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Bissell Carpet Sweeper Ad

by stanigator
3 replies
I have questions about a classic ad written by Claude Hopkins in 1913 ( swipe file here marked with notes: http://www.evernote.com/shard/s74/sh...869db3fb0596f1 ).
I have already marked the obvious components, such as the headline, unique selling proposition, benefits, market education, product positioning, call-to-action for readers to buy, and milder call-to-action for others as lead generation.

However, I have these questions, as I have a hard time figuring these out:
1. Who do you think they are selling this tool to? (my guess is middle-class housewives who do their own cleaning)
2. What were the alternatives in 1913 other than using this product?

Thanks in advance for your input.
#bissell #carpet #sweeper
  • Profile picture of the author joe golfer
    Couldn't access the link but it is probably similar to this one:
    Claude Hopkins Bissell 1913 by Claude Hopkins

    The Bissell sweeper was marketed to housewives as a better tool for daily cleaning of carpets. Sweepers were common by 1913--the first ones came out in the 1870s and grew in the 1890s. Even the British Royals used them.
    http://www.bissell.com/Our-History/

    Vacuum cleaners existed but were still a luxury item, costing $60 or more.
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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 stanigator
      Originally Posted by joe golfer View Post

      Couldn't access the link but it is probably similar to this one:
      Claude Hopkins Bissell 1913 by Claude Hopkins

      The Bissell sweeper was marketed to housewives as a better tool for daily cleaning of carpets. Sweepers were common by 1913--the first ones came out in the 1870s and grew in the 1890s. Even the British Royals used them.
      About BISSELL | History & Tradition

      Vacuum cleaners existed but were still a luxury item, costing $60 or more.
      Yes, it's exactly the same as this one. I fixed the link already. Thanks for pulling up the history page.

      On another note, you mentioned sweepers were common by 1913. How were the Bissell sweepers different from the other sweepers on the market?
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      • Profile picture of the author joe golfer
        Originally Posted by stanigator View Post

        Yes, it's exactly the same as this one. I fixed the link already. Thanks for pulling up the history page.

        On another note, you mentioned sweepers were common by 1913. How were the Bissell sweepers different from the other sweepers on the market?
        It's all in the Google machine:

        "Although other companies made sweepers, those didn’t work very well. Melville’s sweeper was lighter, worked on uneven floors and picked up dirt without creating a cloud of dust. When people saw this, they wanted one, too."

        Carpet Sweeper History - Invention of the Carpet Sweeper
        Signature
        Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
        - Jack Trout
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