One single piece of copy has been running for that Advertiser (practically without change), in all mediums used, for over six years. Over $300,000 has been spent in repeated publication of that single bit of copy.

Why?

Because, it produced results (Inquiries and Sales) at lower cost than any other copy ever run for them in eight previous years.

The first month Inquiries from the best prior copy cost about 85 cents each. Repetition of that copy for two years wore out some of its interest, so that Inquiries from it finally cost an average of $1.85 each.

New "copy" had been tried a great many times during the two-year interval, written by many different Ad-smiths, but no other Advertisement ever produced the Inquiries at less than $1.85 average.

Some of the copy that looked good enough to try, cost $14.20 per Inquiry. And that was better looking copy than half of what fills "General Publicity" space in costly mediums at this very minute.

Consider what the knowledge derived from a large collection of certified data, like the above, would mean, if placed at the disposal of General Advertisers who now "go it blind" on copy.

If the $5.00 article had been sold through Retailers, in the usual way, without accurate means of checking results from every advertisement, it is more than probable that the $14.20 kind of copy would have been used continuously.

Because, that was the "catchy" kind, so much in favor with "General Publicity" Advertisers.

And, it would have been considered good copy so long as the salesmen did its work, in addition to their own, the General Results being credited in a general way to "General Publicity."

But, it would clearly have required fourteen times as much of that "$14.20 kind" of alleged "Advertising" to produce the same amount of selling effect upon the public as the "85-cent kind" of copy (which averaged about $1.00 per inquiry over the two years) actually did produce.

Let us figure this out more conclusively:

The Blank Company spent $75,000 per year, for space, with copy producing Inquiries at about $1.00 average.

It would thus have cost them about fourteen times as much, or $1,050,000 per year, to sell as many of their $5.00 articles through the $14.20 kind of "catchy" copy as it actually did cost them to sell the same quantity with the "$1.00-per-Inquiry" kind of copy.

Good Reader, get that thought clearly into your mind, for we're talking cold facts now.

What was it worth to the Blank Company to get a new Advertisement which would pull Inquiries at the old rate of 85 cents each, when its most successful copy had worn out, after two years' use, so that Inquiries were finally costing it $1.25 each on average?