12. The family resemblance of advertisements.—A noted psychologist once said: "It is the generic fam ily resemblance that some of the great national ad vertisers adhere to in their advertisements which gives the cumulative inheritance of power." Many adver tisers are unable to comprehend this principle. There is no coordination in their advertising campaigns. Their advertisements inherit no power from their predecessors. Their advertisements do not look alike. But above this, their advertisements are not so con structed as to transmit any power. They urge one thing today and another thing tomorrow. In the advertisements of today they make claims which they contradict or prove false in the statements they make tomorrow. They have no consistency either in ap pearance or purpose. They live from hand to mouth. It is these advertisers who most quickly find the point of diminishing returns. They are building not on a foundation but on the ground.
The first way to give advertisements that subtle something which we call character and which the psy chologist calls generic family resemblance is to build them on fundamental business policy. Many organ izations do not know that they have business policies until they begin to prepare advertisements. There are certain policies of honesty and fair dealing which should be fundamental with any organization. There are other policies of trade developed with experience. Each year new policies develop or changes are needed in old ones. Each year the far-sighted employer sets down the policies of his organization and endeavors to express them in his advertising campaign.
The other method of obtaining and retaining char acter in all the advertisements of a campaign is in the physical make-up. This, too, may change from year to year, just as a man may change his style of dress as he grows older. It is not to be supposed that one concern will use the same style of border or the same type in all its advertisements year in and year out. But there should be something which carries
the reader's mind from advertisement to advertise ment—something which provides the connecting link with past experience, while offering opportunity for the constant change that is necessary to hold atten tion.
In Chapter V we listed thirteen ways in which advertisers can give physical unity to their campaigns. There should be no haphazard choice of one of these distinguishing features of a campaign. Whatever is chosen should have a real meaning. The finding of that meaning is one of the arts of advertising.
Perhaps you know a man who always wears a broad-brimmed felt. The wearing of that hat is a part of his personality. When you think of him vou think of the hat. They seem to belong together. Other men, possibly, wishing to emulate him, wear the same sort of hat. Their efforts are incongruous; broad brimmed felt hats are not the natural headgear for them. Instead of adopting the distinguishing out ward characteristic of another individual, they should wear the hat that best merges into their own peculiar ities of face, stature and character. So it is with ad vertisements. The physical make-up as well as the message of the advertisement must represent the char acter of the advertiser and his organization.
Advertising is expression. It is more than words on paper. Advertisements are the representatives of the organizations paying for them. They should be like those organizations, look like them, live like them.
A truly successful advertising campaign is not de veloped by formula. It is an expression of char acter. And in so far as that character is strong, as that character is steadfast, as that character is true, to that extent, and to that extent only, may the cam paign be expected to succeed.