How Do You Know if Advertising Works?

"There is no better test of an advertisement than whether or not it actually sells the product! In fact, it is the only true way of determining if your advertisement works."
-- John Caples, Advertising Hall of Fame

Truer words have rarely been spoken in marketing circles.

Legendary ad man John Caples

John Caples was a legendary ad man (Mad Man) who is probably best known for writing one of the most famous advertising headlines ever when he was a young copywriter in 1926: 

"They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano but When I Started to Play!''

The copy that followed was long. Several hundred words long, designed to solicit students for a correspondence course at the U.S. School of Music. And the ad was an instant and classic success, inspiring many imitations over the years. 

The ad that changed an industry

Caples went on to become an expert in direct-response advertising. According to his obituary in the New York Times:

“Mr. Caples was credited with pioneering many aspects of advertising, including copy testing and extensive research. He debunked humorous advertising copy, saying that ‘only half the people in this country have a sense of humor, and clever ads seldom sell anything.’ He also advised copywriters to ‘use words you would expect to find in a fifth-grade reader’' because ‘the average American is approximately 13 years old mentally.’

Mr. Caples was elected to the American Advertising Federation's Hall of Fame in 1977 and passed away in 1990. But his pioneering thoughts and practices about advertising live on.