Advertising the Third Liberty Loan: Suggestions for Writers of Advertising to Promote the Sale of Liberty Bonds
A 12-page brief that the Liberty Loan Committee of the New York district sent to volunteer ad writers before the Third Liberty Loan drive of 1918.
What it is
A 12-page brief that the Liberty Loan Committee of the New York district sent to volunteer ad writers before the Third Liberty Loan drive of 1918. It first reviews what the committee learned: the First Loan had to teach the basics of bonds to a public with about 350,000 bondholders, and in the Second the committee logged several thousand requests for patriotic copy against a few hundred for the best investment ad. It then sets a policy for the Third: lead with victory and saving lives, keep investment copy to about 20 percent, write short pieces that each make one point, use horror copy with care, answer objections in a positive tone, appeal to women, illustrate almost every ad with soldiers rather than allegorical figures, and repeat two keynote lines, "Lend him a hand" and "Liberty Bonds save lives". Two sample ads close it.
Why read it now
This is a rare record of a campaign team writing its brief from its own response data, a method that still works: count which copy people actually ask for, then shift the mix. Several rules match later ad testing and brand research: one message per piece, a picture and caption that tell the story at a glance, and a keynote line repeated everywhere. Its warning that horror copy pulls attention to the horror rather than the purchase is close to modern fear-appeal research, which finds fear works best when paired with a clear action the reader can take. It also treats objections (peace talk, bonds below par, "I have done my share") as copy topics, which is sound. What has dated: the call for an "artificially stimulated atmosphere of enthusiasm", the enemy stereotypes, and the idea that women are reached mainly through a heart appeal. To use it: before a seasonal or national-day campaign, write a one-page brief in the same order, covering the last campaign's numbers, the lead appeal, the share given to the rational offer, the two lines to repeat, and the objections to answer.
Passages worth keeping
We must not talk in terms of investment when we should be talking in terms of human life.
حين يكون الدافع الحقيقي للشراء هو الحرب وحياة الجنود، فإن الحديث عن العائد يُضعف الرسالة. على الإعلان أن يتكلم بلغة السبب الأعمق.
There were several thousand demands for patriotic copy against a few hundred for the most popular investment appeal.
الدليل على تفوّق الرسالة الوطنية جاء من الطلب الفعلي: آلاف الطلبات على الإعلانات الوطنية مقابل مئات فقط لأنجح إعلان استثماري.
Horror copy does not contribute to such an atmosphere. It tends to centre the reader's attention on the horror itself rather than to stimulate the buying impulse.
مشاهد الرعب تجعل القارئ يفكر في المشهد المخيف نفسه ولا تدفعه إلى الشراء، لذلك فضّلت اللجنة جوًّا من التفاؤل الهادئ.
By making each piece of copy a unit that can be quickly grasped, the advertising should gain immeasurably in punch and pulling power.
الإعلان الذي يحمل فكرة واحدة تُفهم بسرعة أقوى أثرًا وأكثر جلبًا للاستجابة من إعلان يحاول قول كل شيء.
Together, the illustration and the caption should flash the story of an advertisement so that it will get across at a glance, even when the copy is not carefully read and analyzed.
على الصورة والتعليق معًا أن يوصلا فكرة الإعلان في نظرة واحدة، لأن أغلب الناس لن يقرؤوا النص بتمعّن.
What it teaches best
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