← the founders library

Reality in Advertising

Rosser Reeves

Book content checked: . What this means

Buy a copy
Amazon USAmazon UKAmazon DE

These are Amazon affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Founder connections

  • David OgilvyReading selection
    Ogilvy includes Reeves’s Reality in Advertising, identifying the 1961 Knopf edition, in the reading list of Ogilvy on Advertising.
    Source

Summary

Rosser Reeves draws on advertising experience to set out an argument about what makes an advertisement successful. His unique selling proposition asks for a specific customer benefit, a promise competitors do not offer and a reason strong enough to attract new customers. The book presents an influential historical approach to choosing the claim an advertisement makes.

  • SourceReality in Advertising — licensed original Knopf listing · 1961 Knopf description, partial Contents and Bibliographic information
  • SourceJohn Grant: The Brand Innovation Manifesto — licensed Wiley chapter · Chapter 1, The Old School; printed page 15; Reeves’s three USP conditions

Why read it Our view

Useful for examining the promise in a product’s advertising. Reeves’s framework asks you to connect a customer benefit with a meaningful difference from competitors, then consider whether that difference can persuade someone to buy.

Library reading guides

Explore library guides that include this book.