The fictional character that sold millions, thanks to a defective eye...
 

Hi Phil,

Thanks for linking to the "Lord Nut Levington" flavored peanuts story!

I'm going to talk about one of my favorite fictional characters that sold millions... Thanks to a defective eye!

This character was (in my opinion) a stroke of genius - and was created by a marketing legend.

But first... My feeling as to why "characters" like this can work is that it relates to the old copywriting formula... AIDA

AIDA stands for...

Attention
Interest
Desire
Action

A cool character helps with the first part - ATTENTION!

However, for a successful business, you still need to deliver a good product.

For example, the only way that flavored peanuts business can survive and thrive is if people make repeat purchases - which means they have to like the peanuts too...

Now here is one of my favorite fictional characters which was used to sell a product. It came from advertising legend, David Ogilvy...



It's the man in the Hathaway shirt!

Although the "man in the Hathaway shirt" was played by different models for many years, he always had an eyepatch. He sold Hathaway shirts for something like 30 or 40 years, often via magazine advertising.

(Hathaway shirts finally closed in 2002. They were the last major company to produce shirts in the United States. I guess they were outcompeted by cheap overseas competition - however, the fact they were the last shows that they did outlast every other American shirt company.)

Now, you may ask, why the eyepatch?

The only reason for the eyepatch was - to get ATTENTION!

A man with an eyepatch will get your "attention" much better than some ordinary-looking fellow...

The idea is then, after your curiosity has been roused, you'll read the "copy" under the picture... Then hopefully, buy yourself a shirt!

Best wishes,

Dien