Testimonial lead

The pattern

This still is filed under Testimonial lead.

Define

The first voice on the page is a customer's. Proof arrives before the company's claim.

Mechanism

Borrowed voice. The lead sentence is already someone else's verdict. The seller speaks second.

Verdict

The result is easier to believe from a peer

Why it works

The copy talks to one woman in the second person and names the exact moment she knows the problem: her back feels like it will snap and the mirror shows a pale face. A portrait of Mrs. Foley with her London street address then gives a peer's verdict, two years of pain ended after one bottle, and the ad adds that her case is one of thousands. It closes with a small test for tonight: take two pills with a little water and see how you feel in the morning.

The big idea

Speak to the woman whose back feels ready to snap, show her Mrs. Foley of London cured after two years, and ask her to test two pills tonight.

The offer

De Witt's Kidney and Bladder Pills, from pharmacies: take two pills with a little water this evening and see the difference by morning. For back, joint and kidney pain, rheumatism, gout and sciatica.

The proof

Mrs. Foley's drawn portrait, London street address and own account of a cure after one bottle, the claim that hers is one case of thousands, and a line that doctors advise the pills.

Lines from the ad

الشفاء المضمون من وجع الظهر

The guaranteed cure for back pain

دع حبوب دي ويتس تطرد آلامك

Let De Witt's pills drive out your pain

اطلبي من الاجزاخانات: حبوب دي ويتس للكليتين والمثانة

Ask the pharmacies for De Witt's Kidney and Bladder Pills

Steal this when

Use it when a real customer can describe the problem in the buyer's own words and the product offers a quick first result the buyer can check for themselves.

The emotion

Written to Relief. It makes the Say move.

It meets the reader when her back feels ready to snap, lets Mrs. Foley of London describe her cure, then offers a check of her own: two pills tonight, the difference by morning.