Negative Advertising is a negative thing…AKA Don’t Do it!

To attack a rival is never good advertising. Don’t point out others’
faults. It is not permitted in the best mediums. It is never good
policy. The selfish purpose is apparent. It looks unfair, not sporty. If
you abhor knockers, always appear a good fellow.

Show the bright side, the happy and attractive side, not the dark and
uninviting side of things. Show beauty, not homeliness; health, not
sickness. Don’t show the wrinkles you propose to remove, but the face as
it will appear. Your customers know all about the wrinkles.

In advertising a dentifrice, show pretty teeth, not bad teeth. Talk of
coming good conditions, not conditions which exist. In advertising
clothes, picture well-dressed people, not the shabby. Picture successful
men, not failures, when you advertise a business course. Picture what
others wish to be, not what they may be now.

We are attracted by sunshine, beauty, happiness, health, success. Then
point the way to them, not the way out of the opposite.

Picture envied people, not the envious.

Tell people what to do, not what to avoid.

Make your every ad breathe good cheer. We always dodge a Lugubrious
Blue.

Assume that people will do what you ask. Say, “Send now for this
sample.” Don’t say, “Why do you neglect this offer?” That suggests that
people are neglecting. Invite them to follow the crowd.

Compare the results of two ads, one negative, one positive. One
presenting the dark side, one the bright side. One warning, the other
inviting. You will be surprised. You will find that the positive ad
outpulls the other four to one, if you have our experience.

The “Before and after taking” ads are follies of the past. They never
had a place save with the afflicted. Never let their memory lead you to
picture the gloomy side of things.

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