"Who else wants to"...skip this product?

The two "Who Else" headlines cited by Schwab in his list of 100 great
headlines are both targeted at American housewives or single girls
from the 1930s or so: the "Who Else" appeal is a very real pushing
of a social program button: keeping up with the Joneses.

In the case of the "Whiter Wash - Without the Hard Work" headline
also embedded within the appeal of a whiter wash, because
in those days laundry was hung out and neighbors actually
DID see one another's laundry, is the further appeal that not
only could you have the whitest wash in the neighborhood,
you could have it without the ass-busting labor you were
used to.

That's a truly potent appeal to a marketplace which, as
a frozen moment in time, was ripe for such innovation.

Few products these days launched with a "Who Else..."
headline has such potent real appeal.

The other "...Wants a Screen-Star Figure" taps into women's
desire to fit into current notions of beauty. A powerful
appeal.

Both headlines are undoubtedly obsolete.

In their time they were potent selling messages tapping
into social anxiety, cleverly layered with other appeals
as well.

Today social anxietyies are considerably more spread-out:
nobody sees the same movies so the potent influence of
the screen star figure is diffused. You could argue that
the term still means something, but in the 60 years or so
since the headline was used for a reducing product (girdle?)
the market for weight-loss products has been sliced and
diced every which way. We live in more jaundiced times
and that simple appeal probably won't work anymore.

That's just my view. Markets mature and the verbiage
that worked in the old days simply isn't socially relevant
anymore.

"Who Else Wants A Cash-Sucking Headline - Without All The Hard Work?"

Despite my opinion that it's a real hackneyed opener, it
is still in use in some successful salesletters and it's also true
that most people don't memorize or particularly notice headlines;
they just read stuff that offers them a selfish advantage -
the headline that grabs he reader's attention and gets him
to look at the offer accomplishes that goal, no matter
if it's cliched or awkward.

The large part of the problem with the "Who Else", and for that
matter "How To" openers is that a lot of writers try to sell
the product in the headline, which often leads to verbosity
and clunkiness in the headline itself.

Hi Johnny,

Well spotted, but not really. The names of some of Carlton's products just lent themselves to the prose. There's a dash of Clayton in there too.



Tom

Well said, Paul!

All of it.

But especially the part about the important piece being after the "who else".

You're promoting an offer to a prospect. Not yourself. The headline is there simply to grab your prospect's attention.

A.I.D.A, right?

It's the prospects opinion of the headline that matters. Let them vote with their wallet.

What doesn't make sense? As I said, I've used that head rarely - twice in fact - including once in a WSO. Which means exactly what I said - I "rarely" use it. I think it over-used, trite, cheesy, off-the-pace, old-fashioned, corny and annoying. And in that respect - I'm with Kay. That clear enough for you or do you want to argue the toss over nothing?

You desperately need to read "Knots" by R.D. Laing.

- Metronicity - "copywriter to the gentry".

BTW: 10 of the 18 links to your sales pages on your Portfolio page are Dead Links - including one which is listed as an "attack site".

This is the headline for the winner that Allen picked for the War Room contest...

You should know better.

True...but this is the copywriting forum. I thought it appropriate to only address the issue from that perspective.

Perhaps. I sure miss some of them and many certainly wouldn't have put up with a lot of the nonsense that goes on here now or the crap being passed off as gospel.



Tom