The Nancy (Halbert) Letter

> While I didn't know (remember?) about the
> coat-of-
> arms being more an individual thing than a
> family
> thing, something just didn't sit right with
> me
> when I read that letter.

> I can accept the letter being written in the
> "voice" of his wife. And, while I
> don't know the
> actual origins of the project, I can believe
> that
> it MAY have started out as an actual
> research
> project on behalf of friends. But, we KNOW
> that
> the same letter went to people with dozens
> (hundreds? thousands?) of different names.
> Also,
> the statements that they had just "a
> few extra
> copies made" and their "supply is
> pretty slim" is
> ridiculous.

> Don't get me wrong -- Halbert is a
> copywriting
> genius, and I "eat up" everything
> I hear or read
> from him. Unfortunately, this is one example
> where the ethicality is... shall we say,
> less
> than perfect.

> Nevertheless, a wonderful lesson in form
> & style.

> Chris

a woman that was doing something similar...but on a very small scale. It resulted in an 'A-Ha' moment for Gary and the 'Nancy-Letter' was born. Gary proved (as is often the case) the marketing of a concept is more important than 'inventing' the concept. I find the Nancy-Letter to be a terrific example of a powerful direct marketing piece that only takes one page. How many of us are getting direct marketing pieces that consume page after page...and still never get the message home. At least in my own 'swipe-file' I have darn few good, one-page DM pieces. Perhaps someone like Tony B. has a good collection of them but I have to believe there are only a few out there as good as the Nancy-Letter.

Take care,

Mike W.