To my knowledge, there is no “Case Of The Consulting Copywriter” in the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
However, the great detective does have at least one great lesson for copywriters.
And in the stories themselves, advertisements play a significant role on a number of occasions…
…as we shall see.
Before that, I’ve mentioned before my love of the original stories and the recent two movies featuring Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law…
“Marketing And Movie Trailers – Sherlock Holmes”
I didn’t get around to posting a “Marketing And Movie Trailers” feature for the second movie – “Game Of Shadows” so I’ll take the opportunity to post the trailer now…
If you want to be “purist” about it, there’s a lot to criticise in both of the “reimagined” Holmes movies.
But somehow Guy Ritchie pulls off this “Boys Own Adventure” style Holmes. I think Robert Downey Jr has a lot to do with that.
Back to the original stories…
…and the advertisements that appear.
In the very first Holmes story, “A Study In Scarlet” we come across this ad in the “Found” column…
“In Brixton Road,this morning, a plain gold wedding ring, found in the roadway between the White Hart Tavern and Holland Grove. Apply Dr.Watson, 221B, Baker Street, between eight and nine this evening.”
Short, clear and to the point, with a clear call to action. And, of course, placed in the correct media to attract the intended audience.
There’s another example in “The Adventure Of the Blue Carbuncle”, involving a Christmas goose…
“Found at the corner of Goodge Street, a goose and a black felt hat. Mr Henry Baker can have the same by applying at 6:30 this evening at 221B, Baker Street.”
Ads like this one appear several times in the stories and have the purpose of getting a particular individual (usually a suspect) to call at the Baker Street premises.
In other stories, the advertisement plays a different role, for example in “The Red-Headed League”…
“TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE:
On account of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., there is now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a salary of four pounds a week for purely nominal services. All red-headed men who are sound in body and mind, and above the age of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at eleven o’clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7 Pope’s Court, Fleet Street.”
And “The Adventure Of The Three Garridebs” features an advertisement where incongruous use of words costs the villain more than just poor response!
Now I’m not suggesting that you should add these to your swipe file and use them as models. But it worth noting both the very clear objective of the ads, with economy of words and a clear call to action.
Finally the great lesson for copywriters from the methods of Sherlock Holmes.
Again in “A Study In Scarlet”, on the way to the scene of the crime Watson is surprised that Holmes doesn’t seem to be giving much thought to the case. Holmes replies…
“No data yet…It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.”
In other words, the first task is to conduct the appropriate RESEARCH. One of the features of the stories is Holmes’ painstaking approach to detail. In many cases, his brilliant deductions come from uncovering facts and details that others have overlooked or ignored.
Often, what seems like “creative genius” is based on hard work and attention to detail.
Of course, the Sherlock Holmes stories are works of fiction.
Nonetheless, the methods of the great detective are well worth studying by copywriters who want to produce dazzling results.