“Words may show a man’s wit, but actions his meaning.”-Benjamin Franklin

Adv 411

While Benjamin Franklin was not talking about advertising, he hit on a distinct difference

in the way that advertisements have been created in the past and even today. This difference

represents two very distinct types of advertising that have dominated throughout the 19th and 20th

centuries: “reason why” and “image.” While words can be a powerful agent in persuasion,

actions (as represented by images) create authenticity and deeper meaning in the minds of

consumers. Both types have had a significant impact in their own time, but have also greatly

influenced advertisers in later and even current times.

Reason why was the first form of advertising to really take hold in the industry.

Characterized by facts, logic, and science, reason-why advertisers believed in putting facts in the

face of the consumer, as to let them make the “smart” decision for themselves. The headline was

usually big and bold and used for the purpose of drawing attention to the advertisement. These

headlines usually consisted of words such as “better” or “new and improved” to draw the

consumer to the conclusion that a product was the best on the market at the time. The body copy

consisted of “facts” and “reasons why” the consumer should purchase the product, and it

typically covered the entire page. White space was not desirable to the advertiser because empty

space meant that there was a wasted opportunity for additional information and reasoning. Also

there was a typical format used when doing a layout, called the “Agate Only” rule. By this rule,

advertisements were only allowed to be printed in columns in agate type. Not until Benjamin

Franklin invented the telegraph that provided more rapid coverage were white space and bigger

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typefaces acceptable in the layout of an advertisement. These “Franklin innovations” greatly

changed the expectations of the medium.

Another characteristic of reason why advertising is that it was prominent during harder

economic times. While people were pinching for every penny they could, advertisers were

reassuring the public in their advertisements that they would be making a smart investment

through the purchase of their product. By explaining the benefits and giving logical reasoning,

people would be less scared to spend their money on products. These hard times also allowed

reason-why advertisers to benefit by providing coupons and samples in the advertisements as to

entice people with deals and a guarantee of satisfaction. This sparked a lot of interest in the

minds of consumers because the thought of “trying before buying” was innovative.

There are several key players in reason why advertising’s history that are remembered for

having a significant impact on the industry. One such person is John E. Powers, who is known

as the first great copywriter. He greatly influenced later writers with his reason-why style of

advertising that emphasized facts, truth, and common sense. Powers’ campaign for Scott’s

Emulsion was a clear example of his style of advertising because it was attempting to sell a

product but also be as straight-forward as possible.

Another very influential advertising man of the past is John E. Kennedy. Kennedy

believed in “salesmanship in print” and couponing, which would persuade consumers to try the

product before purchasing. His advertisements for Goodrich tires were a great example of

reason-why advertising because it explains, in detail, to consumers that their tires are reliable and

dependable, using such word phrases as “tough tread” and “integral construction.” Also, in a

print ad for Goodrich tires, Kennedy emphasizes the opportunity to explain details in further

depth and offer proof if needed. This is common in reason why advertising body copy.

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Kennedy’s successor, Claude Hopkins, also had a tremendous impact on the advertising

of the day. He changed the way advertisers promoted their products by manufacturing a problem

that could only be solved by the product being advertised. For example, Hopkins needed to sell

a product that cleaned teeth; however, he was unable to do so until he created the problem of

“film” on teeth that supposedly made them yellow and begin to decay. Giving practical

information about this problem caused Pepsodent to become extremely popular because it was

now considered a social flaw to have imperfect teeth. Hopkins also created the idea of

advertising a product around a single selling point, and this became the basis for advertising

campaigns.

A final reason why advertiser to be discussed is one of the most famous and influential

men in the business. While he was not very well-liked or well-respected, Rosser Reeves had a

huge impact on the progression of advertising. He emphasized penetration into the minds of the

consumer through repeated and incessant exposure to an advertisement, and insisted that

changing the advertising would essentially kill the brand. Reeves used very scientific “proof”

and reasoning to persuade consumers of superiority already inherent in the products, such as his

advertisements for Viceroy. In these advertisements, he uses graphs and pictures to give a

scientific analysis of the cigarettes. He also came up with the concept of Unique Selling

Proposition. In this approach, Reeves believes that promoting one key feature or asset of a

product over years and years can cut through the clutter of other advertising and eventually build

brand loyalty while increasing the chance of remembrance in the consumer. A classic example

of Reeves-type advertising is the M&Ms campaign. The distinct feature inherent in the product

that is heavily emphasized is the ability of the M&Ms to “melt in your mouth, not in your

hands.” This benefit is one that competitor’s could not have made or had not made, which made

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the candy distinguishable in the minds of the consumers. This unique selling proposition was

very characteristic of Reeves’ reason-why advertising but also of future advertising that became

much more image-oriented because the way products were photographed tended to emphasize a

prominent product feature.

Unlike reason why advertising, image advertising uses a more emotional or aesthetic

appeal to persuade consumers to purchase particular products. It is very much a soft sell

approach because appeal is much less objective and more subjective to the audience. From

magazines to posters to trade cards, images become very dominant in the 20th century as printing

technology becomes much more sophisticated along with its audiences. A now more

sophisticated audience is able to look at an image in advertising and understand the underlying

message without the help of body copy explaining the benefits. Image advertising is usually

aimed at the personal image that consumers have of themselves and their social settings of which

they are a part. Targeting specific audiences is much more prominent because images are not

interpreted the same by everyone, and different backgrounds can affect the way a person views

the image. Also, as opposed to being prominent in the hard times like reason why advertising,

image advertising appears mainly when the economy is strong and thriving. When people have

more money to spend, they are more confident in their purchases and are more willing to buy a

product without doing anything except reading the advertisement.

In this time, class separations are still recognized, but the availability of images on a mass

scale, due to technological advancements, had a democratizing effect on visual literacy. Artists

are creating images that look like high-class art for their advertising posters, and these poster

images are, in turn, being used as magazine covers because of the similarity to high-class art or

pop art, a new fad in the age. Magazines at this time were innovative and typically aimed at the

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middle or upper-middle class, or those who would be able to “fully appreciate the art.”

However, as posters and magazines circulated with increasing technology, visual literacy in the

public also increased because of the exposure to these high-class images.

As in reason why advertising, image advertising has several very prominent people who

have influenced each other as well as the current industry. One such man was Theodore

MacManus. Considered the “Father of the image school of thought,” MacManus tried to create

an atmosphere in his advertisements that would, over time, create favorable impressions of the

brand. While his advertising was very indirect and subtle, MacManus believed in honesty, much

like some early reason why advertisers such as Powers, and had great success with many

campaigns. Perhaps the most famous advertisement written by MacManus was for Cadillac,

entitled “The Penalty for Leadership.” While it would seem obvious that image advertising

consists mainly of images on a page, MacManus defies this convention by creating an all-copy

advertisement that leaves nothing but an image in the mind of the reader. It reads “That which is

good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves

to live-- lives.” With no hard facts or reasons why the consumer should buy a Cadillac, the self-

appeal fills the readers’ heads with favorable ideas about how a Cadillac owner is envied by all.

Another very influential image advertiser is Raymond Rubicam. Known as the

“advertising statesman,” Rubicam articulated that advertising needs to identify with the

consumer. He believed that ads should mirror the consumer and therefore be able to meet their

needs and fulfill their wants. Rubicam did several campaigns, but his first big advertisement

resulted in greatly increased sales for Steinway because of the imagery used. The headline read

“The Instrument of the Immortals” and pictured a man playing a beautiful piano. The short body

copy reminded readers that Steinway is preferred by the masters of music, and this implanted a

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prominent image in the mind of the consumer of success and luxury, another appeal to the self-

image. Rubicam’s philosophy that the best advertising is remembered for a long time as an

“admirable piece of work” is greatly reflected in his advertising because of the elegance and

sophistication presented.

In addition to these two influential men, one woman was also very prominent in her time:

Helen Lansdowne Resor. A huge supporter of women’s suffrage, her advertising reflected the

aspirations and improvement of women and consumers in general. At this time, advertising and

consumer culture were beginning to merge and targeting had become more important than ever.

Market segmentations, particularly female, were becoming more prominent, and these segments

are much more apparent in culture and in advertising. Magazines such as Vogue emerged for the

upper-class aristocracy, while others, such as Ladies Home Journal, are aimed at the middle

class. The lower and middle-class women aspired to the upper-class because the leisured wife

was seen as a symbol of status, even though modernization left the aristocracy with less power

than in previous years. Because of this difference in class, women were segregated against each

other and extreme differences emerged. One such difference was the appeal to sexuality. It was

thought that only the lower class “working girls” had a sexual appetite, and Helen Resor was the

first to use this sexual selling technique to appeal to women in her advertisement for Woodbury

soap, “A Skin You Love To Touch.” Through this appeal to the self-image, women were

persuaded to keep their skin clean and soft by buying Woodbury soap. Resor also liked to

involve famous faces in her advertisements to promote Lux and Woodbury soaps. This appealed

to women as well because of their aspirations to a more leisurely lifestyle. Helen Resor paved

the way for several other women in the industry, but also greatly influenced other men in the

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business. She had a significant impact on women through her advertising and is greatly

remembered for her contributions.

A final prominent advertising figure that has flipped the field of advertising upside down

was able to take a car associated with Nazi, Germany and turn it into an American revolution.

Bill Bernbach was able to take his own ethnic backgrounds and play them into his most

successful advertising campaigns, such as Volkswagen. By turning the car’s shortcomings into

assets, Bernbach was able to completely distort the previous conventions of advertising. With a

lot of white space and short copy, he was able to take old ideas and present them in “new” ways.

The advertisement for Volkswagen entitled “Think Small” greatly utilizes this new concept of

simplicity. Bernbach essentially sparked the Creative Revolution, and his advertisements prove

his worth to that claim.

While reason why and image adverting both played a significant role in advertising’s

history, the contributions of each author to the industry and to each other was profound. Without

the influence of people such as Rosser Reeves, Helen Resor, and Bill Bernbach, advertising

would be a very different industry today. Without the blatant explanation of benefits from

reason why advertising, consumers might never have paid attention to advertising in the first

place; and without the subtle suggestion of image advertising, the industry might still be

explaining everything top to bottom to their audiences. The interaction of these two different

types of advertising has created something that will continue to grow and change throughout the

ages. Benjamin Franklin would be proud.

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