Direct Marketer & Direct Response Copywriter, Lawrence Bernstein

Railroad Advertising: Why Should St. Louis Be a Stepchild?

Lawrence Bernstein — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:31:53 +0000

Click for PDF of ad

This is the follow-up ad in the series from the brilliant Chesapeake & Ohio campaign which changed the nature of cross-country transportation in the United States.

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Is Newt Gingrich Above the Law?

Lawrence Bernstein — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:48:51 +0000

Rarely dip my toe into the realm of political advertising but couldn’t resist this one.

Given Newt Gingrich’s long time talent for self-sabotage, it probably won’t be long before he vanishes from the public stage for a decade or so.

Beaten By My Wife

Lawrence Bernstein — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:29:06 +0000

Few things about advertising get my heart racing faster than headline split testing.

All the more so if it concerns email subject lines.

Like traditional headline testing, subject line testing can lead to dramatic increases in response rates. But without the sloth factor.

MF Global Ad: We Have Convictions

Lawrence Bernstein — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:29:22 +0000

Here’s a howler of a headline that surely hails from a martini soused agency person.

“Everyone has opinions. We have convictions.”

Turns out this platitudinous ad writer was a pretty good forecaster, if jail time isn’t simply a matter of opinion.

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Fundraising Ad: Save the Children

Lawrence Bernstein — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:29:05 +0000

The Winstons aren’t trying to save the world. Just a little piece of it.

There are Apaches on the reservation in Clear Fork, Arizona, who can remember the last, hopeless Apache uprising in 1900. But for Della Alakay, a seven-year-old Apache, the enemy is not the U.S. Cavalry.

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The End Of America

Lawrence Bernstein — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:12:18 +0000

Has reality finally caught up with financial direct mail?

Here’s a sampling of the covers from the latest promotions going through the mail.

* The End of America from Stansberry and Associates

What’s an Advertorial?

Lawrence Bernstein — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:23:04 +0000

How to create advertising that sells by David Ogillvy & Joel Raphaelson

The advertorial format used to announce a new product

What is an advertorial?

Crypto Nazi Copywriting

Lawrence Bernstein — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:15:51 +0000

Who are the Crypto-Nazis and what in the world do they have to do with copywriting?

It started with a conversation some years ago with a marketing colleague who proclaimed: “my customers are crypto-Nazis.”

10 Ways To Protect Your Children Against Halloween Hazards (Supermarket Advertorial)

Lawrence Bernstein — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:30:28 +0000

Makes me nostalgic for my years back in old New York.

These 10 Safety Rules for Halloween by Julia Waldbaum saw annual insertions and added an interesting advertorial style twist to the usual, “white bread” approach to supermarket advertising.

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Should We Also Flood the Sistine Chapel So Tourists Can Get Nearer The Ceiling?

Lawrence Bernstein — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:36:19 +0000

This ad is a time machine stretching back to 1966 and a reaction by David Brower of the Sierra Club to the intellects in Washington (on par with today’s incumbents) who proposed flooding vast portions of the Grand Canyon in the name of profits.

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