Recognize this “swipe?”

I’ve really grown to detest the popular copywriting term, “swipe”… even though I’ve been a decades-long exponent of it.

It’s not that it sounds larcenous, but it suggests someone who’s uncultured, instead of the very opposite.

Would a critic somewhere suggest Gary Bencivenga’s partiality to the storied Sackheim headline is the mark of an amateur?

Advertising blasphemy!

And likewise, I’d say the same of this ad from Dr. Sears, likely written by in-house star, Jeff McGeary.

“Why Some People Over 60 Don’t Need Glasses”

Most copywriters who’ve been around the block will recognize the headline as a tribute to the 1956 ad written for Gerald M. Loeb’s book, The Battle for Investment Survival.

Some sources claim this famous investing tome from G.M. Loeb (a founding partner of E.F. Hutton & Co) was originally published in 1935.

I see no evidence it was in print earlier than 1944.

It’s a good thing Loeb’s lifestyle wasn’t tethered to sales of the book because they were LIGHT.

That is until 1956 rolled around and a proper ad was run.

And this zinger of a contrast — posed as dual questions — opened the body copy:

“WHY DO SOME ‘foolhardy’ people make money in the stock market, while some of the most cautious people ‘lose their shirts?’ What is the basic secret of preserving and multiplying your family nest egg?”

You know these were some formidable copywriters on the case when Simon & Schuster took over.

And this Phoenix rose from the ashes over ten years later!

Later insertions tested this version of the opening and kept the ad in print till 1973.

“WHY DO SOME novice investors manage to extricate themselves from market upsets, while some of the most cautious people suffer big losses? How can you strengthen your present investment situation and profit the most in periods of recovery?”

The truth is, I’m motivated to give this headline a roll myself. Other than some bored copy chief somewhere, no one will notice.

– “Why Some People Over 60 Don’t Need Glasses”
– “Why Some People Almost Always Make Money In The Stock Market”
– “Why some people almost always make money from Race Horses”

This headline template really pulls the reader in because she’s tempted to think the big benefit is:

The purview of a privileged class

…but that’s not the case and the copywriter can easily dispel this right in the opening… AFTER the prospect’s attention has been captured.

And now you know why some copywriters are STILL making bank with this 66-year-old headline!