In a previous post (“Attention Copywriters – Differentiate Or Die”) I mentioned legendary copywriter and ad-man Rosser Reeves. Here’s a little more about the man.
Reeves was a disciple of the Claude Hopkins / John E. Kennedy school of advertising and was an advocate of what was known as the “Hard Sell” approach to advertising.
He spent most of his career at the Ted Bates agency. Bates and Reeves formed a very succesful partnership with Bates as the account man and Reeves the star copy man.
Reeves became known for devising the concept of the “Unique Selling Proposition” (the USP) which he defined in this way…
- Each advertisement must make a proposition to the customer. Not just words, not just product puffery, not just show-window advertising. Each advertisement must say to each reader: “Buy this product and you will get this specific benefit”.
- The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot, or does not, offer. It must be unique – either a uniqueness of the brand or a claim not otherwise made in that particular field of advertising.
- The proposition must be so strong that it can move the mass millions i.e. pull over new customers to your product.
Reeves attracted a fair amount of criticism for his blunt approach but there’s no doubt his ads were highly effective. One of best known campaigns was for Anacin, a headache cure and pain reliever. The ads were considered grating and annoying and yet sales tripled.
In 1961, Reeves published his book “Reality In Advertising” setting out and defending his approach to advertising. The book is hard to find these days. A more accessible source to hear the man in his own words is an interview in the book “The Art Of Writing Advertising” (the book also contains interviews with Bill Bernbach, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy and Leo Burnett).
If you’re interested in finding out more about the man and his career, the book “The Mirror Makers (A HIstory Of American Advertising And Its Creators)” is a useful source.
Reeves’ success and influence waned as the 1960s progressed and he retired in 1965. However, his idea of the USP remains one of the most important concepts in advertising and marketing.