Man-eating clients 3, fragile copywriters nothing

I recently read a book called: “The Leo Burnett Book of Advertising” It was published in 1984 — just 13 years after the great ad man Leo Burnett (who founded the famous Chicago ad agency of his name) joined the choir invisible. It is about how his agency went about using his methodology of planning, writing, producing, and placing the agency’s ads in media. A lot of it is admittedly kind of dry and boring (I don't run an agency). But the first 8 pages which are “about” Leo Burnett are worth solid gold. And so I took copious notes. Here they are for your reading dipleasure: * He was the single hardest working man in advertising — so much so, that the second hardest working man in advertising David Ogilvy rejected a merger proposal because, “the thought of Leo’s ringing me in New York at 2. a.m. and asking me to meet him in Chicago for breakfast with some fresh campaign ideas was more than I could bear.” * He was loyal to his clients even unto pain & suffering — in one case, he was at a marketing meeting with Kellog (one of his agency’s clients) where his low blood sugar kicked in, his voice grew weak, and he collapsed on the table whispering… “candy bar… make sure it’s a Nestle!” * He never pedestalized anyone — addressing even a group of high level, white haired vice presidents of companies paying him a small fortune, “Well, boys and girls…” as he dispensed approval, punishment, instruction, advice, etc. * His main “job” at his own agency was leading the Creative Review Committee — which was manned by the agency’s top people, and they’d try to tear through, rip apart, and do their dayemdest to destroy every single ad — written, audio, or video — before the client ever saw it. i.e., they tried to “break” them, even if Leo himself wrote the copy. (If you possess this last August’s “Email Players” issue, take note…) * Having one’s ads put in the Creative Review Committee torture chamber were described as “character building moments” — even for the best of the best at his agency, where a sinking feeling was guaranteed, as was another several weeks of exhausting work, an all-nighter, and an angry wife who would not see her husband for dinner that night. * The creator of the famous Pillsbury Doughboy (Rudy Perz) said it made him feel like a martyr — once saying on his way out the door after having a campaign rejected, “Lions 3, Christians nothing” * Andy Armstrong (a creative director and original model for the Marlboro Man) sounds like he almost suffered a nervous breakdown over these brutal critiques — where he “rose quietly from the table, left the room, hailed a taxi to the station, bought a ticket [to California]…and sat for a few days in the sun, thought about life, caught the train back to Chicago, re-entered the room, resumed his seat and rejoined the battle.” * Leo took an almost sadistic glee during these soul-crushing reviews — because he knew they were creating not just great advertisements, but great men, “Looking back over our greatest creative achievements I recall that few of them were generated in an atmosphere of sweetness, light and enthusiasm, but rather of dynamic tension…” * He was a principles over tactics kinda guy — or as he put it, “principles of attitude, rather than dogma.” He had many principles he ran his company by, but the most important was no doubt, “nothing is ever good enough around here.” * The most powerful advertising ideas were non-verbal — based on archetypes in the culture, especially in history, mythology, and folklore, with their true meaning too deep for mere words. * For him It was about finding the drama inherent in a specific product, not swiping or copying what anyone else was doing — as he put it, “Do not lean on tricks, devices, or ‘techniques.’” * Being different needs to be done with purpose — or, as an old boss once told him, “if you insist on being different just for the sake of being different, you can always come down in the morning with a sock in your mouth.” * He used his shyness to his advantage — being able to “… ‘imaginate’ himself out of himself and into the identities of other people, where he could feel their feelings and understand their wants.” Like I said: I can’t say I found the rest of the book terribly exciting. Then again, I don’t run an ad agency. But just the above does illustrate the often interesting & insightful ways the old school ad guys from the early to mid 20th century thought, worked, and grew their businesses. They are practically the exact opposite of your average goo-roo fanboy fapping to his swipe file and praying to his posters of Seth Godin and Joe Rogan to manifest greatness for them. This is why to this day I still focus on studying these old dead guys who paved the way. And rarely the new crop of gurus — especially post internet. Which reminds me: You only have a little time left to get the Clyde Bedell course: “How To Convert White Space In Advertising That Sells” … at a $200 discount. Nothing to do with Burnett. Except he was another one on this short list of great ad men like Burnett, Ogilvy, Caples, Barton, Cone, etc. And his course, while probably not “exciting”, is extremely valuable in my opinion. Especially if you value the old stuff. Or, just want fresh ways of looking at the stuff you already know. (I certain have since going through it) Plus, if you get it via my affiliate link below by the deadline tonight, you’ll also get my eBook: “Ravings of an Ad Man!” This eBook is a compilation of 13 bonus inserts that ran in Email Players for over a year. And they are stream-of-conscious mini-topics that were not enough inner-madness to build an entire issue around, but still highly Valuable, quick to learn (and implement), and straight from the asylum of my mind where I’m always thinking about email, marketing, copywriting, influence, and persuasion. They were wildly popular, too. And, in some ways, were more “tactically” useful than the issues they were included with. Some of the secrets inside this collection of inserts include: * The strange (but true) way I use to “get away” with strategically sending blatant sales pitch emails that lack any value or content. * WebMD’s clever trick for writing long copy sales letters and emails people almost can’t resist reading word-for-word. * Why it’s borderline immoral and evil not to outright SHAME your leads, market, customers, and clients into buying your products & services. * A secret way to get critical market data without needing any complicated or sophisticated tests, software, or thousands upon thousands of website visitors each day. * A nagging Facebook woman’s secret to selling high-ticket health offers without needing to make any claims, citing any benefits, or possibly even having to mention a product! * 3 email “power words” that can put lots more sales in your evil piggy bank. * A “mini swipe file” of 9 high-selling headlines (easily “adapted” to email subject lines) from one of the greatest copywriters who ever lived you’ve probably never even heard of. * The founding father of online advertising’s secret to knowing (without running a single test or asking another soul’s opinion) if an email is worth sending to your list or not. * How to write emails that make otherwise boring or irrelevant topics exciting and fascinating. * The “sock secret” to writing an endless number of emails that can sell the hell out of commodities. * The TURP (not Trump) method used by high-level negotiators to help blast up your response, sales, and profits. * The wannabe reverse engineer’s guide to knowing the mentality about how I start emails. * A disgraced blockbuster Hollywood director’s dirty little secret to making movies that break box office records. * 15 little-known & fascinating facts about the mysterious, insult-slinging recluse who was the greatest email copywriter who ever walked the earth. * A nearly “fool proof” email sale sequence structure almost any business can use to blast up sales with as little as an hour or so of “work.” * Advice to people who find copywriting to be more like slitting their wrists and bleeding over the page than “writing.” * Down & dirty “stealth” research tips that have been worth — literally — millions in sales of my own products and probably tens of millions collectively to clients I used to work with. * Another research tip (straight from the lips of the World’s Greatest Copywriting Coach) that has helped me invade multiple markets and niches I knew nothing about prior and make big sales out the gate. * What the world’s most secretive A-list copywriter (99% chance you’ve never heard of him, even if you are a copywriting fanboy) told me on a phone call back in 2008 that can potentially turn even a newbie with little or no talent into a proverbial mad genius with writing headlines. * How copywriters can use one of the founding fathers of podcasting methods (for doing interviews) to secretly get clients to write as much as 80%+ of your copy they pay you to write for you! * The official elBenbo guide to pricing your products & services! * How the late, great Gene Schwartz would sometimes “invalidate competition” in his ads to make it almost silly to even THINK of buying from anyone else. * And a whole lot more... but you get the idea. All right, if you want my eBook and the Clyde Bedell course at a fat discount, do this: 1. Buy it at the link below by tonight, Friday 10/8 at midnight EDT 2. Once inside you’ll have access to everything — including my eBook. (No need to send me your receipt) Here’s the link to let your copywriting geek flag fly: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com/bedell]( Ben Settle P.S. Direct all questions about the product, your order, how to access the content, or anything else related to Michael Senoff — not me — using the contact info listed on the sales page. This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2021 Settle, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this email may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Settle, LLC. Click here to [unsubscribe]( Settle, LLC PO Box 1056 Gold Beach Oregon 97444 USA