Founder connections
- David OgilvyForeword author and recommendationOgilvy’s own reading list identifies his foreword, and his headline-writing discussion recommends Caples’s book. These passages refer to an earlier edition.Source
Summary
John Caples explains how to write and test advertisements that produce a response. The book covers headlines, offers, selling appeals, copy and layouts, then describes practical ways to measure which approach works. This fifth edition, revised by Fred E. Hahn, continues the focus on comparing results rather than guessing why an advertisement succeeds. Its examples and methods concern the craft of direct-response advertising.
Why read it Our view
Useful for making an advertising choice that you can test. Compare the headline, offer and appeal, then choose a measure that shows whether people respond. Treat the book’s historical examples as prompts for experiments with your own audience.
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