HomeLibraryAdsIf-then promise
Library ad

If-then promise

Every Young Wife Must Make This Decision.

idn.duke.edupublic-domain-us

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

Read the pattern

Why it works

The headline forces a decision the reader did not know was on the table, which converts a beauty product into a fork in the road. The subhead sets a clock running with three intervals, one, five and ten years, so the cost of doing nothing is dated rather than vague. The copy blames circumstance, the strain of new responsibilities, not the woman, so the message stays flattering while still frightening. The image shows her alone with a mirror, which is exactly the private moment the copy describes, and the two-column routine at the foot turns the abstract decision into two physical acts that take a minute each.

Steal this when

Use this when your product prevents a slow loss the buyer has not yet noticed and cannot yet see. Put a date on the loss, assign the blame to circumstances rather than the reader, and end with a routine small enough to start tonight.

All ads