Anybody who is anybody in the copywriting business knows who Bill Bernbach is. One of the three founders of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), the advertising genius is considered the person who provided much of the fuel to the Creative Revolution of the 1960s and 70s.

Bill Bernbach expounded what probably is the oldest and noblest tradition of advertising and selling.

“You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You’ve got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because if they don’t feel it, nothing will happen.”

Nothing makes more sense than this sentence by on of the greatest copywriters of the 20th century. Time and again this, has helped me create successful copies over the years.

Very recently I had the opportunity to utilize this basic but powerful principle in real life as well.

My Charming Students Learn Bernbach the Hard Way

Apart from full-time copywriting, I also serve as visiting faculty in the only institution offering post graduate Mass Communication and Media Studies in Mangalore city, St. Aloysius College. Not surprisingly, I teach marketing communications to post graduate students.

A lovely and most charming bunch, sometimes my students decide they would rather spend time loitering around the corridors than step inside the classroom as quickly as possible.

Now, as their lecturer I have all the power to order them inside immediately. That would achieve the objective of getting them inside the classroom. But the management trained personality within me says it is bad to begin a lecture this way.

'Instead,' the copywriting personality within me says, 'appeal to their self-interest'.

So this is what I tell them, “Take as much time as you want to get inside. But the more time you spend deciding, the more you will delay my lecture... which means I till take that much time extra to finish the lecture which eventually means you will be having your lunch late today.”

Viola! Mission accomplished... and no bloodshed involved. What I do is evident. I appeal to their self interest, making them want to hurry up and take their seats as soon possible.

In other words, I say it in such a way that they feel it in their gut.

Conclusion

Talking to people in a way as to move them is the whole driving force behind developing a successful advertising campaign.

This is the fundamental approach that helped Doyle Dane Bernbach to attain advertising immortality with the “Think small” Volkswagen campaign. The 1959 ad was voted the No. 1 campaign of the 20th century according to Advertising Age.

Contact Vishal Nayak to discuss your copywriting and marketing needs!