visual.
A tablespoon being filled by a petrol-pump nozzle.
And the headline, THIS IS ENOUGH PETROL TO DRIVE A RENAULT 5 A MILE.
So we ended up with a poster that was better than the original brief.
The only trouble was, I stopped thinking too soon.
Having got to the tablespoon of petrol, I should have kept looking for a more powerful visual way to demonstrate it.
About a year later I saw an American ad for Volkswagen Rabbit.
They’d been through the same thought process as me, but their ad was so much better.
Their visual was two hands holding up a kitchen towel soaked in petrol.
And the headline, THIS IS ENOUGH GAS TO DRIVE A VW RABBIT A MILE.”
7. Back to Volvo.
This one is outright crazy.
A normal ad would be like: "Buy this truck."
Volvo’s ad goes like: "Here's a ludicrous way to prove that our trucks are the best and that you should buy them.”
Love it.
8. How do you demonstrate the new Volvo FMX's 300 mm ground clearance?
Hint: Roland Svensson's head measures 275mm.
This is what 'put your money where your mouth is ‘ means.
he guy didn't even flinch.
9. When Volvo introduced the dynamic steering system it has put into its new trucks, it got Jean-Claude Van Damme on board to help it demonstrate its precision and stability.
So here's the most epic split of all splits.
IMHO, it’s a rare occasion where the word 'epic' is used correctly.
Legend has it Van Damme was pushing those trucks apart with his legs.
But I digress.
Yes, ideas are the currency of the 21st century. Yes, you can have brilliant ideas - truly revolutionary ideas - but if you can't persuade others to act, those ideas don’t matter. Companies do not struggle to create products. Rather, they struggle to communicate the products. Don't tell me you're a comedian, make me laugh. Anyway, I am just a guy noticing things. That’s my rant, I hope it resonates.
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