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Which one should I read first? John Caples's 'Scientific Advertising' or Gene Schwart (7)

01-27-2015 03:16 PM #1 ppcindo (Member)
Which one should I read first? John Caples's 'Scientific Advertising' or Gene Schwart

Hi,

I am starting to develop my basic skills for advertising. I'm reading a few books that Dr. Ngo and several gurus suggested.

Which one should i read first? John Caples's ' Scientific Advertising' or Gene Schwartz's 'Breakthrough Advertising' ???

Thank You?

01-27-2015 08:43 PM #2 craigm (Veteran Member)

both!

01-27-2015 09:14 PM #3 shakedown (Member)

John Caples didn't write 'Scientific Advertising', he wrote 'Tested Advertising Methods' and that is the book I recommend (4th edition). The stuff on headlines is amazeballs.

01-27-2015 09:49 PM #4 ppcindo (Member)

@shakedown: sorry, that's what i meant 'tested advertising method'

Oke, i'll read that first, based on your suggestion. Thx u!

01-27-2015 10:32 PM #5 johna5150 (Senior Member)

Quote Originally Posted by shakedown View Post
John Caples didn't write 'Scientific Advertising', he wrote 'Tested Advertising Methods' and that is the book I recommend (4th edition). The stuff on headlines is amazeballs.
Yep, Claude Hopkins wrote Scientific Advertising/My Life In Advertising (I believe both are in the public domain) and it is well worth reading along with all the Caples books, Breakthrough Advertising, Victor Schwab's books, and David Ogilivy's. Also, Rosser Reeves Reality In Advertising is a very good one too, I believe he coined the term Unique Selling Proposition.

The Hopkins books really are fascinating, especially when it comes to selling via story...the ad he wrote for Schlitz Beer (I think it was them, but it was definitely a beer company) tells the story of how they steam cleaned their bottles to produce the best flavor (all breweries steam clean their bottles, but Hopkins recognized the power of that story, and up to that point, no ad man had told it) and that ad made them the #2 beer in the US until the 1970's.

When it comes to learning how to write a good advertisement, it's a good idea to read all those books at once, then re-read them again slowly.

01-28-2015 12:52 AM #6 dean foster (AMC Alumnus)

Make sure to add Cashvertizing to that list

01-28-2015 01:11 AM #7 technic (Member)

Yes, I recommend Cashvertising by Eric Drew Whitman as well. Best $10 bucks you'll ever spend - read it and then read it again.

I would also read anything by Joe Sugarman and browse this site. Great inspiration for ideas.

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