Homage to John Caples -- or -- "I laughed when I heard the greatest advertising book in history had been revised, but when I saw the book!"
A Book Review by Dr. Joe Vitale
http://www.mrfire.com
When the American Marketing Association and NTC Books, Inc. hired me to write what was to become The AMA Complete Guide to Small Business Advertising, I knew I had a battle to fight. The greatest books ever written on how to write ads were still in print, and they were all by one man: John Caples.
Caples spent most of his long life writing and testing ads. He was a brilliant copywriter. Most agree he was a genius. In 1925, at the age of 25, he wrote what may be the greatest ad in history, an ad that has been duplicated in one form or another for more than six decades. It began with the now famous headline, "They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano, But When I started to Play!--"
Caples was elected into the Copywriters Hall of Fame in 1973. He was elected into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 1977. The famous Caples Award, given for the year's best ads, was named after him. He died in 1990, at the age of 90, after spending 58 years in the advertising business. The man remains a legend.
How was I ever going to top the work of John Caples? I spent three years of intense research in order to write my book, and throughout the journey I had one goal: Write something that would be better than what John Caples had already written. I failed. But I had a good time nonetheless. I learned a lot, as well.
So try to imagine my surprise when I heard that Prentice-Hall was revising and reprinting Caples' most popular book, Tested Advertising Methods. I was excited. I couldn't wait to get it. When the new book arrived, I held it and smiled, eager to dive in and relish once again the words of one my favorite mentors.
This classic book first came out in 1932. The publisher reprinted it numerous times. Caples himself revised it four times. The last edition, still available in paperback today, was reprinted at least fourteen times. This is a book that has stood the test of time.
Caples wrote it while a young copywriter for the famous BBDO advertising agency (he later became their Vice-President and spent 56 years with the company). He continued to test, refine, revise and add techniques -- not theories, techniques -- to his book right up to his death. As far as most experts are concerned, his book is THE bible in advertising. It's the one I keep by my side. It's the one I tried to model my own book after.
For example, chapter five of Caples' book contains twenty-nine formulas for writing headlines while chapter four of my book contains 30 ways to write headlines. Chapter thirteen of Caples' book reveals thrity-two ways to get more inquiries from your ads while chapter twelve of my book contains thirty-four ways to increase responses to your ads. But don't think I beat Caples. I didn't. His book contains five more chapters, dozens of illustrations, and countless more tips, tricks and techniques for writing ads that get results. Heck, the very last chapter of my book -- on how to test your ads -- primarily consists of Caples' own seven-point checklist!
Again, Tested Advertising Methods has been the Holy Grail of advertising since 1932. So why revise it? And who dared to touch the legendary Caples' chosen words?
Prentice-Hall likes to keep classic books in print. I don't blame them. But I feel like they colorized a famous black and white movie. There's a certain "unreal" quality to this 1997 new version. As I began to read this revised edition, I began to get a sinking feeling in my chest. Gone was much of the warmth and simple clarity of Caples' writing. Gone were many of his hand picked famous ads. Gone was much of his gentle spirit.
The man who revised Caples' writing is one Fred Hahn, who's supposedly been in advertising more than 35 years, though I've never heard of him before. Hahn does his best to replace old ads with modern ads to update the book and prove that Caples' principles are still valid today, nearly seven decades after he created them. He does a fair but not convincing job.
My problem is that Hahn left much of the good stuff on his cutting room floor. For example, Caples included dozens of tested ads -- showing the good as well as bad ads -- and added his illuminating commentary under each. When Caples shows you an ad with the headline, "New Home Permanent Conditions Hair As It Curls" and then an ad with the headline, "Girls...Want a Fast Permanent?" and asks you to select the better ad, you never forget the lesson. (It was the latter.) Hahn dropped the ads and the commentary. Major mistake.
I also admit I don't trust Hahn. I thumbed through the index and couldn't find the name of Bruce Barton (the subject of my book, The Seven Lost Secrets of Success). Barton wrote a few of the ads that remain in Caples' book, his name is mentioned several times in the text, he was Caples' boss at BBDO (Barton co-founded BBDO), he wrote the foreword to the first edition of Caples' book, and yet his name isn't in the index.
To be fair, I also looked up the name of David Ogilvy, who wrote the foreword to the later editions of the book, and whose work is also in the book. His name is in the index only once, overlooking his other contributions to the book.
How can I trust what Hahn says about modern ads when he or his publisher wasn't careful enough to proofread the index?
Despite all I'm saying here, I am glad to see Caples' book available in a beautiful hardcover edition. A whole new audience will be introduced to the Caples style of writing ads that get RESULTS. Anyone interested in producing ads that sell can do no better than memorize Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples.
Gordon White, Caples' biographer, said this of his friend's book: "Tested Advertising Methods is so clear, so complete, and so easy to follow, that if a creature from outer space came to Earth and read it, that visitor could produce excellent advertising. That hardly leaves any excuse for our not doing the same."
I'll still use my mentor's famous book for reference, inspiration, and education, but I think I'll stick to the fourth edition, the last one Caples revised himself, and the one I -- nor anyone else -- have never been able to improve.
Joe Vitale
May 9, 1997
Books by John Caples:
Advertising Ideas. McGraw-Hill, 1938.
Advertising For Immediate Sales. (Publisher and date unknown.)
How to Make Your Advertising Make Money. Prentice-Hall, 1983.
Making Ads Pay. Dover Publications, 1957.
Tested Advertising Methods. Fourth edition.
Revised by Caples. Reward Books, 1974.
Tested Advertising Methods. Fifth edition.
Revised by Fred Hahn. Prentice-Hall, 1997.
Books about John Caples:
John Caples: ADMAN by Gordon White. Craine Books, 1977.
Copyright © 2005 by Joe Vitale. All rights reserved.
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