"An Open Letter To Every Man And Woman In America Who Wants To Have Better Sex Without Feeling Guilty!"
This 1995 ad by famed copywriter Gary Halbert was written when the internet was just beginning to gain popularity and as we all now, the internet completely...View More
exposed everything sex-related. Now, in just a few clicks, you'll find dozens of sex courses, freaky fetish videos & every sex definition you never knew existed. That's what I love about this ad. It was done at the cusp of the digital revolution, when people were still very unaware & uncomfortable with the topic of sex. Gary masterfully makes the reader feel at ease about reading this ad, turning any nervousness they have into excitement! The end of his headline says it all - "Without Feeling Guilty".
He supports this very concern throughout the entire ad, often referencing that this is indeed, NOT like those porn-related sex products. The best tactic to combat this guilt is done by Gary early on in the ad & very prominently again with a photo on the right. That is, the profile of the man representing the video , Dr. Ross Stewart.
You gotta laugh at the way Gary talks about this guy at the beginning of each section - "marriage & family therapist, Ph.D. in Guidance & Psychological services, worked with children, adults & family in a clinical setting." The guy couldn't be more squeaky clean. "He went home stunned" from what he found at a workshop. Stunned because he's supposed to be this goody two shoes the reader wants to be seen as & yet, as the ad picks up & Gary gets into in the bullets, "it gets steamy!"
Towards the end he sells you on the idea of watching "four of the most attractive women in the world" including the supposed "Marilyn Monroe of the 90s". I don't know about you, but in 95', that alone probably resulted in an immediate purchase. It ends with a 90-day guarantee & encourages a 24-hour phone sale towards the end. Who knows what kind of hours some guys were ordering this.
