Reason-why | BMD Marketing Library
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Seed

Seed Reason-why

reason-why

Define

A specific reason the offer is priced, timed, or structured this way. Not a mood. A reason.

Mechanism

Justification. A concrete cause makes a claim feel earned. Because we overbought. Because the season ends Sunday.

Verdict

The price or the ask looks irregular and needs an honest cause the buyer can inspect.

Don't

The reason is a gimmick, or the product already has category trust and only needs a reminder.

Copy skeleton

[CLAIM in one line]

Because [REASON 1: mechanism]

Because [REASON 2: proof condition]

Because [REASON 3: timing / fit]

Therefore [OFFER / ASK]

Gulf note

Spell out warranty, returns, and who stands behind the offer. Because innovation is not a reason. Process, materials, and a named accountable party are.

All 64 patterns

Rights-cleared examples

Kotex 'Very personally yours' ad, Life, 1950

The category was unmentionable in 1950, so the ad refuses to depict or discuss it and instead depicts the reward - being seen, being laughed with, holding composure.

'A New Profession' advertising agency recruiting ad

It sells a job by first making the industry look inevitable: the watch figures establish consolidation and the rise of advertising as an economic law rather than a fashion, so joining reads as timing rather than ambition.

idn.duke.edu public-domain-us Open in library

'They Fight Film: They who have pretty teeth' ad

The copy gives dull teeth one physical cause the reader can feel with the tongue: a viscous film that clings, absorbs stains and holds acid against the teeth.

idn.duke.edu public-domain-us Open in library

'What girl does not use it?' cream ad

The headline works by inversion: instead of claiming everybody uses it, it dares the reader to identify herself as the exception, which turns product adoption into group membership.

idn.duke.edu public-domain-us Open in library

al-Jil al-Jadid film ad, al-Musawwar 1945

A large still of the two leads face to face takes the top half, then the headline announces a great win.

digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu public-domain (university archive statement) Open in library

al-Malika al-Saghira silk fabrics ad, al-Kashkul 1927

The ad is written as a polite note to one woman, addressing her in the feminine and inviting her to the new shop on Emad El-Din Street opposite the English telegraph office.

digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu public-domain (university archive statement) Open in library

al-Malika al-Saghira silk shop ad, al-Kashkul 1927

The shop ties its silks to named mills in Lyon, borrowing the French city's name to vouch for cloth the reader cannot touch through the page.

digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu public-domain (university archive statement) Open in library

al-Malika al-Saghira silk shop ad, al-Kashkul 1928

Each line answers a shopper's question in order: where (Emad el-Din Street, number 7), what (silks of the newest make), how much (prices that do not accept competition) and why to believe it (weekly shipments from 'our factory in Lyon').

digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu public-domain (university archive statement) Open in library

al-Malika al-Saghira silk shop ad, al-Kashkul 1928

The ad is a letter to 'the respected lady' signed by the management, so it reads as a personal note rather than a sales notice.

digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu public-domain (university archive statement) Open in library

al-Muwasat race lottery ticket ad, al-Musawwar 1936

The dream line sits over a jockey on a galloping horse and a spill of coins from money bags, so the reader sees the win before he reads the terms.

digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu public-domain (university archive statement) Open in library

Alexander Clark silverware ad, The Sphinx 1906

The boxed centre paragraph gives the reason behind the price: because the firm are the actual makers, they sell at first cost and save the buyer at least 25 per cent.

digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu public-domain (university archive statement) Open in library

Aspro pain tablets ad, al-Musawwar 1945

The ad is written as news: after years away serving the fighting fronts, Aspro is back and the first shipment has landed.

digitalcollections.aucegypt.edu public-domain (university archive statement) Open in library

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