Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from If Worlds of Science Fiction April 1954. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.
Breeder Reaction
By Winston Marks
Illustrated by Kelly Freas
The remarkable thing about Atummyc Afterbath Dusting Powderwas that it gave you that lovely, radiant, atomic look—justthe way the advertisements said it would. In fact, it alsogave you a little something more!
he advertising game is not as cut and dried as many people think.Sometimes you spend a million dollars and get no results, and thensome little low-budget campaign will catch the public's fancy and walkaway with merchandising honors of the year.
Let me sound a warning, however. When this happens, watch out! There'salways a reason for it, and it isn't always just a matter of brightslogans and semantic genius. Sometimes the product itself does thetrick. And when this happens people in the industry lose their headstrying to capitalize on the "freak" good fortune.
This can lead to disaster. May I cite one example?
I was on loan to Elaine Templeton, Inc., the big cosmetics firm, whenone of these "prairie fires" took off and, as product engineer fromthe firm of Bailey Hazlitt & Persons, Advertising Agency, I figured Ihad struck pure gold. My assay was wrong. It was fool's gold on a poolof quicksand.
Madame "Elaine", herself, had called me in for consultation on a hugelipstick campaign she was planning—you know, NOW AT LAST, A TRULYKISS-PROOF LIPSTICK!—the sort of thing they pull every so often toget the ladies to chuck their old lip-goo and invest in the currentdream of non-smearability. It's an old gimmick, and the new product isnever actually kiss-proof, but they come closer each year, and thegals tumble for it every time.
Well, they wanted my advice on a lot of details such as optimumshades, a new name, size, shape and design of container. And they wereready to spend a hunk of moolah on the build-up. You see, when theygive a product a first-class advertising ride they don't figure onnecessarily showing a profit on that particular item. If they breakeven they figure they are ahead of the game, because the true purposeis to build up the brand name. You get enough women raving over thenew Elaine Templeton lipstick, and first thing you know sales startclimbing on the whole line of assorted aids to seduction.
Since E. T., Inc., was one of our better accounts, the old man told meto take as long as was needed, so I moved in to my assigned office, inthe twelve-story E. T. building, secretary, Scotch supply, ice-bags,ulcer pills and all, and went to work setting up my survey staff. Thisproduct engineering is a matter of "cut and try" in some fields. Youget some ideas, knock together some samples, try them on the publicwith a staff of interviewers, tabulate the results, draw yourconclusions and hand them over to Production with a prayer. If your adbudget is large enough your prayer is usually answered, because theAmerican Public buys principally on the "we know what we like, and welike what we know" principle. Make them "know it" and they'll buy it.Maybe in love, absence makes the heart grow fonder, but in thisbusiness, familiarity breeds nothing but