If-then promise

The pattern

This still is filed under If-then promise.

Define

A conditional contract: if you do this, you get that. The sentence can be tested against the reader's own case.

Mechanism

Specificity does the persuading. The if names the action. The then names the outcome. Hedging kills it.

Verdict

We can name both the action and the result without adjectives

Why it works

The drawing of a man with sleek, flat-combed hair shows the result, and the copy ties it to the moments that ruin it, a long dance or a strong wind. It then removes the choice problem with a simple rule: Anzora Cream if your scalp is dry, Anzora Viola if it is oily, with both bottles drawn side by side so the reader can pick the right one at the chemist.

The big idea

A well-mannered man never has messy hair, and Anzora keeps it in place through a long dance or a strong wind, with one version for each scalp type.

The offer

Anzora Cream for a dry scalp, Anzora Viola with a little violet oil for an oily one, sold in bottles at all drug stores and at named dealers in Alexandria and Cairo.

The proof

A fame said to have spread across the world, the promise that the cream does not damage hat linings, and the maker named as Anzora Limited of London.

Lines from the ad

شكل جميل دائماً

Always a handsome look

ANZORA Masters the Hair!

استعمل «كريم انزورا» إذا كانت بشرتك جافة

Use Anzora Cream if your scalp is dry

Steal this when

Use it when you sell two versions of one product and the buyer needs a one-line rule to know which is theirs.

The emotion

Written to Desire. It does neither clearly.

The sleek-haired man under 'Always a handsome look' builds the want, and the dry-or-oily rule tells each reader which bottle is his, but no price is given beside the named dealers.