What Can You Learn from an Old Maid?
When I was a kid, I remember my relatives talking about some Great Aunt I’d never met. They called her an “Old Maid.”
I had no idea what they were talking about, but I could tell they considered it an insult.
Years later, I learned the meaning: A woman who has — gasp! — never gotten married.
Today, countless women choose not to get married…
…and no one blinks.
But back in the day, being an Old Maid was cause for pity…
…or disgust.
I thought of poor, pitiful Great Auntie the other day when I reread an old Listerine ad from 1925 with this headline:
“Often a bridesmaid but never a bride”
Here’s some of the ad copy:
Edna’s case was really a pathetic one. Like every woman, her primary ambition was to marry. Most of the girls of her set were married — or about to be. Yet not one possessed more grace or charm or loveliness than she.
And as her birthdays crept gradually toward that tragic thirty-mark, marriage seemed farther from her life than ever.
She was often a bridesmaid but never a bride.
Then the kicker…
That’s the insidious thing about halitosis (unpleasant breath). You, yourself, rarely know when you have it. And even your closest friends won’t tell you…
And on it goes to describe how Listerine prevents and cures halitosis.
That’s a brilliant ad.
Some of you may cringe and call this “fear-based” advertising (in fact some people refer to fear-based advertising as a “halitosis appeal.”)
But here’s the thing: Bad breath is a real thing. Fear of repelling a potential mate is a real thing. And Listerine offered a real solution.
If you want to connect with prospects, you have to meet them where they are (and then offer a real solution to their problem).
In 1921, Listerine rang $115,000 in sales. By 1927, 2+ years after launching its halitosis ads, annual sales had grown to $4 million. By 1930, Listerine was the country’s third-largest print advertiser.
The story of poor Edna sold A LOT of Listerine.
If you liked this story…
…and want more like it, you can sign-up to receive MY lightbulb-moment-making 💡, laugh-inducing 🤣, never-boring ⚡️ emails.
Daily(ish) goodness delivered straight to your inbox. (This thing you just read began life as a humble little email before sprouting wings, leaving the nest, and flying here to Medium-ville).
Hesitant to get daily(ish) with me? Well…before you flee, see what the enlightened, amused, never-bored masses say. Discover why they wake up with me Monday through Friday mornings. As the old saying goes… “Some balked when I told them I send daily(ish) emails, but then they read a few…”
