It is said that “there is nothing new except for what has been forgotten.” As a modern art form, advertising is about a century old, but the science behind the methodology hasn’t changed that much. Many of the methods pioneered by advertising guru Claude Hopkins, and detailed in his newly re-released book (January 2009)[1] are still relevant today, even though the book was first published in 1925. The impact of the book has been felt in virtually all forms of advertising, from direct advertising to print advertising to today’s social media marketing.

Scientific Advertising was the first published source to discuss coupons, sales letters, copywriting, test marketing, sampling technology and preemptive advertising as advertising/marketing tools. The “science” in Scientific Advertising refers to the application of metrics to quantify and measure a promotion’s impact, and today advertising/marketing experts swear by the effectiveness of such industry standards as ROI, recall, impressions, conversions and KPI’s, techniques which can be traced back to Hopkins’ magnum opus.

Claude Hopkins (1866-1932) was employed by the leading advertisers of his day, including Bissell Carpet Sweeper Company, Swift & Company and Dr. Shoop’s patent medicine company. While at another advertising firm (Lord & Thomas), Hopkins began formulating some of the advertising principles (e.g. test and measure) that he would later document in Scientific Advertising. The book was the first to argue that copywriters employ first-class research, especially when it came to understanding client needs and producing copy that addressed those needs.

Scientific Advertising lays the groundwork for some of advertising’s most influential theories, and advertising luminaries from David Ogilvy to Jay Abraham owe (and acknowledge) a colossal debt to Hopkins’ book. For example, Scientific Advertising was the first book to outline loss control, explaining how unsuccessful advertisements can be quarantined and profitable advertisements increased by carefully testing and measuring results. The book is a classic and a must-read for any student of advertising theory. It is concise and always stays on point. By today’s standards, the language is somewhat stilted, but the ideas are contemporary.

The complete book (21 chapters) can be downloaded for free as a PDF. Simply Google "Scientific Advertising" to locate the website. 

By Darrell Woody

Gazette Staff Writer