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A Fluke of Nature swipe

by KingOfContentMarketing
6 replies
Kids, here is a swipe of the "A Fluke of Nature" ad from Joe Sugarman's Adweek Copywriting Handbook.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...psed8931d9.png

"But suddenly on a single branch of one tree in one grove, Mother Nature had done it all herself!"

Has a great guarantee and example of continuity.

I like at the end it just says "Frank Lewis- Farmer."
#fluke #nature #swipe
  • Profile picture of the author Micah Medina
    What strikes me about this ad is the time from promise to delivery.

    First sentence - I've got some crazy farming shit to show you.

    Third sentence - Here's what it is.

    Those first couple paragraphs are clean enough to start a novel, let alone a salesletter.
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  • Profile picture of the author sethczerepak
    What I love about this is that it doesn't even look like sales copy, the offer just sneaks up on you and by that time you're already sold. The best advertisements usually look nothing like advertisements. How many more examples are in the swipe file? I'm thinking about getting myself a copy.
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    • Profile picture of the author KingOfContentMarketing
      Originally Posted by sethczerepak View Post

      How many more examples are in the swipe file? I'm thinking about getting myself a copy.
      I don't have a whole Sugarman swipe file although I think Drez sells one at advertisingcopyswipes.com. He's got some free individual Sugarman ones too, I think.

      Here are a few more individual Sugarman swipes:
      http://www.warriorforum.com/copywrit...all-swipe.html
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      Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
      - Jack Trout
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      • Profile picture of the author Alex Cohen
        I've heard Sugarman talk about that farmer. If I remember correctly, Sugarman didn't write the ad. The farmer wrote the ad after attending a Sugarman seminar.

        Good swipe nevertheless.

        Alex
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        • Profile picture of the author KingOfContentMarketing
          Originally Posted by Alex Cohen View Post

          I've heard Sugarman talk about that farmer. If I remember correctly, Sugarman didn't write the ad. The farmer wrote the ad after attending a Sugarman seminar.

          Good swipe nevertheless.

          Alex
          Good point. As you said this wasn't written by Sugarman. For anyone that hasn't read the book, Frank Schultz had used direct mail to grow his grapefruit by mail (pun intended) business for several years. But he was having problems getting his print ads to work.

          He took the first seminar Sugarman ever had in 1977. (Schultz had a marketing degree from Cal Berkeley.) Then he modified a direct mail letter based on feedback from Sugarman. For example, Sugarman suggested he take out a line that said. "The zesty flavor of Royal Ruby Red grapefruit juice will help start your day with a smile," because it sounded like something an ad agency would write.

          I made this thread so I could link to the swipe from the storytelling stickie. Here is more from Sugarman: "The copy reads like a fairy tale with the use of the Magic Rio Grande Valley name and the story of this unexpected discovery. Schultz created the environment--all woven through a compelling and interesting story that holds your attention and keeps you reading. You can't stop now."
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          Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
          - Jack Trout
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  • Profile picture of the author KingOfContentMarketing
    Here's a news story about the company from the Sarasota Herald Tribune on June 25, 1979.

    http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...ps77e719af.jpg

    He went to Berkeley specifically to study direct mail marketing.

    Near the end there's a mini-lesson in trying many things but ultimately focusing on winners:

    As for selling other products,"we've been out and back on that," Lewis said. "Our gift package catalog used to have 36 items. Now it has 24. We tried dried fruit. We sold fancy wrought-iron baskets. They didn't do well. Our customers are looking to buy grapefruit. In the last few years we've backed off. We specialize in one product and stick to it."
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    Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
    - Jack Trout
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