The foundation for Ego Morphing and the Vanity Appeal was described by Pratkanis and Aronson (Age of Propaganda, 1991), when they said, “By purchasing the ‘right stuff,’ we [the consumer] enhance our own egos and rationalize away our inadequacies.” Imagine that! We can actually buy things to make up for what we believe is a lacking in our

create a drive that motivates them to take an action that will fulfill that desire as soon as possible.

If you can’t get a full endorsement—a testimonial, for example—you can achieve similar success by spotlighting readily recognized symbols that carry the weight of endorsement.

Okay, let’s review what you learned so far. YOU LEARNED that in order for your advertising to be successful, you must first be aware of what blocks your readers from understanding your message. YOU LEARNED that your readers don’t care about your big vocabulary, only what you can do for them. That means you use shorter words, sentences, and

Now, let’s make an analogy. Sales letters are like Larry’s words. They’re personal, one-on-one, and try to “meet you in your world.” Brochures, by contrast, are like Larry’s briefcase: impersonal, and filled with samples, photos, and complete details. Each component works in a different way for the same end result: the sale. Remember: Advertising

and the result is simply, “Yum. Beans!” No big decision here. And not much brain power is needed. After all, if you buy the wrong beans, you simply say, “Blorf … lousy beans!” and dump them down the drain. So what kind of thought process does purchasing your product require?

Ad-Agency Secret #2: Bombard Your Readers With Benefits

People have eight basic wants—the LF8 (survival; food and drink; freedom from fear, pain, and danger; sexual companionship; comfortable living conditions; to be superior; care and protection of loved ones; and social approval). 2. The strongest advertising appeals are based on these eight basic wants. 3. The most effective way to create an appeal

Again, notice how my choice of words causes you to imagine ice cream, nuts, steaming-hot fudge and a bright red cherry floating in your stomach. If I instead said, “you’ll take some form of action that results in your having eaten it,” your mental movie screen would have—POOF—gone blank. And—this is critical—the less imagery you convey, the less