DOES ADVERTISING PAY

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVI, Issue 936, 13 February 1908, Page 21

DOES ADVERTISING PAY

Sir Thomas Dewar, head of the great Scottish whisky firm, has been giving his opinion on advertising, and the way to do it, in a daily paper. Few people are better qualified to speak on this question than Sir Thomas. With regard to the advantages of advertising, he practically puts the case in a nutshell.' “ The question” (he writes) “is often asked, ‘ Does advertising pay?’ Surely the only reply to this is, Wou’d advertisers spend their money if it didn’t? The sad experience of those who, on the score of economy, have dropped their advertising for a time, and find their trade drops also, is a sure proof that it does pay.” Sir Thomas goes on to say: “I am no believer in , what I may term the fantastic advertisement. By this I mean the owning of the best yacht afloat, or a racing stud which wins many classic events. Neither the one nor the other will sell a sovereign’s worth of goods. Profitab’e

advertising is not done outside the ordinary recognised channels, and it is also my opinion that it is utterly futile to advertise an article which is not as good as other advertsed articles of a kindred nature- Much money can be lost in the

endeavour to advertise and push bad value. The public are greaf judges to-day. They know what they want, and see that they get it. The article is its own best advertiser; the quality must always be a convincing testimonial that it is the best

that money can buy. This is an importan truth?. No amount of advertising can make a bad article really popular, however much the proprietor tries to force it, literally as ,we]l as metaphorically, down the throats of the public. In the same way, what is called ‘ influence ’ and ‘ connection ’ can do something, no doubt, to get one on in the world, but it will never (say) make a Lord Chancellor or a Field Marshall out of a really incompetent man. ’ ’