Spreckels 
 

THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
THE .THEORY 
 OF ADVERTISING, 
 
 A Simple Exposition of 
 The Principles of Psychology 
 
 In Their Relation to 
 Successful Advertising 
 
 By WALTER DILL SCOTT, Ph.D. 
 
 Director of the Psychological Laboratory of Northwestern University 
 
 Boston 
 
 Small, Maynard Gf Company 
 1904 
 
 'R A R 
 THE 
 
 UN1VWSITY 
 
Copyright 1902-1903 by 
 
 Walter Dill Scott 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 Published October, JOOJ 
 
 Plates by The Fort Hill Press 
 
 Presswork by Geo, H. Ellis Co. 
 
 Boston, U.S.A. 
 
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO 
 
 THOMAS BALMER 
 
 IN RECOGNITION OF THE SERVICES HE HAS RENDERED 
 IN ELEVATING THE ETHICAL STANDARDS 
 
 OF THE ADVERTISING WORLD 
 
 AND IN ASSISTING TO PLACE ADVERTISING 
 
 UPON A SCIENTIFIC BASIS 
 
 1 23351 
 
PREFACE 
 
 NEARLY all of the chapters included in this 
 volume were first published serially in Mahiris 
 Magazine, under the title of " The Psychology 
 of Advertising." The thanks of the author and 
 of the publishers are due to the publishers of 
 that magazine for permission to reprint these 
 articles in book form, as well as for the use of 
 many of the illustrations which appear herein. 
 
 An acknowledgment of courtesy is also due to 
 the Agate Club of Chicago, which has generously 
 transferred to the author the copyright of an 
 address originally delivered before their members, 
 which, in modified form, appears as Chapter II 
 of this book. 
 
 All of the reprinted chapters have been re- 
 vised to adapt them to their present use, addi- 
 tional matter has been added to many of them, 
 and new introductory and concluding chapters 
 have been written. 
 
 VII 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. The Theory of^dvertising i 
 
 "II. Attention 4 : P<! 6 
 
 III. Association of Ideas . 34 
 
 IV. ' Suggestion* 'iXf 47 
 
 V. The Direct Command ' 62 
 
 -ATI. CJhe Psychological Value of the Return Coupo"rT) 79 
 
 ^VII. Fusion 96 
 
 VIII. vf'sychologicai Experiment^. ....... 116 
 
 IX. , Perception 130 
 
 X. .Apperception 147 
 
 XI. Illusions of Perception^ 162 
 
 XII. 'Illusions of Apperception -, 175 
 
 XIII. Personal Differences in Mental Imagery . . . 194 
 
 XIV. 'Practical Application of Mental Imagery . . . 208 
 
 XV. Conclusion 229 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Burlington Route . 1 1 
 
 Dr Slocum's Remedies 13 
 
 Ralston Purina Cereals 20 
 
 Murphy Varnish Co , . . 21 
 
 White Star Coffee 22 
 
 American Pencil Co 23 
 
 The Press Co 26 
 
 Franklin Mills Co. Wheatlet 27,77 
 
 Franklin Mills Flour 28 
 
 Pruden J ial Insurance Co 31 
 
 Advertising Schools 70 
 
 Return Coupons 80, 81, 83, 84, 89 
 
 Ballot Form of Return Coupon 93 
 
 Dr. Sleight's Fat Reducing Tablets 106 
 
 Insexdie 108 
 
 Swan Fountain Pen 109 
 
 Petoskey Rug Mfg. and Carpet Co., Ltd no 
 
 Wm. M. Walton's Cigars in 
 
 Racycle 112 
 
 Great Western Cereal Co 113 
 
 Quaker Oats 114 
 
 Railroad Time-tables 120, 121 
 
 Flame Proof Co. F. P. C. Wax 143, 145 
 
 Whitman's Chocolates 156, 158 
 
 Illusions of Length 163, 165, 167, 168 
 
 Illusions of Size 166, 170, 171 
 
 Illusions of Direction 169 
 
 Munsing and Oneita Underwear 176 
 
 Portable Houses and Fountain Pens 179 
 
 Human Brain 181 
 
 Rabbit-duck Head 182 
 
 Ambiguous Figures 183, 184, 185, 186, 187 
 
 Irrelevant Piano Advertisements 212, 213 
 
 Blasius Piano 214 
 
 Packard Piano 215 
 
 xi 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Irrelevant Food Advertisements 217, 218 
 
 National Biscuit Co. Nabisco 219 
 
 Crawford Shoe 221 
 
 Crossett Shoe 222 
 
 Omega Oil 224, 225, 227 
 
 Xll 
 
T\ B 
 
 OF 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 or < 
 
 T 
 
 THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 SOME good "doctoring" was done when men 
 "picked up " their knowledge of medicine from 
 their practice. To-day the state laws require 
 that every physician shall have a basis of theory 
 for his practical knowledge. He must know 
 the exact chemical constituents 
 
 of the drugs used. He must know 
 
 Demanded , 
 
 the anatomy and the physiology of 
 
 the human organism. He must be a theoretical 
 man before he can be a practical one. If the 
 laws did not prohibit it, he might pick up a good 
 deal in actual experience and might do a good 
 deal of excellent work. The state laws, however, 
 will not allow us to run chances with such people. 
 
 We would not call upon an architect to con- 
 struct a modern office building unless he knew 
 something of the theory of architecture. We 
 would not call upon a lawyer to defend us be- 
 fore the courts unless he knew something of the 
 theory of law. Some states and cities require 
 teachers to pass examinations on the theory of 
 teaching before they are allowed to give instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 In this day and generation we are not afraid 
 of theories, systems, ideals, and imagination. 
 What we do avoid is chance, luck, haphazard 
 
 i 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 undertakings, parrot or rule -of -thumbs action, 
 and the like. We may be willing to decide on 
 unimportant things by instinct or by the flipping 
 of a coin, but when it comes to the serious things 
 of life we want to know that we are trusting to 
 something more than mere chance. 
 
 Advertising is a serious thing with the business 
 [man of to-day. It is estimated that the business 
 (men of the United States are spending $600,000,- 
 r , ooo a year in printed forms of advertising. Fur- 
 thermore one authority claims that seventy-five 
 (jper cent, of all this is unprofitable. Every busi- 
 ness man is anxious that no part of these unpro- 
 fitable advertisements shall fall to his lot. The 
 ) enormity of the expense, the keenness of compe- 
 tition, and the great liability of failure has 
 awakened the advertising world to the pressing 
 need for some basis of assurance in its hazardous 
 undertakings. 
 
 I have attempted to read broadly on the sub- 
 ject of advertising; I have tried to talk with busi- 
 ness men manufacturers, salesmen, publishers, 
 professional advertisers, etc., and in all that I 
 have read, and in all these conversations, I have 
 never seen or heard any reference 
 syc o> ogy ^ Q an y t hi n g except psychology 
 
 which could furnish a stable 
 Suggested 
 
 foundation for a theory of adver- 
 tising. Nothing else is ever suggested as a possi- 
 bility. Ordinarily the business man does not 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING' 
 
 realize that he means psychology when he says 
 that he "must know his customers' wants what 
 will catch their attention, what will impress them 
 and lead them to buy," etc. In all these expres- 
 sions he is saying that he must be a psychologist. 
 He is talking about the minds of his customers, 
 and psychology is nothing but a stubborn and 
 systematic attempt to understand and explain 
 the workings of the minds of these very people. 
 In Printers' Ink for October, 1895, appeared the 
 following editorial: 
 
 Probably when we are a little more enlightened, the 
 advertising writer, like the teacher, will study psychology. 
 For, however diverse their occupation may at first sight 
 appear, the advertising writer and the teacher have one 
 great object in common to influence the human mind. 
 The teacher has a scientific foundation for his work in 
 that direction, but the advertising writer is really also 
 a psychologist. Human nature is a great factor in 
 advertising success, and he who writes advertisements 
 without reference to it is apt to find that he has 
 reckoned without his host. 
 
 In Publicity, March, 1901, appeared an article 
 which is even more suggestive than the editorial 
 in Printers' Ink. The following is a quotation 
 from that article: 
 
 The time is not far away when the advertising- 
 writer will find out the inestimable benefits of a knowl- 
 edge of psychology. The preparation of copy has 
 usually followed the instincts rather than the analyt- 
 
 3 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 ical functions. An advertisement has been written to 
 describe the articles which it was wished to place before 
 the reader; a bit of cleverness, an attractive cut, or 
 some other catchy device has been used, with the hope 
 that the hit or miss ratio could be made as favorable 
 as possible. 
 
 But the future must needs be full of better methods 
 than these to make advertising advance with the same 
 rapidity as it has during the latter part of the last 
 century. And this will come through a closer knowl- 
 edge of the psychological composition of the mind. 
 The so-called "students of human nature" will then 
 be called successful psychologists, and the successful 
 advertisers will be likewise termed psychological adver- 
 tisers. 
 
 The mere mention of psychological terms habit, 
 self, conception, discrimination, association, memory, ' 
 imagination and perception, reason, emotion, instind 
 and will should create a flood of new thought thai 
 should appeal to every advanced consumer of advertis 
 ing space. 
 
 These writers merely voiced the sentiment of 
 the leaders in the advertising world, and are but 
 two of many similar quotations which might be 
 given. The application of the principles and 
 methods of psychology to advertising was a need 
 which was felt by all and expressed by many. 
 
 No science is regarded as complete. The last 
 word has not yet been said in any realm of human 
 knowledge. During the thousands of years since 
 the dawn of civilization there has been a gradual 
 accumulation of knowledge, but during the last 
 
 4 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 few decades the advance in the sciences has been 
 phenomenal. Psychology is no exception to this 
 general statement. Since the establishment of the 
 first psychological laboratory in 1879 the advance 
 in psychology has been very rapid. To-day certain 
 general principles of mind and certain methods 
 of investigating the mind are well established. 
 It behooves the advertiser to take advantage 
 of this scientific knowledge, for it has practical 
 significance for him. The following chapters are 
 an attempt to present the principles and the 
 methods which the modern psychologists have 
 worked out and formulated. At the same time 
 an attempt has been made to show how these 
 principles and methods can be practically applied 
 by the advertiser. 
 
6 
 II 
 
 ATTENTION 
 
 WHAT does the advertiser seek to accomplish 
 by his advertisements ? The answers to this ques- 
 tion differ merely as to form of expression or point 
 of view. One says: "The aim of advertising is 
 to attract attention and to sell goods." Another 
 statement would be that the purpose of advertis- 
 ing is to attract attention to the 
 goods and to create such a favor- 
 Advertisers a ^ e i m P ress i n f r them that the 
 reader will desire to possess them. 
 Whatever the statement may be, this seems cer- 
 7 tain one _aim.^o_f every advertisement is to at- 
 I tract attention. Therefore, the entire problem of 
 attortion is^bne of importance to the advertiser, 
 | and an understanding of it is necessary for its 
 wisest application as well as for a correct under- 
 standing of advertising. 
 
 When we turn to the question of attention, the 
 first thing that impresses us is that our attention 
 is narrow, that we are unable to attend to many 
 things at once. Out of all the multitude of things 
 competing for place in our attention, the great 
 majority is entirely disregarded. At the present 
 time you are receiving impressions of pressure 
 from your chair and from your clothing, impres- 
 sions of smell from flowers and from smoke, 
 
 6 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 impressions of sound from passing vehicles and 
 from your own breathing, impressions of sight 
 from your hand that holds this book and from 
 the table on which the book rests. As I men- 
 tion them they are noticed one after the other. 
 Before I mentioned them you were totally 
 oblivious of them. You cannot say how many 
 distinct things you can attend to at once. This 
 was formerly a question of frequent 
 *" debate. Some asserted that we 
 
 ,. ' could attend to but one thing at 
 
 Time 
 
 a time, but others, with equal 
 vehemence, insisted that a score of things 
 could be attended to at once. The question 
 has been removed from the realm of mere prob- 
 ability, for it has been investigated according 
 to scientific methods in the psychological lab- 
 oratories, and definite results have been ob- 
 tained. Ordinary observers under favorable 
 
 conditions can attend to about four visual 
 objects at once. "Object" here is used to in- 
 dicate anything that may be regarded as a 
 single thing. About four letters, four simple 
 pictures, four geometrical figures or easy words 
 are as much as we can see or attend to at 
 once. 
 
 As you look at this page the light is reflected to 
 your eyes from each individual word, so one might 
 say that you receive an impression from each of 
 the words on the page, but if you look at the page 
 
 7 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 closely you will find that you can attend to but 
 about four words at once. 
 
 If, then, there are multitudes of things to be 
 attended to and we are unable to attend to more 
 than four at once, why^ do we attend_tp certain 
 things and disregard all the rest? What charac- 
 teristics must anything have that it may force 
 itself into our attention? Since advertisements 
 are part of the things which may or may not be 
 attended to, we may be more specific and put the 
 question in this form: What must 
 
 be the characteristics of an adver- 
 Ouestion . r 
 
 04. . A tisement to force it into the atten- 
 Stated 
 
 tion of the possible customer? 
 
 If I am interested in guns, take up a magazine, 
 look for the advertisements of guns and read them 
 through, my attention is voj.uj[rtary. If, while 
 looking for guns, something else catches my eye 
 for a moment and I think ' ' that is an adver- 
 tisement for clothing," then my attention is 
 involuntary. In the first case I sought out the 
 advertisement with a conscious purpose. In 
 the second there was no such conscious purpose, 
 but the advertisement thrust itself upon my 
 attention. 
 
 Psychology is the newest of the experimental 
 sciences and the investigations of involuntary 
 attention are as yet far from satisfactory. The 
 complete analysis of it as applied to advertising 
 has to my knowledge never been made. With 
 
 8 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 its complete analysis the following six principles 
 will appear: 
 
 The first principle is_ihatJh^Qwe.r.Qtqnyj)bject 
 to force itself into our attention depends on the 
 'absence of counter attractions. 
 
 Other things being equal, the probabilities that 
 any particular thing will catch our attention are 
 in proportion to the absence of competing attrac- 
 tions. This may be demonstrated in a specific 
 case as follows : I had a card of con- 
 venient size and on it were four 
 
 Experiment liters. This car( ^ was exposed to 
 view for one twenty-fifth of a sec- 
 ond, and in that time all the four letters were read 
 by the observers. I then added four other letters 
 and exposed the card one twenty-fifth of a sec- 
 ond as before. The observers could read but four 
 letters as in the previous trial, but in this exposure 
 there was no certainty that any particular letter 
 would be read. I then added four more letters to 
 the card and exposed it as in the previous trials. 
 The observers were still able to read but four let- 
 ters. That is to say, up to" a certain point all could 
 be seen ; when the number of objects (i. e., let- 
 ters) was doubled, the chances that any particular 
 object would be seen were reduced to fifty per 
 cent. When the number of objects was increased 
 threefold, the chance of any particular object 
 being seen was reduced to thirty-three per cent. 
 If I should place any four particular letters on 
 
 9 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 the right-hand page of any magazine, and also 
 the same four letters on the opposite page, 
 and have nothing else on these pages, it is safe 
 to say that the letters would be seen, with more 
 or less attention, in one or both cases by every 
 one who turns over the pages of the magazine. 
 This follows, because at the ordinary reading 
 distance the field of even comparatively distinct 
 vision is smaller than a single page of ordinary 
 magazine size, and as one turns the pages the 
 attention is not wider than the page and therefore 
 the letters have no rivals and would of neces- 
 sity fill or occupy the attention for an instant of 
 time, or until the page was turned over. If one 
 hundred of these letters were placed on each of 
 the pages, the chances that any particular letter 
 would be seen are greatly reduced. 
 
 This seems to indicate that, other things being- 
 equal, the full-page advertisement is the "sure-i 
 to-be-seen " advertisement, and that the size of an 
 advertisement determines the number of chances 
 it has of being seen. 
 
 This principle, which holds for the parts of a 
 page, might not hold for adjoining pages. Thus 
 it might not be to the advantage of an advertise- 
 ment to be the only advertisement or the only one 
 of a certain class of goods in any periodical. If 
 there were eight advertisements of automobiles on 
 a single page, the casual reader would probably see 
 but one or two of them. If there were eight full- 
 
 10 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 page advertisements of automobiles on adjoining 
 pages of the same magazine, even the casual reader 
 would be likely to see them all./ Whether each 
 
 Cool Off 
 in Colorado 
 
 If it's hot where yon are and you want a change of air, 
 
 if you are tired and overworked and need a little outing; go 
 to Colorado. It is the one perfect summer spot in America, 
 of tl 
 
 The pure, dry, invigorating air, the glory of the 
 
 scenery, the quiet restfulness of the place, the fine fishing and 
 
 golf links, the comfortable hotels and boarding houses, all go to make 
 
 Colorado the ideal country for seekers after health and pleasure. 
 
 Send for our "Handbook of Colorado. 
 
 A trip to Colorado costs but little. Our handbook tells all about the 
 prices for board and the attractions at different places. 'Send for a copy 
 TO-DAY. No charge. At the same time I will mail you a circular telling 
 
 about the very cheap tickets we are selling to Colorado. Round trip from 
 21 
 
 Chicago, $25 and $30; from St. Louis, $21 and $25, according to the date, 
 t takes but one night on the road from either Chicago or St. Louis to Denver. 
 
 of these eight full-page advertisements would be 
 as effective as one would be if it were the only one 
 in the magazine is a question for further consid- 
 eration and will be taken up at a later time. 
 
 ii 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 If on a single page there are but few words set 
 in display type, and if these words stand out with 
 no competitors for the attention 
 *! of the reader, the chances are in 
 
 * ,. .. favor of any particular person 
 
 reading this much of the advertise- 
 ment. Thus, in the advertisement of the Burl- 
 ington Railroad reproduced herewith (No. i), 
 the words "Cool off in Colorado" stand out 
 without having to compete with any counter 
 attraction. If this idea causes the reader to 
 stop but for a second he will next see the dis- 
 play "Burlington Route" and then "Send for 
 our Handbook of Colorado." No one of these 
 displays competes with the other, but each assists 
 the other. 
 
 In the advertisement of Doctor Slocum, as 
 reproduced herewith (No. 2), there is so much 
 put in display type and in so many styles of type 
 that nothing stands out clearly and distinctly. 
 Each individual display seems to screech at the 
 reader as he turns the page. The result is that 
 the ordinary reader feels confused, and turns 
 away from such a page without any definite idea 
 as to what it is all about. Each display is a 
 counter attraction to each other one, and so the 
 effect of all is weakened. 
 
 The second principle is that the power of any 
 object to attract our attention depends on the intensity 
 of the sensation aroused. 
 
 12 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 The bright headlight of the locomotive and the 
 red lanterns which are used as signals of danger 
 
 ARE YOUR LUNGS WEAK? 
 
 You. Kind Reader, Thrt.lened with Consumption. Iry CKi. Complete. phHosophlc.1 nd SUCCESSFUL 
 
 HERE- 18 HALTH 
 
 ,llta,alim .ifnmt, llu ntt of rtr/k ./ U, Fnr Tritl S*mfJ,i. Write far I 
 
 Digestive 
 Tonic 
 
 INVIGORATING. 
 
 The CONSUMPTIVE Can Be Cured 
 
 . tr.... -- n ----- .1 ------ ,,., ---- k , -- - .. -. ' 
 
 
 I .* t *i>tr' f ini!irtrwi^"i c * s * s h * v * b ** 
 
 -SLJsrjfsa; "BwnraRBrKa: 
 
 ., m . Jr A SLOCIJ ^. .0.. S SSfhJr.'SS SoTS: 
 
 |cym pk.s jive eiprr .nd posl- 
 
 I AND PRESBYTER. 
 
 * 
 
 Wrili fir FOUR FREE SAMPLES 
 
 No. 2 
 
 arouse such strong sensations that we simply 
 must see them. 
 
 Moving objects produce a stronger sensation /</ 1 
 than objects at rest. This accounts for the intro- ' 
 
 13 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 duction of all sorts of movement in street adver- 
 
 tising. 
 
 Certain colors attract attention more than 
 
 others. Prof. Harlow Gale has made some ex- 
 
 periments to determine what the attention value 
 of the different colors is. He has 
 found that red is the color having 
 
 Colors ^ e greatest attention value, green 
 is the second and black the third. 
 Black on a white background is more effective 
 than white on a black background. 
 
 Large and heavy types not only occupy a large 
 amount of space and so force attention to them- 
 selves by excluding counter attractions, but, in 
 addition to this, they affect the eye and give a 
 strong sensation and thereby attract the atten- 
 tion. Experiments have been made to find the 
 attention value of the different-sized type. It 
 has been found that, within the limits of trr 
 experiments, the attention value of display type 
 increases in almost exact proportion to the 
 increase of its size. 
 
 The eye is like a photographer's camera. If 
 it is focused for any particular object, all others 
 appear through it to be blurred and indistinct. If 
 I fix my eyes upon an object directly in front of 
 me, all others are seen but dimly. My hand, held 
 to the extreme right or left, is then seen so indis- 
 tinctly that I cannot count the fingers. Objects 
 that fall under the direct gaze of the eyes make 
 
 14 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 stronger visual impressions than those which fall 
 out of the focus. The former ordinarily attract 
 the attention, the latter seldom do. As one turns 
 over the pages of advertisements, those which fall 
 directly within the focus of the eye have the best 
 chance of attracting the attention. 
 
 An important question for the advertiser is: 
 Where does the ordinary reader direct his eyes 
 as he turns the pages of a magazine ? Does he 
 begin at the front or at the back of the mag- 
 azine ? Does he turn his eyes first to the top 
 or to the middle or to the bottom of the page? 
 Are his eyes turned more to the right or more 
 to the left of the page? These questions have 
 been the subject of frequent discussion, but they 
 never have been subjected to sufficiently exten- 
 sive investigation. 
 
 The third principle is that the attention value of 
 \an object depends upon the contrast it forms to the 
 object presented with it, preceding or following it. 
 
 The contrast produced by a flash of lightning 
 on a dark nip-ht, or by the hooting of an owl 
 at midnight, is so strong that the attention is 
 absolutely forced, and there is no one who 
 can disregard them. Novel things and sudden 
 changes of any sort are noticed, while familiar 
 things and gradual changes are hardly noticed 
 at all. 
 
 This is a matter of common experience, but 
 has been strikingly illustrated with frogs. The 
 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 following quotation is taken from a recent work 
 
 of the director of the psychological laboratory 
 
 at Yale University: " Although a 
 
 . ^ frog jumps readily enough when 
 w put in warm water, yet a frog can 
 
 be boiled without a movement if 
 the water is heated slowly enough. In one exper- 
 iment the water was heated at the rate of .0036 
 of a degree Fahrenheit per second ; the frog never 
 moved and at the end of two and one-half hours 
 was found dead. He had evidently been boiled 
 without noticing it." 
 
 My explanation of these results is that at any 
 point of time the temperature of water was in such 
 little contrast with the temperature a moment 
 before that the attention of the frog was never 
 attracted to the temperature of the water at all ; 
 so the frog was actually boiled to death without 
 becoming aware of the fact! 
 
 As we turn the pages of a magazine we do not 
 see each page as an independent unit, but we see 
 it in relation to what has gone before. If it is in 
 marked contrast to the preceding there is a sort 
 of shock felt which is in reality the perception of 
 the ( itrast. This element is a constant force 
 in c 1 i wing the attention. What has been said of 
 the full page is equally true of the parts of it. 
 
 In the case of magazine or newspaper adver- 
 tising, the responsibility for making effective 
 contrasts is shared alike by the individual adver- 
 
 16 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 tiser and by the " make-up." Contrasts may be 
 so harmoniously formed that the things con- 
 trasted are mutually strengthened, just as is the 
 case when red and green are placed in juxtaposi- 
 tion. The red looks redder and the green looks 
 greener. But if the contrast is incongruous the^ 
 value of each is impaired. Thus if two musical 
 but mutually discordant tones are sounded together 
 or one after the other, the beauty of each is lost. 
 
 No one has been conscious of this principle of 
 contrast to a greater extent than the advertiser 4 
 He has introduced all sorts of 
 f r * S J things into his advertisements 
 , .g , merely to attract attention through 
 contrast : He has inserted his ad- 
 vertisements upside down ; he has had the lines 
 V}f the reading matter run crosswise; he has sub- 
 stituted black background for the ordinary white. 
 The inherent skill of the American advertiser has 
 been made manifest by this ingenuity in devising 
 novel, ever-changing and striking contrasts. In- 
 deed, some have followed this principle too far and 
 have produced novelties and contrasts, but their 
 work has not been successful, because they have 
 violated other equally important principles. 
 
 Thus the advertisement of the Burlii^ton 
 Route employs the principle of contrast success- 
 fully. The advertisement of Doctor Slocum 
 makes use of the same principle, but the result 
 is nothing short of a botch. 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 The three principles as given above are im- 
 
 j portant and are the three methods which the 
 
 ( practical advertiser uses most to attract atten- 
 
 tion. The three which shall be given next are 
 
 methods which are of almost equal importance, 
 
 but which are frequently disregarded by the 
 
 writers of advertisements. 
 
 The fourth principle is that, .Jke~ . 
 
 -a&. to aUract-vw atlen- 
 
 tion^-er its attention value, depends 
 of Com- ' -77; L; 
 
 , . on the ease with which we are able 
 prehension 
 
 to comprehend -it. 
 
 This principle is one which is often neglected 
 by the advertiser. A few illustrations will help 
 to make it clear. A child in turning over the 
 pages of a book or magazine does not have his 
 attention attracted at all by the printed words. 
 Even the pictures do not attract his attention 
 unless they are in bright colors or represent some- 
 thing which he can understand. The same thing 
 is true with adults. We will turn our attention 
 to nothing unless it speaks to us in terms which 
 we can interpret with comparative ease. It is 
 difficult to comprehend an entirely new thing 
 or function. From this it follows that a new 
 article should be introduced as a modifica- 
 tion of a familiar one, or as something perform- 
 ing a well-known function. The pedagogical 
 maxim of always advancing from the known 
 to the unknown is so well established that its 
 
 18 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 violation must be regarded as more or less 
 suicidal. 
 
 Styles of lettering that are not easily read and 
 cuts that are not easily interpreted are not so 
 attractive as lettering and cuts that are more 
 simple and transparent in their meaning. 
 
 Cuts that in themselves are good and lettering 
 that is distinct may be so united and so dimmed 
 by the background that the whole is an indistinct 
 blur. As an example of an advertisement that is 
 good as to individual details but poor as to the 
 entire effect, we have reproduced herewith (No. 
 3) an advertisement of the Purina Mills. The 
 display of this advertisement is hard to read, 
 and it is, therefore, not so attractive as it would 
 otherwise be. 
 
 The name or brand of goods often makes them 
 difficult to advertise. Thus Orangeine does not 
 suggest what the Orangeine Chemical Company 
 would have it suggest. People do not know what 
 it is, and so fail to be attracted by the advertise- 
 ment simply because it is meaningless to them. 
 
 Many advertisers have used certain forms of 
 expression and illustrations which bear no neces- 
 sary relation to the rest of the advertisement or 
 to the goods advertised. They have been called 
 "irrelevant words" or " irrelevant cuts," as the 
 case might be. Their function is presumably that 
 of attracting attention. As they stand, they are 
 not easily comprehended, and actual experiment 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 has shown that they do not attract the attention 
 of one hastily looking at the page of the magazine 
 as often as relevant words or relevant cuts. 
 
 RALSTON"-- 
 
 TH CREAM FOR 
 BREAKFAST 
 
 TH GRAVY FOB 
 
 DINNER -//.y 
 
 buti/s 
 
 No. 3 
 
 The advertisement of the Murphy Varnish 
 Company, as reproduced herewith (No. 4), has 
 made use of a form of display which we would call 
 "irrelevant words." This display has nothing 
 
 20 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 particular to do with varnish. It could be used 
 equally well with almost any advertisement- 
 appearing in magazines to-day. It would, how- 
 ever, be equally poor in any case. It does not 
 increase the reader's knowledge concerning the. 
 
 WHERE YOU CAN, AND 
 
 WHERE YOU CANNOT, 
 
 ECONOMIZE. 
 
 A cheaper horse is simply LESS 
 valuable: an ugly flower has no value 
 at all. Cloth not so fine may not wear 
 quite so long: an out-of-style bonnet is 
 unwearable. If you cannot afford 
 mahogany, maple will do; but poor 
 varnish is death to the beauty of 
 anything. 
 
 MURPHY VARNISH Co. 
 
 FRANKLIN MURPHY, President 
 Head Office : Newark, N J 
 
 Qther Offices : Boston, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Chicago. 
 Factories Newark and Chicago. 
 
 No. 4 
 
 proposition which the varnish company has to 
 offer, and the ordinary reader would not be likely 
 to be attracted by any such "catch-words" as 
 these. 
 
 The advertisers of the White Star Coffee (No. 5) 
 have filled up one-half of their space with the 
 
 21 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 picture of a slimy frog. When one is thinking of 
 frogs, he is not in condition to listen to the argu- 
 
 "it's easy 
 
 to ask for' 
 
 White 
 
 ar 
 
 Coffee 
 
 Bujing coffee in on 
 and l\vo pound crf'S 
 makes it possible for 
 you to obtain all il> 
 strength and nil 
 the flavor Thi- 1.1 
 really vvlmt \oij 
 buy f OT t lie 
 ground* >ou tlirow 
 away. A pound of 
 
 White 
 Star Coffee 
 will make more 
 cu pi t dan a pmi i.d 
 -f any o t li e i 
 brand. be 
 cause it is de 
 v eloped more 
 highly. 
 
 No. 5 
 
 ments in favor of any coffee. But, aside from 
 such considerations, I believe that there is no 
 proof that such an open attempt to force the 
 attention of the reader is advisable or successful. 
 
 22 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 The advertisement of the American Lead Pen- 
 cil Company, as reproduced herewith (No. 6), has 
 made use of cuts that illustrate. Such an illustra- 
 
 Klbat Tt Cooks Like 
 
 ed d 
 
 gnnallvacross tb 
 page shows the actual 
 size of thu pencil, and 
 also shows a sec- 
 tional view of how 
 the lead 
 
 ried down the in- 
 side barrel 
 practtcallv itn 
 possible for it 
 to gee out of 
 rder. 
 
 Absolutely and Cap removed pen. 
 
 Unconditionally ci I being filled. 
 
 Guaranteed one Relative size of 
 
 year. points exaggerated 
 
 Patented in United States and Abroad. 
 
 No. 6 
 
 tion is called a relevant cut. The casual reader 
 sees at a glance what this advertisement is 
 all about, and such advertisements attract us 
 instantly. 
 
 23 
 

 THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 The great majority of all advertisements appear- 
 ing at the present time make use of words in dis- 
 play type which indicate in brief what the entire 
 advertisement is about. Such headings are called 
 relevant words. The picture which tells the story 
 is more easily comprehended than any possible 
 expression in words. This is one reason why the 
 picture is the most attractive form of advertising. 
 
 The fifth principle is that ike, atigntt&u value 
 an-gbject depends on the number of times it comes 
 oefore us, or on repetitiVrtr. -^ 
 
 It is no anomaly that children are attracted 
 most by the oft-repeated tale. This is in but 
 
 -n .... apparent contradiction to the third 
 Repetition . . , . 
 
 principle. A thing which is -in 
 
 contrast to all other things and yet frequently 
 repeated meets both conditions. The psychological 
 explanation of the value of repetition is somewhat 
 involved, but the fact is seen by every careful 
 observer. The questions concerning repetition as 
 applied to advertising are as yet unsettled. 
 
 In the case of goods having an equal sale all 
 the year, if a given advertisement is to appear one 
 hundred times is it best to insert it in one hun- 
 dred different magazines once, so that the reader 
 can see it in all his periodicals for a few days, or 
 is it better to have the same advertisement appear 
 in one hundred different issues of the same maga- 
 zine? In other words, are repetitions more effec- 
 tive if they follow rapidly one after the other, 
 
 24 
 
( UNIVERSITY ) 
 
 v or J 
 
 ATT 
 
 or if they are separated by a longer period of 
 time? 
 
 Another question is this: How much of an 
 advertisement should be repeated? Some adver-i 
 tisements have unchangeable characteristics which 
 are always repeated arid which serve to identify 
 all the advertisements of a particular house. 
 Others are completely changed as to all prominent 
 features with every issue, and the casual observer r 
 would not notice that the two successive adver- 
 tisements were for the same goods he certainly 
 would not notice that they were from the same 
 house. Still other advertisements have certain 
 prominent features which are constantly chang- 
 ing, but which are always recognizable as repre- 
 senting the same firm. 
 
 The advertisement which is the same from year 
 to year is lacking in contrast. It is not necessarily 
 ineffective, but it takes time to accomplish its re- 
 sults. The frog that was boiled without noticing 
 it succumbed at last to the slowly rising tempera- 
 ture. The man who sees the same advertisement 
 month after month will at last purchase the 
 goods advertised without ever having paid any 
 particular attention to the advertisement and 
 would be unable to say why he purchased those 
 particular goods. 
 
 The advertisement which is changed completely 
 with every issue is lacking in repetition value and 
 would be good only when it is of such a nature 
 
 25 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 that a large per cent, of the intended purchasers 
 would read it thoroughly enough to supply the 
 missing links and to unite it to the others of the 
 series. 
 
 The advertisement with a constant recognizable 
 feature that varies in detail from time to time 
 allows for both change and repetition, and is to 
 that extent the best advertisement. 
 
 This advertisement of a printing press com- 
 pany (No. 7) has, so far as I know, never been 
 
 I Print My Own Cards 
 
 Circulars, Newspaper. Press $:. Larger size, 918. 
 Money saver. Big profits printing for others. 
 Type setting easy, rules sent. Write for catalog, 
 presses, type, paper, etc., to factory. 
 
 THE PRESS CO., Meriden, Conn. 
 
 No. 7 
 
 changed. It is just the same in all publications 
 in which the firm advertises, and is the same year 
 in and year out. It has doubtless been more or 
 less successful. Would it have been more effec- 
 tive if the copy had been changed ? 
 
 The two advertisements of the Franklin Mills 
 (Nos. 8 and 9) have nothing in common. No one 
 but a careful reader would know that they were 
 advertisements of the same firm. This same firm 
 has been careful to have the wheat border in all 
 advertisements of Wheatlet. The seal containing 
 the portrait of Franklin is also often present in 
 the advertisements of Wheatlet. Would it not 
 be advisable to retain this wheat border or the 
 
 26 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 seal in all advertisements issuing from this firm? 
 If certain readers had become interested in the 
 advertisements of Wheatlet, for instance, and had 
 
 OVER ALLOTtlER. (ZEALS. 
 
 For Uncle Sam's boys, the Government demand the 
 best. Unsolicited, the Government's order for 
 
 WHEATLET 
 
 reaches us regularly, because careful test proved 
 Wheullet the best cereal. 
 
 Whether you lead a strenuous life or not. Wheatlet 
 will do you more good than any breakfast food you 
 Can ent. Start the New Year right. 
 
 Prove everything we say with full half pound sample 
 mailed for grocer's name and 3 two cent stamps. 
 
 THE FRANKLIN MILLS COMPANY. 
 
 "All the U'hrat that's, Fit to Eat," 1 
 
 7ogSpringarden St.. LOCKPORT. N Y. 
 
 $200 is to be given Children. Write, us. 
 
 No. 8 
 
 become familiar with the characteristic seal, they 
 would be attracted by the other advertisements of 
 this firm if they saw the seal down in the corner 
 of the advertisement. 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 Very many firms are at the present time chang- 
 ing their copy frequently, but they retain some 
 
 "Half a Loaf 
 
 is better than no loaf " 
 
 is a good, true old saying; half a loaf is 
 better than a whole loaf if that half loaf 
 be made of 
 
 LOUR 
 
 A FINE 
 
 FLOUR 
 
 OF 
 
 THE 
 
 ENTIRE 
 
 WHEAT 
 
 Containing "all the wheat that's fit to eat." 
 
 This is the trade-mark to be found on 
 every package and 
 every barrel of the 
 genuine Franklin 
 Mills Flour. 
 
 It is sold by first- 
 class grocers gen- 
 erally in original 
 packages of from 
 6/8 Ibs. to full bar- 
 rels of 196 Ibs. 
 
 Manufactured only by 
 
 THE FRANKLIN MILLS CO., Lockport, N. . 
 
 WRITE THEM FOR FREE BOOKLET. 
 
 No. Q 
 
 characteristic feature so that we can recognize 
 the new advertisements as old friends in a new 
 form. Thus the Cream of Wheat advertisements 
 are identified by the genial colored chef. I have 
 
 28 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 come to like that chef, and am attracted by every 
 advertisement in which he appears. If he were 
 left out I would not be so likely to notice the 
 advertisement as I am with him in it. Each of 
 their advertisements is in a sense new and in 
 contrast with all their other advertisements, but 
 this colored chef offers just enough of repetition 
 to make the advertisement attractive. 
 
 The sixth and last principle is that the atten- 
 
 /"Z . X. tionjughdjz^of^ an object depends_on 
 the^wrteMsziyof the feejjjj,g_aroused. 
 
 Attention is not merely a process in which the 
 mind grasps a certain fact, but it is also a process 
 in which we feel. It is either a pleasurable or a 
 painful feeling. That a thing may attract our 
 attention it must not affect us indifferently, but 
 must either please or displease us. At this point 
 the work of the true artist becomes essential. In 
 the ideal advertisement the emotions and sensi- 
 bilities of the possible customers must be appealed 
 to. 
 
 In all advertisements the esthetic feelings may 
 be aroused by at least the harmonious combina- 
 tions of color and form. Curiosity, pride, sym- 
 pathy, ambition, and many other feelings and 
 emotions have been awakened by the skillful 
 advertiser. With certain advertisers the desire 
 seems to have been merely to attract attention 
 regardless of the emotion awakened. They have 
 been successful in attracting attention, but their 
 
 29 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 advertisements are so obtrusive and repulsive 
 that their value, as a means of selling goods, is 
 inconsiderable. 
 
 The man that confines himself to the simple 
 statement of facts may not be subject to the 
 mistakes that befall the man who attempts more 
 difficult things. The photographer presents all 
 the details of a scene, but he does not appeal to 
 the emotions and the heart of the public as the 
 artist does. The work of the photographer may 
 be truer to the facts, but the work of the artist 
 attracts our attention more readily. We do not 
 understand the feelings and emotions of the hu- 
 man breast, and yet it is often advisable to run 
 the risk of attempting appeals to the emotions. 
 
 There are scores of advertisers who attempt to 
 appeal to the joyful emotions. It 
 
 Joys an should be remembered that ioy is 
 Sorrows, , . , , . _, J . 
 
 Both Usable ne emotions. The vis- 
 
 itor of an art gallery is at once 
 struck by the frequent appeal to the sadder emo- 
 tions. It is not at all easy to find in our magazine 
 advertising any appeal or any reference to the 
 more pathetic aspects of life. The following is 
 a reproduction (No. 10) of an advertisement of 
 the Prudential Insurance Company. This adver- 
 tisement does not appear in recent magazines, 
 yet it is certainly much better than many highly 
 approved advertisements of insurance companies. 
 The skillful advertiser should be able to appeal to 
 
 30 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 more than one emotion and he should be able to 
 appeal to the one which brings the reader into the 
 
 
 TT is hard enough on a woman to be thrown on her own resources. The 
 I death of the husband and father is quite enough by itself. If the burden of 
 debt and want be added to it, the woman's life is hardly worth the living. 
 Comparatively few men in America are able to accumulate any money. 
 Perhaps not one in a hundred does it.- It is this that makes life insurance 
 an imperative necessity. Nobody can take the insurance money away from 
 the one to whom you make it payable. It will nof assuage the grief, .but 
 it will increase the comfort of those who are living. It discharges, to some 
 extent, the obligation every man incurs when he marries. 
 
 Our two forms of life insurance, the "Industrial" (for policies of $1000 
 or less, on weekly payments) and the "Ordinary" (lor policies of $1000 
 and more, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual payments), are clearly ex- 
 plained in our booklets sent free on request. 
 
 Prudential Insurance Co. 
 
 of America 
 
 IOHN F. DRYDEN, President. Home Oi, NEWARK, N. J. 
 
 No. 10 
 
 attitude of mind which is in keeping with the 
 proposition offered. 
 
 The designer of advertisements must be some- 
 thing more than a skilled artisan ; he must be an 
 artist and must be able to put soul into his work, 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 so that his production will appeal to the sentiment 
 as well as to the intellect of those who are to be 
 influenced by it. The art demands the work of 
 an artist. 
 
 Such is in brief the discussion of the six funda- 
 mental principles underlying the psychology of 
 involuntary attention in general, and the psychol- 
 ogy of involuntary attention as applied to adver- 
 tising in particular. The purpose of this chapter 
 is to present in an introductory manner the psy- 
 chology of a part of advertising, i. e., involun- 
 tary attention, and with special reference to 
 magazine and newspaper advertising. 
 
 Before the psychology of involuntary attention 
 is complete, the following are among the questions 
 that must be investigated: 
 
 For any particular class of advertisements, what 
 is the least possible space for a 
 
 ^ ' must-be-seen advertisement? 
 
 Investigated What is the com P arative atten ~ 
 tion value of different-sized adver- 
 tisements, for instance, a quarter and a full page 
 advertisement ? 
 
 What is the comparative attention value of 
 space among classified advertisements and of space 
 among unclassified advertisements, or advertise- 
 ments of a different class of goods ? 
 
 Is the additional attention value secured by 
 tinted paper, colored type, and colored cuts suffi- 
 cient to warrant their increased introduction. 
 
 3 2 
 
ATTENTION 
 
 What size and style of type is the most valua- 
 ble for attracting attention ? 
 
 What part of a page and which pages are the 
 most valuable for attention ? 
 
 What is the comparative attention value of 
 novel and of conventional advertisements? 
 
 How does repetition affect the attention value 
 of an advertisement? How complete should the 
 repetition be and how often and how rapidly 
 should the advertisement be repeated to secure 
 the best results? 
 
 Is a small advertisement appearing one hun- 
 dred times a year as good as one ten times as 
 large and. appearing ten times in a year ? 
 
 What are the respective attention values of 
 relevant cuts, relevant words, irrelevant cuts and 
 irrelevant words ? 
 
 Is a line of display type extending entirely 
 across a page as valuable as the same display in 
 two lines extending half across the page ? 
 
 What is the relative attention value of repre- 
 sentations of the pathetic, humorous, pleasing, 
 and displeasing? 
 
 Such is a brief syllabus for future investigation 
 upon involuntary attention as applied to adver- 
 tising. These questions can probably all be an- 
 swered, some easily and others only after difficult 
 and extensive investigations. It is quite plain 
 that investigation on these questions would be of 
 the greatest practical value to the advertiser. 
 
 33 
 
Ill 
 
 ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS 
 
 EVERY one has wondered how it happens that 
 a thought or idea has suddenly and unexpectedly 
 entered his mind. Not unfrequently the partic- 
 ular idea had not been entertained for years, 
 perhaps it had no apparent connection with 
 the present line of thought, and yet here it is, 
 seemingly unaltered and as distinct as it had 
 been years before. 
 
 If anything in the world has the 
 
 appearance of lawlessness, it cer- 
 Apparently ta{nl ^ the fli ht Q th ht in 
 
 Lawless . , . TT7 
 
 these minds of ours. We can go 
 
 from Chicago to Peking ; from the present mo- 
 ment to the building of the pyramids or the crea- 
 tion of the universe. We can pick out any object 
 or event included within the borders of space or 
 time. We can go from any one of these objects 
 or events to any other in an instant of time, and 
 whole multitudes of them may be passed in 
 review in scarcely more than a single second. It 
 would be difficult to imagine anything less con- 
 fined and apparently less subject to laws than 
 the human mind. 
 
 Furthermore, no two minds are alike. Men 
 differ as to facial expression in a much less degree 
 than in the manner in which they think. 
 
 34 
 
ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS 
 
 However hopeless the task may seem at first 
 sight, it is nevertheless true that from the time 
 of Aristotle down to the present day great thinkers 
 have been engaged in trying to find laws accord- 
 ing to which the mind acts. They have not been 
 content with the surprise which they have felt 
 when an idea has unexpectedly entered their 
 minds, but they have gone further and sought for 
 the laws which regulate this sudden appearance. 
 Much progress has been made, and the mind is 
 gradually being recognized as consistent and law- 
 abiding as are all other things in the universe. 
 
 In many cases we can readily see why we are 
 thinking of particular things at a specified time. 
 As I walk down a busy street, unless I am obliv- 
 ious to my surroundings my thought is deter- 
 mined for me by the objects which surround me. 
 My eye is caught by an artistically decorated win- 
 dow in which sporting goods are displayed. My 
 mind is fully occupied for the time with the percep- 
 tion of these articles. The perception of one object 
 is superseded by the perception of another, and 
 in most cases nothing but the present objects are 
 thought of, and this perception of present objects 
 does not recall to my mind any objects which I 
 have seen at other times. It happens, however, 
 that as I see a sweater I think of the sweater which 
 I used to wear, and then of the circumstances 
 which attended its destruction. My mind is next 
 occupied with the perception of clothing, milli- 
 
 35 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 nery, etc., as these objects, one after the other, 
 meet the direct gaze of my eyes. At the sight of 
 shoes I am reminded of my need for a new pair; 
 then of the particular make of shoes which I ordi- 
 narily wear; then of the pair which I purchased 
 a few months ago and of the circumstances attend- 
 ing the purchase. So I may go on for hours, and 
 in a large part my thoughts will be limited to the 
 perception of objects and events which surround 
 me, but in certain cases (e. g., sweater and shoes) 
 the perception suggests a previous experience. 
 In the case of simple perception the mind seems 
 to act under the ordinary laws of cause and effect. 
 The objects on the street affect me and the per- 
 ceptions are the result. What my thoughts shall 
 be are determined for me by the external objects 
 which affect my sense organs. 
 
 Under other circumstances the 
 Association mind seems to be independent of/ 
 
 Illustrated -,. , . , 
 
 surrounding objects and to supply 
 
 the food for thought from former experiences. 
 This is especially true in dreams, sleepless nights, 
 and reveries. Its working is clearly seen in all 
 cases where we are not distracted by external 1 
 objects and do not attempt to direct the thought 
 along any particular line. Some time ago I read 
 President Roosevelt's decision concerning the 
 Sampson-Schley controversy. After retiring for 
 the night I found that I was thinking of the Rocky 
 Mountains, New Orleans, the Boer war, an Evans- 
 
 36 
 
ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS 
 
 ton dining-room, the siege of Peking, the recent 
 action of the dowager empress, the American 
 army and navy, and then of the Sampson-Schley 
 controversy again. The interesting part of each 
 idea tends to suggest, or to recall to the mind 
 some previous experience with which this inter- 
 esting part had been previously associated. As 
 I thought of the Sampson-Schley controversy, 
 the interesting thing just then was that it had 
 been reviewed by President Roosevelt. The 
 interesting thing about President Roosevelt just 
 then was that he had hunted in the Rockies. The 
 interesting thing about that was that he had 
 ridden a horse. In a similar manner the horse 
 suggested New Orleans, where recent shipments of 
 horses had been made to South Africa. This sug- 
 gested the Boer war, this a conversation on war 
 by a young lady who had returned to Evanston 
 from China. She suggested Peking; Peking sug- 
 gested the dowager empress; she suggested her 
 recent actions; these changed conditions sug- 
 gested the American army and navy; and they 
 suggested Sampson and Schley, and they the 
 recent controversy. 
 
 As I walk along the street the action of my 
 mind, even when not confined to bare perceptions, 
 seems different from its action on the sleepless 
 night. As far. as the association of ideas is con- 
 cerned, however, the action is practically identi- 
 cal. In the first case the perceptions of external 
 
 37 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 objects (sweater and shoes) are effective in calling 
 up ideas or experiences with which they had for-i 
 merly been associated. In the second case the 
 ideas are effective in calling up other ideas with 
 which they had formerly been associated. 
 
 The statement of the law as it applies to both 
 cases and expressed in general 
 
 terms is: "Whenever there is in 
 
 Universal 
 
 Principle consciousness one element of a pre,- 
 vious experience, this one/ element^ 
 tends to bring back the entire experience!^ Things 
 thought together or in immediate succession 
 become "associated," or welded together so that 
 when one returns it tends to recall the others. 
 The sight of a shoe suggested the entire "shoe 
 experience," in which I had entered a store, pur- 
 Chased a pair of shoes, carried on a conversation 
 Wxch the proprietor, etc. The thought of Presi- 
 dent Roosevelt suggested an entire "Roosevelt 
 experience," i. e., President Roosevelt mounted 
 on a horse, attired in a particular costume*, 
 amid particular scenery, etc. 
 
 But I had had many other "shoe experiences " 
 and many other ' ' President Roosevelt experi- . 
 ences." How did it happen that the shoe sug- 
 gested the particular shoe experience which it 
 did, and not tennis shoes which I had purchased 
 recently, or the wooden shoes which I had exam- 
 ined years before ? .Why did not President Roose- 
 velt suggest his trip to see his sick son, or his 
 
 38 
 
ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS 
 
 message to Congress, or his literary productions? 
 Each "one element in a previous experience " has 
 been one element in many previous experiences. 
 Which one of these previous experiences will be" 
 suggested by the "one element " is the problem 
 which is of interest to us. 
 
 If we knew a person's past history completely, 
 
 and if we knew the present external stimulus 
 
 and the present condition of his mind, we could 
 
 tell with some degree of certainty 
 
 Three Laws what the next idea would be 
 which is to enter his mind. The 
 laws upon which this certainty is based are the 
 three following: 
 
 The first law is that of /Ej^TbasecLon repetition . * 
 
 According to this law the idea next to enter the 
 mind is the one which has habitually been associated 
 with [the interesting part of] the one present to the 
 mind. The sight of a shoe, the printed word 
 " shoe," the spoken word " shoe," and the felt need 
 of a shoe, each calls to my mind this particular 
 make of shoes with which I have been familiar 
 for years. I have perceived a shoe as a " Doug- 
 las;" I have seen " Douglas " and " shoe" printed 
 together; I have heard "Douglas" and "shoe" 
 spoken together; I have seen the portrait of Mr. 
 Douglas and a cut of his shoe appearing together ; 
 I have met my need for shoes with a " Doug- 
 las." All these associations have been frequent 
 and have become so welded together with constant 
 
 39 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 use that when shoe enters my mind, it draws its 
 habitual associate, Douglas, with it. 
 
 The second law is that of recency. 
 
 If two things have been recently connected in the 
 mind, when one is thought of again it suggests the 
 other also. One day I read and thought of the 
 exportation of horses frora New Orleans. I do 
 not .know that horses and New Orleans were ever 
 associated in my mind but this single time, but 
 the next day as I thought of President Roosevelt 
 as mounted on a horse, the thought of horse imme- 
 diately suggested its recent associate, New Orleans. 
 The recency of this association made it effective. 
 If I had read of this exportation a month before 
 instead of on the preceding day, it is not probable 
 that this associate would have been suggested. 
 
 The third law is that of vividness or intensity,. 
 
 If my present thought has been associated with a 
 thousand different objects, that one will be suggested 
 with which it has been most vividly associated. 
 
 When I thought of the Boer war, war suggested 
 the siege of Peking because the lady who had re- 
 turned from China described the siege of Peking 
 in such a thrilling manner war and the siege of 
 Peking were so intensely associated that when 
 I thought of war, war suggested this particular 
 association. The association between war and 
 Peking was not only vivid, but was also habitual 
 and recent, even if these latter elements do not 
 seem so prominent. 
 
 40 
 
A S SO C I A T I O N OF I D E A S 
 
 Psychologists are practically agreed that these 
 are the three special laws of the association of 
 ideas and that the " idea which shall come next" 
 conforms to these three simple formulae. 
 
 The law of habit is very much more important 
 than the other two. When one element has been 
 associated with one experience habitually, with 
 another recently, and with still another vividly, 
 the chances are that the habitual experience (asso- 
 ciate) will be recalled. If, however, the one ele- 
 ment has been associated with a certain expe- 
 rience habitually, recently, and vividly, this one 
 element will certainly call up this particular 
 experience and none of the multitudes of other 
 experiences with which it had been associated. 
 
 The application of all this to advertising is 
 direct. The merchant desires so 
 to advertise his goods that his 
 
 ,. . particular brand or article will be 
 Advertising 
 
 the only one suggested whenever 
 
 his class of goods is thought of. 
 
 Let the reader of this article test the truthful- 
 ness of the preceding analysis. Test it and see 
 whether the laws of habit, recency, and vividness 
 cover all the cases of association of ideas in your 
 own mind. Think over your possible needs in 
 wearing apparel. Where would you go to supply 
 that need, and what quality or make would you 
 get? As you think of these possible needs what 
 names, brands, or qualities are suggested? Now 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 analyze these ideas and see if they do not all con- 
 form to the three laws given above. You are 
 probably surprised to see how many of the ideas 
 are those which you have habitually associated 
 with that class of goods. Try the same experi- 
 ment with articles of food, luxury, investment, 
 etc., and you will be convinced that the advertise- 
 ments which are the most often seen have a great 
 advantage over those which are less often seen. 
 
 Long years ago you formed the habit of put- 
 ting your coat on in a particular way. Perhaps 
 you put the right sleeve on first, perhaps the left. 
 You have formed the habit of putting it on just 
 one way and you will put it on just that way as 
 long as you live. If you put on the right sleeve 
 first this morning, you will put it on the same 
 way to-morrow morning and every other morning. 
 Of course you could change and put the left 
 sleeve on first, but you won't do it. The mind 
 forms habits of thought and when they are -once 
 established they are controlling factors in the 
 action of the mind. As a boy I associated cer- 
 tain names with certain articles of merchandise. 
 I saw a particular soap advertised in various ways. 
 Perhaps it was used in my home I am not sure 
 about that. This name and soap were so habit- 
 ually associated in my mind as a boy that when 
 I think of soap this particular soap is the kind I 
 am most likely to think of even to the present 
 time, although it has not been called to my mind 
 
 42 
 
ASSOCIATION OFIDEAS 
 
 so often of recent years as other kinds of soap. 
 As far as the association of ideas is concerned, 
 that advertisement is the most effective which 
 is most often thought of in connection with the 
 line of goods advertised, but the associations 
 formed in youth are more effective than those 
 formed in later years. Their effectiveness is 
 lasting and will still have influence as long as the 
 person lives. Hence goods of a constant and 
 recurrent use might well be advertised in home or 
 even children's papers, and the advertisements 
 might be so constructed that they would be 
 appreciated by children. 
 
 Whenever I think of photographical instru- 
 ments I think of one particular make of cameras. 
 If I should feel a need of buying a camera, I would 
 find immediately that I was thinking of this par- 
 ticular make. If I were called upon to recom- 
 mend a camera, this one would always suggest 
 itself to me first. It is suggested immediately 
 and involuntarily. In my particular case this 
 advertisement of cameras is successful and for 
 me has a decided prestige over all other cameras. 
 If I try to think out the reason why this particular 
 one is suggested whenever I need or think of 
 cameras, it seems to me that it is because it com- 
 plies with both the laws of habit and vividness. 
 I do not remember to have noticed any adver- 
 tisement of cameras recently, nor have I had any 
 occasion to think of them for some time. I do 
 
 43 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 know, however, that for several years I saw this 
 advertisement repeatedly therefore it is with 
 me an habitual association. I also remember 
 that at one time I read a booklet published by 
 this company and that it impressed me profoundly 
 - therefore it is for me a vivid association. 
 
 If you made the test recommended above, you 
 found that in some cases goods were suggested 
 that were not the ones habitually thought of, but 
 those which had been recently in the mind. Per- 
 haps they had only been brought to your atten- 
 tion this single time. Although the effective- 
 ness of habitual associations is all the more last- 
 ing the longer the advertisement is maintained, 
 it gradually diminishes unless the repetition is con- 
 tinued. The recent associates are brought back 
 to the mind with the greatest readiness, and in 
 some cases they prevail over the merely habit- 
 ual. This emphasizes the necessity of keeping up 
 the repetition to make the habitual most effective, 
 to form the most recent associate, and thus take 
 advantage of the prestige gained by former adver- 
 tising. Only by frequent advertising are the 
 habitual associations formed and the recent asso- 
 ciates constantly made. 
 
 You also noticed in your experiments that 
 certain goods were suggested of which you had 
 not recently thought and of which, perhaps, you 
 had thought but once in your life. This one time 
 you had seen a very striking advertisement, or 
 
 44 
 
ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS 
 
 had heard the goods highly recommended by a 
 friend, or had seen and used the goods. For in- 
 stance, one vivid and intense association of hats 
 and Smith was so strong that at the very thought 
 of hats Smith's name presented itself too. You 
 thought of Smith and hats at the same time, 
 and the two thoughts were so vivid that they 
 became welded together by the white heat of the 
 mind, and so when hats are in the mind Smith 
 must come with them. This shows that some- 
 times doing extraordinary things in advertising 
 may succeed when it is desired to make a great 
 impression and to have the associations formed 
 under this white heat. It may be admitted that 
 this sort of advertising has been successful in 
 some cases. The law is that the mind is in general 
 gradually molded. Lines of thought are devel- 
 oped and not suddenly formed. The advertiser 
 who attempts suddenly to take the world by storm 
 has "to go against nature" and is consequently 
 at a very great disadvantage. 
 
 The entire subject of association of ideas may 
 be made clearer and more definite if, in conclusion^ 
 its action in another concrete case is given. For 
 years I have seen the statement that the Burling- 
 ton Railroad goes to Colorado. I have thus 
 thought Burlington and Colorado together, and 
 every time they have entered my mind together 
 they have become more tightly welded together, 
 or associated, until now Colorado is no sooner in 
 
 45 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 my mind than I find that Burlington is also there. 
 When I analyze this association to see how it has 
 been formed, I find, in the first place, that for years 
 I have seen the words Burlington and Colorado to- 
 gether. I have thought the two ideas together 
 repeatedly, and the association has become habit- 
 ual. In the second place, I find that but yesterday 
 I saw the words Burlington and Colorado together 
 and thought the two thoughts together and so the 
 association was recent. In the third place, I re- 
 member that some weeks ago I had been attracted 
 by the Burlington advertisement in which a book 
 about Colorado was offered for six cents. This 
 advertisement impressed me, and I gave it a large 
 amount of attention or active thought and so the 
 association became vivid or intense. 
 
 If the merchant can make his name or brand 
 to be the habitual, recent, and vivid associate with 
 his class of goods, he will have such a prestige over 
 all others that his success seems assured. The 
 securing of this result should be one of the aims 
 of the wise advertiser. 
 
 V 
 
 
 
 ; 
 
 46 
 
IV 
 
 SUGGESTION- *) 
 
 EVERY thought that we think is probably accom- 
 panied by its corresponding movement, or ten- 
 dency to movement. This has been shown to 
 be true in so many instances that psychologists 
 are inclined to accept it as a working hypothesis 
 for all cases. 
 
 We do not first think of bending a finger and 
 then by an exertion of the will, as something 
 different from and added to that thought, put 
 forth an energy which ends by bending the finger. 
 The very thought of bending the finger is in itself 
 impulsive, and will bend the finger, unless hin- 
 dered by some other contradictory idea. The 
 very thought of the action calls forth the action. 
 This is technically known as "suggestion." The 
 thought is said to suggest the action. This sug- 
 gested action may be in any of our bodily organs, 
 and may be simple or complex. It may be the rais- 
 ing of the hand or the pronouncing of a word. This 
 relationship has been formulated as the Law of 
 Suggestion in the following terms: "Every idea^ 
 
 of a function tends to call~tkaLfmic- 
 Law of -( '. . . , . , 
 
 Suggestion n actimt y^ and/ w do so > un ~ 
 
 less hindered by a competing idea. 
 
 or physical impediment." This statement needs 
 elucidation. Let the function be the bending of 
 
 47 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 the first finger of your right hand. Think of 
 bending that finger, concentrate your mind on it, 
 and behold ! the finger is bent. You can look at 
 your finger, think of bending it, imagine how it 
 would feel to bend it, and yet keep it straight. 
 What is the difference between the two cases? 
 It seems to me to be simply this : In the second 
 case you kept thinking "not yet, no! keep it 
 straight," and these negative thoughts hindered, 
 or inhibited, the movement. In the first case 
 there was no negative, or inhibitory, thought, so 
 the thought of movement put itself into action 
 immediately. 
 
 This conception of the impulsive nature of the 
 mind that thought universally and necessarily 
 suggests action is of such fundamental impor- 
 tance that it is worth our while to try and make 
 it clear by examples. I asked my class in psy- 
 chology to think of the letters "q," "o," and "p" 
 successively. They were not to pronounce the 
 letters, but merely to think of them. As they 
 thought of these letters they involuntarily pre- 
 pared their lips to pronounce them, and by watch- 
 ing their lips I could tell which one of the letters 
 they were thinking of. Some of the students 
 made no movements of the lips which I could 
 discover, but as most of them did I am almost 
 justified in supposing that all of them made slight 
 movements, but my eye was not keen enough to 
 detect them in all cases. I believe that all were 
 
 48 
 
SUGGESTION 
 
 able to discover a tendency to move the tongue 
 as they thought of "q." This tendency was 
 marked at the base of the tongue, and could be 
 noticed by all, if the mind was held steadily upon 
 it for a few seconds. 
 
 I asked a friend to think of an object in a dis- 
 tant part of a large house. He then blindfolded 
 me, took hold of my hand, and thought of the 
 object and of my going there. He was directed to 
 think of the object "hard" and constantly. I 
 did not know what the object was or where it was 
 concealed, but found no trouble in going to it. 
 My friend was much astonished, believed that it 
 was mind-reading, and refused to admit that he 
 had led me all the way. Every thought tends to 
 put itself into action. The thought of a move- 
 ment suggests that movement. My friend had 
 thought of the action which he must make to 
 accompany me to the object. He followed this 
 thought involuntarily, and led me although he> 
 supposed that I was leading him. 
 
 If I suspend my watch directly in front of me 
 by holding the end of the chain with both hands, 
 I find that the watch will swing in the direction 
 of which I am thinking. If I think of it swing- 
 ing in a circle, it swings in a circle. If I think 
 of it swinging from right to left, and from left 
 to right, it swings in that manner. I try to 
 make no movements with my hands, but find it 
 impossible to keep from it for any length of time 
 
 49 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 if I concentrate my attention on the movement. 
 Many persons find that a planchette board or an 
 ouija board will write almost anything of which 
 they think, even if they try to keep the hand from 
 making the movements. 
 
 We do that of which we think. Thought has 
 influence over what are ordinarily supposed to 
 be involuntary actions. I have a friend who can 
 increase the rapidity of his heart-beats by merely 
 thinking of it. 
 
 No matter what the idea is, it suggests its cor- 
 responding action. The action may be stopped 
 by competing ideas, but the tendency, or incip- 
 ient movement, is there. As I think of moving 
 my finger, but repress the movement by the 
 thought of " straight finger," I notice that my 
 finger quivers and tingles with movement. If I 
 think of the right, I do the right. If I think of 
 evil, I do evil. This is the explanation of the 
 oft-repeated quotation, 
 
 " Vice is a Vnonster of such frightful mien 
 As to be Hated needs but to be seen ; 
 But seen too oft, familiar with her face, 
 We first endure, then pity, then embrace." 
 
 We do things simply because we happen to 
 think of them. If I should happen to think of 
 pulling my own nose, I would do it, unless the 
 action were repressed by the contradictory idea 
 of how foolish it would be. 
 
SUGGESTION 
 
 The only reason why every thought does not 
 result in completed action is that we are capable 
 of holding different lines of action before us at 
 the same time. We balance one thought off 
 against another, and so neither has the result 
 that each would have if left to control the field 
 alone. 
 
 If we can hold a thought before us for but a 
 second, and if this thought has no rival, it is sure 
 to result in action. What we do, when we want 
 to pursue any line of conduct, is to hold that 
 action clearly in mind and dismiss all imped- 
 ing or inhibiting thoughts. When we want to 
 influence any one to do a particular thing, we 
 try so to present it to Kim that it completely 
 fills his mind. We try to get him to think of 
 the action without thinking of any contradictory 
 action. If we want him to go West, we can ac- 
 complish the result if we can get him to think 
 of going West without having the ideas of going 
 East or of standing still arise in his mind and check 
 action. If you can get him to think of going to 
 Kansas City over the Chicago & Alton, he will 
 go to Kansas City over the Chicago & Alton, and 
 nothing but a competing idea or physical impedi- 
 ment can stop him. If he is so taken up with 
 the idea of Chicago & Alton that the name of 
 no other means of transportation enters his mind, 
 and if he is so situated that no physical impedi- 
 ment (sickness, lack of money, etc.) hinders him, 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 he will start at once to go to the destination 
 thought of and over the route thought of. All 
 we can do is to get the thought into the mind and 
 in an automatic manner the thought will suggest 
 the action. 
 
 We have thus far discussed but one aspect of 
 suggestion. We have shown that actions are 
 suggested. The second aspect of the topic is 
 that ideas also are suggested. The movement 
 of my finger has become so firmly associated with 
 the actual movement that when I think of the 
 movement the actual movement is suggested. 
 In like manner, the thought of Oberammergau 
 and Passion Play have become so associated in 
 my mind that when I think of Oberammergau 
 the Passion Play is suggested immediately. In 
 both cases, and perhaps in all cases, the term 
 suggestion carries with it the thought that the 
 process is rather of a reflex, involuntary nature. 
 Actions performed as the result of a conscious, 
 deliberate determination would not be said to be 
 suggested. Ideas attained by a conscious, volun- 
 tary process of reasoning would likewise not be 
 said to be suggested. Actions and ideas are sug- 
 gested when they are forthcoming, independent 
 of any conscious effort or volition on our part. 
 We see some one gaping, and immediately we 
 begin to gape. We are scarcely aware that we 
 have noticed the person gaping at all. The idea 
 is, however, suggested to us, and this thought 
 
 5 2 
 
SUGGESTION 
 
 in its turn suggests the action and we suddenly 
 find ourselves gaping. A suggested idea is taken 
 uncritically and suggests its corresponding action 
 without the arousing of competing or inhibiting 
 ideas. 
 
 A perfect illustration of suggestion is found in 
 hypnotism. (Note i.) The hypnotiser by word or 
 sign suggests ideas to the subject, who accepts 
 them unhesitatingly. His mind is concentered on 
 that which is suggested to him and, no matter 
 how absurd it may be, it is accepted uncritically 
 and suggests its corresponding actions. Thus a 
 subject is told that his arm is describing a circle 
 and that it will continue this movement indefi- 
 nitely. The subject accepts the idea of "arm 
 moving in a circle indefinitely." This thought 
 suggests the action and the poor subject swings 
 his arm, and is unable to stop it till the hypno- 
 tizer suggests the idea of -"arm at rest, " when it 
 stops as suddenly as it had begun. 
 
 Although the action of suggestion is most evi- 
 dent and complete in the hypnotic state, it is not 
 confined to any abnormal state or states. It is a 
 dominating force in all the waking hours of the 
 day and all the dreaming hours of the night. All 
 men and probably all the lower animals are sug- 
 gestible. The suggestibility of animals is clearly 
 shown in stampedes. One animal becomes fright- 
 ened and starts to escape. The others see the 
 one fleeing, and the idea of flight and escaping 
 
 53 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 from danger is suggested to them by this action. 
 The suggestion is so overpowering that in many 
 cases the most sedate and steady animals go wild 
 with fright. The following account of a stam- 
 pede of Russian cavalry is quoted from the Lon- 
 don Times: " On the second night of the campaign 
 an unlucky accident occurred .... A regiment 
 of the Empress' Cuirassiers of the guard, nine 
 hundred strong ... had arrived at their 
 cantonments. One of the squadron of horses be- 
 came alarmed, broke away, was followed by the 
 next squadron, and, a panic seizing them all, in 
 one instant the whole nine hundred fled in wild 
 disorder. . . . When I tell you that some of 
 the horses were not recovered till they had gone 
 one hundred and twenty miles into Finland, you 
 may imagine what the panic was. The second 
 remarkable thing is the way that some of them 
 were stopped. In one solid mass they dashed on 
 for miles, and then came directly, at right angles, 
 on a river. In front of them was a bridge, but 
 on the other side of the bridge was a sort of tete 
 de pont and a small picket of cavalry. The horse 
 which led would not face the bridge, seeing the 
 cavalry at the other end, but turned to one side, 
 dashed into the stream, and the whole nine hun- 
 dred horses swam the river together. As they 
 emerged and flew wildly on, the commander of 
 the picket bethought him of a ruse, and ordered 
 the bugler to blow the appel. This is always 
 
 54 
 
SUGGESTION 
 
 blown when the horses are going to be fed ; . . . 
 all the old horses pricked up their ears, wavered, 
 stopped, paused, turned round, and trotted back. 
 . . . This severed the mass .... the rest was 
 broken up." 
 
 If anything could be more ludicrous and yet 
 
 more awful than such a stampede among dumb 
 
 brutes, it is a stampede among 
 
 Social intelligent business men, when 
 
 Suggestion making a run on a bank. A few 
 men start to draw out their money, 
 the report spreads, and others follow the example. 
 At first the fear is but slight, but it is of the accu- 
 mulative sort, for each person suggests the fear 
 to each other. Each tries to get ahead of the 
 other in taking out his deposit. Jamming and 
 crowding tends but to increase the fear, until the 
 steady men are changed to creatures not so much 
 unlike the panic-stricken horses. In the midst 
 of this excitement some wealthy gentleman is seen 
 depositing his money. ^ Thereupon the idea of 
 security instead of fright has a chance to be sug- 
 gested. The attention is turned for a moment 
 from the crowd struggling after their money to 
 the depositor, and this moment is sufficient to 
 turn the tide. They suddenly realize that their 
 money is safe and that they can get it whenever 
 they want it, so are perfectly content to have it 
 remain in the bank. 
 
 An extreme case of social suggestion is reported 
 55 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 by Sidis: "About the year 1634 the Dutch be- 
 came suddenly possessed with a mania for tulips. 
 The ordinary industry of the country was 
 neglected, and the population, even to the lowest 
 dregs, embarked in the tulip trade. The tulip 
 rapidly rose in value, and when the mania was 
 in full swing some daring speculators invested as 
 much as one hundred thousand florins in the 
 purchase of forty roots. The bulbs were as pre- 
 cious as diamonds; they were sold by their weight 
 in perits, a weight less than a grain. 
 
 " An insane mania of speculation in tulips seized 
 upon the minds of the Dutch. Regular marts 
 for the sale of roots were established in all the 
 large towns of Holland in Amsterdam, Rotter- 
 dam, Haarlem, Leyden, Alkmar. The stock 
 jobbers dealt largely in tulips, and their profits 
 were enormous. The epidemic of tulipomania 
 raged with intense fury, the enthusiam of spec- 
 ulation filled every heart, and confidence was at 
 its height. A golden bait hung temptingly out 
 before the people, and one after the other they 
 rushed to the tulip markets, like flies around 
 a honey pot. Every one imagined that the pas- 
 sion for tulips would last forever, and that the 
 wealthy from every part of the world would send 
 to Holland and pay whatever prices were asked 
 for them. The riches of Europe would be con- 
 centrated on the shores of Zuyder Zee. Nobles, 
 citizens, farmers, mechanics, seamen, footmen, 
 
 56 
 
SUGGESTION 
 
 maid servants, chimney sweeps, and old-clothes 
 women dabbled in tulips. Houses and lands were 
 offered for sale at ruinously low prices, or as- 
 signed in payment for bargains made in the tulip 
 market. So contagious was the epidemic that 
 foreigners became smitten with the same frenzy and 
 money poured into Holland from all directions. 
 
 "This speculative mania did not last long; 
 social suggestion began to work in the opposite 
 direction, and a universal panic suddenly seized 
 on the minds of the Dutch. Instead of buying, 
 every one was trying to sell. Tulips fell below 
 their normal value. Thousands of merchants 
 were utterly ruined, and a cry of lamentation 
 arose in the land." 
 
 There is an oft-told tale of a mother who, up- 
 on leaving her children, warned them that, what- 
 ever they did, they should not put beans in their 
 noses. When the mother returned she was much 
 surprised to find all their noses full of beans. 
 They never would have thought of such a thing 
 had the mother not suggested it. The thought 
 of "beans in the nose" haunted them, and the 
 thought led to its appropriate action. 
 
 We do things that we don't want to, simply 
 because the thought of it has been suggested to 
 us, and we feel compelled to carry it out. As one 
 stands on a tower at a great height, or near to a 
 rapidly moving train, the thought comes to one 
 of how awful it would be to fall from the building 
 
 57 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 or to get under the wheels of the moving train. 
 The thought is suggested by the awfulness of the 
 situation. Many people find that under these 
 circumstances they have an almost irresistible 
 impulse to spring from the tower or under the 
 wheels of the train. The idea " falling from this 
 great height" or "getting under the wheels of the 
 train ' ' possesses them for the time and by sugges- 
 tion calls forth the action thought of. 
 
 The suggested action may be of a criminal 
 nature and yet it seems that under certain cir- 
 cumstances it is irresistible. We have all noticed 
 that, if any crime is widely discussed in the papers, 
 there is likely to be a whole harvest of similar 
 crimes. This tendency has been noticed, and is 
 greatly feared by all right-minded people. It 
 seems, however, that the real nature of the fact 
 is not understood. The kidnapping of Edward 
 Cudahy was published all over the country. It 
 was not infrequently remarked that the crime 
 should not be published, because it had been so 
 profitable that many would be influenced by the 
 profitableness, and attempt to repeat it. If I am 
 not mistaken, the harvest of kidnapping has not 
 been as great as was expected. The cases that 
 have been brought to light have been committed 
 not because the criminal reasoned it out and con- 
 cluded that because some one else had been suc- 
 cessful, he would be successful too; but rather it 
 was done simply because the thought of kidnap- 
 
 58 
 
SUGGESTION 
 
 ping was suggested, and the suggestion of almost 
 any hideous or unsuccessful crime would have 
 had as great a harvest. 
 
 The reason for the extreme working of sugges- 
 tion in the examples given is apparent in -each 
 case. In the stampede each horse suggested the 
 idea of fright to every other horse, so each one 
 received the suggestion of fright from every other 
 one. The suggestion was so all-pervading that 
 no inhibiting idea had a chance to enter the mind. 
 There was really no reason for the fright, and when 
 the bugle sounded the older horses received the 
 suggestion of " assembling for food. " This latter 
 thought, having once entered the mind of the 
 horses, displaced the idea of flight, and so saved 
 some of them from the panic. 
 
 When the tulip mania invaded Holland, the 
 suggestion to invest in tulips was given by every 
 one. Every one's friends and acquaintances were 
 buying tulips. "Buy tulips" was heard in the 
 home, read in the papers, cried in the market 
 place, and acted upon by people everywhere. 
 The thought was "in the air," and infected every 
 citizen of the nation. Other and inhibiting, 
 thoughts were kept out of the mind and this one 
 ruled the field alone. 
 
 Man has been called the reasoning animal, 
 but he could with greater truthfulness be called 
 the creature of suggestion. He is reasonable, but 
 he is to a greater extent suggestible. 
 
 59 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 The advertiser must deal with man as he is and 
 not with some ideal being. If man is subject to 
 reason and also to suggestion, we must recognize 
 the fact and adapt our argument to each side of 
 his nature or to that side which will best suit our 
 purpose. If men are reasonable and are induced 
 to act after careful consideration of arguments, 
 then we must give attention to the formation of 
 cogent arguments. If men are suggestible, we 
 must give the suggestions to action by illustra- 
 tions, affirmations, repetitions, and direct com- 
 mands, or by any other means which wisdom 
 and experience may discover. 
 
 NOTE i. HYPNOTISM. 
 
 The word "hypnotism" is derived from the Greek 
 word meaning sleep, and is to be regarded as indicat- 
 ing an artificially produced sleep; In a normal sleep 
 we can dream, awaken at a given signal, and even walk 
 or carry on a conversation. In artificially produced 
 sleep, which is called hypnotism, we do similar things. 
 If, when asleep, the bedclothes fall off me, I dream 
 that I am in a snowstorm. If, when under artificial 
 sleep, the hypnotizer tells me that I am cold, I believe 
 it, and begin to shiver. In the natural sleep the sug- 
 gestion of cold was given by the temperature of the 
 room. In the artificial sleep the suggestion was given 
 by the word of the hypnotizer. One is as wonderful 
 as the other and no more so. The word "hypnotism" 
 as used in the preceding article is to be thought of as 
 freed from all idea of anything mysterious, uncanny, or 
 peculiar. It is probable that every right-minded 
 person can both be hypnotized and hypnotize others 
 
 60 
 
SUGGESTION 
 
 but it is quite certain that people cannot be hypnotized 
 against their will. In explaining the working of hyp- 
 notism it is not necessary to assume the introduction 
 of any new sense, power, or faculty. There is no 
 unconscious or unusual impartation of knowledge or 
 power from the hypnotizer to the subject. The subject 
 receives all the suggestions through the sense of sight, 
 or some one or more of the senses, and in a perfectly 
 normal manner. 
 
 A few centuries ago quacks and fakirs used dreams 
 as a form of divination, which they called oneiromancy, 
 Dreams were then supposed to be something so mys- 
 terious and ominous that it would have been almost 
 impossible for a man to speak of dreams without being 
 misunderstood, unless he conformed to the prevailing 
 view. In a similar manner it is almost impossible to 
 speak of hypnotism without being misunderstood. The 
 difference between dreams (as understood to-day) and 
 oneiromancy is not greater than the difference between 
 hypnotism as understood by the man of science and 
 as understood by the charlatan. 
 
 A satisfactory discussion of hypnotism may be found 
 in the following references: 
 
 The Nation, New York, July 28 and August n, 1892. 
 
 " Hypnotism," Johnson's Universal Encyclopedia, 
 1894. 
 
 Science, February 27, 1891. 
 
 H. Bernheim, "Suggestive Therapeutics," 1899. 
 
 J. Mark Baldwin, "Mental Development" (pages 
 104-169), 1895. 
 
 Albert Moll, "Hypnotism," 1890. 
 
 61 
 
V 
 
 THE DIRECT COMMAND 
 
 " SIMON says thumbs up" used to be a favor- 
 ite game with children. In this game one person 
 is "it.'* He turns his thumbs 
 p up and calls out, "Simon says, 
 
 'Thumbs up!'" At this com- 
 mand all must obey and turn thumbs up. The 
 one who is "it" next calls out, "Simon says, 
 'Thumbs down!' This is the signal for all 
 to turn the thumbs down. If, however, the 
 one who is "it" fails to say "Simon says," 
 he must not be obeyed, and the one who does 
 obey becomes "it" himself. "Simon says" is 
 the reason for obedience, but obedience under 
 any other condition is, in a mild way, punish- 
 able. Those of us who have played the game 
 remember that it was impossible for us not to 
 obey the command, even when the "Simon 
 says" was left out. We were commanded to 
 turn our thumbs up or down, as the case might 
 be, and we obeyed before we thought whether 
 the reason for obeying, namely, "Simon says," 
 was given or not. 
 
 When in our early "teens," my brother and I 
 slept in a room which was not heated. One cold 
 winter night my brother went to bed first, suc- 
 ceeded in warming his side of the bed, and went 
 
 62 
 
THE DIRECT COMMAND 
 
 to sleep. About an hour afterward, I came to 
 bed and was appreciating the fact that the tem- 
 perature of the room was below zero, when the 
 thought struck me to play a trick on my brother. 
 I merely said, "John, get over on the other side 
 of the bed." He obeyed immediately and rolled 
 over to the cold side of the bed. I began to 
 laugh and John awoke. It is needless to say 
 what happened. He knew that he had obeyed 
 me and had done what he did not want to do, 
 and the very thought angered him. 
 
 When a person is being hypnotized and is told 
 that he cannot and must not open his eyes, he 
 frequently struggles against the suggestion, but 
 at last succumbs to it. Certain persons are so 
 refractory that they struggle till they ' ' awaken ' ' 
 themselves, unless they are well under the control 
 of the hypnotist. All persons, in all stages of 
 hypnosis, obey the commands of the hypnotist, 
 or are compelled to struggle to keep from it. The 
 natural and easy thing for them to do is to obey ; 
 the unnatural and difficult thing is to keep from 
 obeying. 
 
 The school-teacher commands a room full of 
 mischievous children and they obey her, although 
 she could not convince them with reason or com- 
 pel them with force. They obey simply because 
 they are commanded. 
 
 The demagogue uses more than flattery, threats 
 and bribes ; he commands his followers absolutely 
 
 63 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 as to what they shall do and what they shall not 
 do. He not only says, "Smith is your friend 
 and Jones your enemy," but he gives the com- 
 mand, "Vote for Smith." 
 
 When certain commands have been obeyed 
 habitually, they attain such a power over our 
 wills that we can scarcely keep from obeying. 
 " There is a story," says Professor Huxley, " which 
 is credible enough, though it may not be true, of. 
 a practical joker who, seeing a discharged veteran 
 carrying home his dinner, suddenly called out, 
 ' Attention ! ' whereupon the man instantly brought 
 his hands down, and lost his mutton and pota- 
 toes in the gutter." 
 
 This soldier had obeyed the command until 
 obedience had become almost automatic. He 
 obeyed immediately and without any considera- 
 tion whatever. 
 
 In the game alluded to (" Simon says ' thumbs 
 up' "), in sleep, in hypnotism, and in the cases 
 of the teacher, the demagogue, and the soldier, 
 we have extreme cases. Here the force of the 
 command is so overpowering that obedience is 
 involuntary. These illustrations are useful in 
 indicating the real nature of a command, and in 
 showing how effective it may be when not hin- 
 dered by competing thoughts. Although com- 
 mands do not ordinarily secure involuntary 
 obedience, there is a strong tendency in us all to 
 obey them. We have probably all felt ashamed 
 
 64 
 
THE DIRECT COMMAND 
 
 of ourselves for obeying and doing things merely 
 because we were commanded to do so. Stub- 
 bornness is the exception and obedience the rule. 
 It often happens that those things which are 
 apparently the most simple are, in fact, the most 
 difficult to comprehend. What 
 
 could be more simple than the 
 
 Analyzed . . f 
 
 raising of your hand or the turn- 
 ing of your head? If you attempt to analyze 
 the process involved in the simplest movement 
 you find that it is too difficult for your compre- 
 hension. We do know something of the psy- 
 chology of movement, but much is yet to be found 
 out about it. When I want to raise my hand, I 
 do not say, "Hand, come up!" but I know of no 
 way to express what goes on in my mind better 
 than that. I do think of the movement and there 
 is in the thought itself something akin to a com- 
 mand. When I turn my thumbs up, I think of 
 my thumbs turning up, and the thought is the 
 command which I give to my thumbs and which 
 they obey. If the thought is not hindered by a 
 competing thought, if it is allowed to take its 
 own course, it will be effective in raising the 
 thumbs. 
 
 In a direct command one person originates the 
 thought and suggests it to another person. Thus in 
 " Simon says ' thumbs up,' " I suggest the thought 
 of " thumbs up " to another person. The thought 
 of "thumbs up" enters his mind is suggested 
 
 65 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 to him, and unless he hinders the action of the 
 thought it will be obeyed, and up will come his 
 
 thumbs. One advantage of the 
 Advantages ,. - . ,, , ? 
 
 . ._. direct command is that it suggests 
 
 Command a t ^ lou S nt m sucn a wa Y that it 
 will bring forth the action sug- 
 gested unless hindered by a previous suggestion 
 or by an action originated by the person himself. 
 It is, of course, true that many actions are sug- 
 gested which are not carried out, because the 
 impelling power of the thought is not sufficiently 
 strong. The impelling power of a thought is in 
 direct proportion to the amount of attention which 
 it secures ; and so the impelling power of a com- 
 mand is also in direct proportion to the amount 
 of attention which it receives. If a direct com- 
 mand could occupy the attention completely, 
 it would be the best possible form of argumenta- 
 tion, because it puts the thought in such a shape 
 that its impelling nature will secure the desired 
 results. The command relieves the one commanded 
 from the trouble of making up his mind. It 
 makes up his mind for him, and so makes action 
 easy. 
 
 A command is a direct suggestion, and as such 
 has inherent value. It is the shortest and sim- 
 plest form of language, and is the easiest to be 
 understood. It bears with it authority and 
 weight by expressing action explicitly and dis- 
 tinctly. It calls for immediate action and meets 
 
 66 
 
THE DIRECT COMMAND 
 
 with ready response. Mankind as a whole is 
 influenced more by commands than by logical 
 processes of thought, for, as previously stated, 
 we are suggestible rather than reasonable. The 
 command, if not obtrusive, is of such a nature 
 that it has its legitimate uses in advertisements 
 and should not be discarded, as has been recently 
 asserted. We are not only suggestible and obe- 
 dient, but we are also obstreperous, obstinate, 
 stubborn, and self-willed. We delight in following 
 *our own sweet wills and object to having any one 
 dictate to us. There must, then, be certain lim- 
 itations put on the use of com- 
 mands. They must be used with 
 Necessary 1 ,. 
 
 such discretion that they do not 
 
 arouse opposition; otherwise we would refuse 
 obedience, even if it were to our best interests to 
 obey. 
 
 Although we do obey commands, we are un- 
 willing to admit it. We like to think of ourselves 
 as independent beings, who act only because it is 
 the reasonable thing to do and because we want 
 to. It is very difficult for us to analyze our 
 actions and to give the motives which have 
 prompted us to do many of the things that we 
 have done. We act from habit, imitation, insuffi- 
 cient reason, or because the idea of the action has 
 been suggested. It is but rarely that the ordi- 
 nary person weighs all the evidence before he 
 acts. After he has acted, he may think over the 
 
 67 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 motives which might have prompted him, and 
 may even deceive himself into thinking that he 
 acted because he had weighed the evidence, when, 
 in fact, no such motives entered his mind at the 
 time of action. 
 
 I have frequently suggested to persons that 
 they shoald do a certain thing. At the time 
 they have refused to do it. The idea was, how- 
 ever, implanted in their minds. Later they have 
 done exactly what I had previously suggested. 
 They had forgotten who had suggested the idea, 
 but the idea itself was retained, so they were per- 
 fectly honest in supposing that they had origi- 
 nated the thought, and that they had performed 
 the deed independently. No one would be willing 
 to admit that he had used Pears' Soap simply 
 because he had read the command, "Use Pears' 
 Soap." It is, however, quite probable that many 
 persons have used Pears' Soap for no other reason. 
 The idea of using the soap was suggested to them 
 in that form. They afterward forgot where they 
 had received the thought, and believed they had 
 originated it themselves. 
 
 I We are perfectly willing to obey as long as we 
 are unconscious of the fact. But let any one see 
 that he has been commanded and his attitude 
 is changed; he becomes obstinate instead of 
 pliant. Every wise leader of men recognizes 
 this fact. He does not cease to command, but 
 he covers his commands in such a way that each 
 
 68 
 
THE DIRECT COMMAND 
 
 one thinks that he is doing just what he wants 
 to, and that he is not following commands at all. 
 The correct wording of the command is a mat- 
 ter of importance, yet it is diffi- 
 Choice of ^ 
 
 cult to formulate any rules or 
 Words . * 
 
 principles to guide us here. Such 
 
 an expression as "Use Pears' Soap" is not as 
 suggestive as " Let the Gold Dust twins do your 
 work." The first is a bald command and as 
 such has a certain value, but the second has the 
 added value of supplying, or implying, a reason 
 for obedience. It is implied that the Gold Dust 
 twins will save you labor, and so the command 
 is supplemented by an appeal to a personal 
 interest. 
 
 Furthermore, this latter command is worded 
 in such a way that it is hardly recognized as a 
 command at all, and so would not beget opposi- 
 tion on the part of any one. As a further proof 
 of the importance, but difficulty, of clothing the 
 command in the best possible form, take the 
 " catch -lines" of four advertisements of adver- 
 tising schools as they appear in the magazines, 
 which are reproduced upon the following page: 
 
 The first, " Be an ad-writer, " is short, but rather 
 bald and indefinite. The second, " Learn to be 
 an ad -writer, ' ' suggests that I should become some- 
 thing, and implies that, by a process of learning 
 in connection with their school, this end could be 
 attained. The third, "Learn to write adver- 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 |ge an Ad-Writer\ 
 
 Learn to be an Ad Writer 
 
 LEARN TO WRITE 
 ADVERTISEMENTS 
 
 Advertising WrmngTaught 
 
 No. i 
 
 tisements, " suggests that I should learn to do 
 something, and implies that I could learn this 
 by a course of instruction at their school. Per- 
 sonally, learning to do seems more definite than 
 learning to become, but it is quite possible that 
 it would impress others differently. The fourth, 
 "Advertising writing taught," is not a command, 
 and seems to me to be much inferior to the pre- 
 ceding ones. It supplies me with certain infor- 
 mation, but does not help me to make up my 
 mind to take the course at their school. It in- 
 forms me of the fact that they teach advertising, 
 but has nothing to say about action on my part. 
 To have action in another person suggested is 
 not so impressive as it is to have my own action, or 
 action on my part, suggested. The direct per- 
 
 70 
 
THE DIRECT COMMAND 
 
 sonal element is lacking in the last, which is pres- 
 ent in the first three. 
 
 A further criticism might be made of the first 
 two headlines, in that they have made use of the 
 expression "ad," which is a technical term, and 
 would not be understood by certain persons who 
 rnight be appealed to by the term when written 
 out in full. 
 
 As the young man reads over these four dis- 
 plays his attention will certainly be drawn more 
 forcibly by the first three than by the last one. 
 It might be questionable, however, which one of 
 the first three would appeal most to him. " Learn 
 to write advertisements" appeals to me most 
 strongly, and would probably appeal to more 
 persons than any of the others. 
 
 The value of the form of expression in the head- 
 lines is clearly seen when we read over the com- 
 mands which were used as display in Success 
 for March, 1902. Some are good and some are 
 poor, as will be recognized by every one who reads 
 the list. Taking them in the order in which they 
 appeared, they are the following: 
 
 " Learn to write advertisements." 
 
 " Exercise at home." 
 
 " Make your own lace." 
 
 ''Learn bookkeeping." 
 
 " Be your own boss." 
 
 " Deal direct with the maker." 
 
 " Send no money." 
 
THE THEORY OF A DVERTISING 
 
 " Furnish your house." 
 
 "Stop stammering." 
 
 " Learn telegraphy at home." 
 
 "Learn engraving." 
 
 "Be an ad -writer." 
 
 " Learn in three months." 
 
 "Study law." 
 
 " Learn bookkeeping." 
 
 " Learn the art science of photography." 
 
 11 Learn the best shorthand." 
 
 " Study law at home." 
 
 " Study medicine at home." 
 
 "Let us start you." 
 
 " Learn proofreading." 
 
 " Be a writer." 
 
 " Be a trained nurse." 
 
 " Save rewriting." 
 
 "Teach yourself music." 
 
 "Do not stammer." 
 
 "Don't shout." 
 
 "Learn bookkeeping." 
 
 " Learn to be an ad-writer." 
 
 " Get away from clerical drudgery." 
 
 "Let the Gold Dust Twins do your work." 
 
 "Simply press this." 
 
 "Don't set hens." 
 
 " Sleep on it thirty nights free." 
 
 As we see from the examples given above, the 
 value of a command is dependent upon the way 
 in which it is expressed. 
 
 72 
 
THE DIRECT COMMAND 
 
 Another factor of even greater importance than 
 the verbal expression is the personality of the one 
 
 giving the command. The spoken 
 Commands -, r 11 , 1 
 
 command is enforced by the person- 
 
 ~ ality of the speaker to an extent im- 
 
 Commanders J 
 
 ^ possible in written commands, ihe 
 
 difference is, however, not so great as might be 
 supposed. Van Dyke expressed a truth when 
 he said, "Help me to deal very honestly with 
 words and people, for they are both alive." 
 The person who can move men by spoken words 
 can move them with written words. This is so 
 true that many have prophesied that the press 
 would render the preacher and the orator useless. 
 The printed page is a living force which is more 
 appreciated to-day than ever before. There are 
 men who are obeyed whether they speak or 
 write, whether they are at the head of a regiment 
 or in the privacy of their own homes, whether 
 they are addressing their employees in person or 
 presenting certain lines of action to the public 
 by means of printed advertisements. Certain 
 persons can command us and we obey readily, but 
 if the same commands were given by other per- 
 sons, we would regard it as presumptuous and 
 refuse obedience. A firm that is just beginning 
 its first advertising campaign does' not secure as 
 much attention to its advertisements as the older 
 firms. Furthermore, reliable firms which are 
 well established and well known through adver- 
 
 73 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 tising could give commands with impunity which 
 would injure a new or unknown firm. 
 
 Persons who are used to obeying take obe- 
 dience as a matter of course and obey almost 
 from second nature or instinct. Those who are 
 not used to being commanded are more inclined 
 to resent the attempt and so refuse to obey, even 
 if the command is in accord with their interests, 
 and if they had at first been at the very point of 
 obeying. A form of expression which would 
 prove highly successful with one class of society 
 might fail with another class. Commands would 
 have a greater efficiency in cheap than in higher- 
 priced periodicals, because the poorer classes are 
 more in the habit of obeying commands. They 
 are more in the habit of doing things that are 
 directly suggested to them. All classes of society 
 are moved by a direct command if it is properly 
 worded, and if it appears in their favorite or most 
 highly appreciated publication. 
 
 The function of the direct command in ad- 
 vertisements is twofold to attract attention and 
 to beget immediate action. 
 
 There is nothing which attracts the attention 
 so much as movement or action. 
 
 When we want to attract the 
 Attention 
 
 attention of a friend, we wave to 
 
 him instinctively. We know that he will see the 
 wave of the hand or of the handkerchief when he 
 would not notice us at all apart from such move- 
 
 74 
 
THE DIRECT COMM AND 
 
 merits. Our eyes are so constructed that we can 
 distinguish a movement of an obiect before we 
 are able to distinguish the object itself. Move- 
 ments please and attract us in whatever form 
 they may be presented. A shop window that 
 has in it a live animal or anything else that moves 
 will attract the attention of the pedestrian as 
 he passes by. A command ordinarily calls for 
 action. As we read a command we think of th( 
 action suggested and it attracts our attention i: 
 much the same way that actual movements do.) 
 In the first case we see with the imagination what 
 we see in the second case with the sense of sight. 
 A command in good display type at the begin- 
 ning of an advertisement may express in a few 
 words the intent of the entire advertisement. 
 It expresses it in such a living, moving manner 
 that it attracts our attention and makes us feel 
 in sympathy with it, so that we feel like doing 
 what is suggested at once. This tendency to 
 action on our part brings us into sympathetic, 
 personal relation with the advertisement, and 
 so gets us interested enough in the advertise- 
 ment to start us to reading it. The argument 
 should be so constructed that it brings us into 
 closer relationship with the proposition offered. 
 It should take us into the confidence of the firm 
 and make us feel that the firm back of the adver- 
 tisement can be trusted. We then feel in sym- 
 pathy with the offer made by the firm, our self- 
 
 75 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 will is suspended, and we are in a condition to do 
 what is suggested. The argument may have been 
 extensive, the illustrations may have been inter- 
 esting and suggestive, but now what is wanted 
 is immediate action. The advertisement should 
 focus at this point. An attempt should be made 
 to hold our attention to what is desired of us. 
 The value of a direct command at this point should 
 not be overlooked, as it expresses in a few words 
 and in living form all that the advertisement 
 has desired to bring about. It sums up the entire 
 argument and puts it before us in the form of a 
 direct suggestion to action. 
 
 Outdoor advertising must of necessity be very 
 brief and very suggestive. There is no oppor- 
 tunity to present extensive arguments, yet some- 
 thing must be done to attract attention and to 
 beget immediate action. Direct affirmation as 
 to the value of the goods offered may, in general, 
 be the most effective form of expression, but the 
 direct command could be used with profit be- 
 cause of its superior value in attracting atten- 
 tion and in begetting immediate action. 
 
 The above chapter on ' 'The Direct Command" 
 as a form of argumentation appeared in substan- 
 tially the present form in Makings Magazine. 
 Soon after its publication the Editor received a 
 letter from the Franklin Mills Company, saying 
 
 76 
 
THE DIRECT COMMAND 
 
 that they were going "to try out the theory" in 
 their advertising. Some time later the following 
 letter was received, stating the results of their 
 experiment with the advertisement reproduced 
 herewith (No. 2) : 
 
 and wri 
 fora 
 
 .Sample of 
 
 It will cost you but three two cent stamps anJ you 
 grocer's name to receive full half pound sample of 
 
 WHEATLET 
 
 and know why it is the very best cereal food you can possibly eat. 
 ELBERT HUBBARD, Editor of 7*<- Pkilittit. says : 
 
 Y<Hi will see this Ufue is a 'hot' number, all being written r. n ;i 
 KitU-t dirt. In fjtt. I luve never been so doosed clever in my liter.iry 
 k as since I tackled Wheatlet." 
 
 (TeH us the misrtlled word in Januar^ Ad. Early Breakfast Picture m .. 
 
 The Franklin Mills Co., 
 
 .-/// the Wlteat thafs Fit 'a Lot." 
 
 LOCKPORT. 
 
 No. 2 
 
 We wish to say that our February advertisement, 
 embodying "the direct command" advised by Profes- 
 sor Scott, is bringing far greater returns than any ad- 
 vertisement we have ever before published, and this is 
 
 77 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 surprising in the face of the fact that the public are 
 overloaded with free samples of hundreds of cereals, 
 and are so confused thereby that they hardly know 
 what they want. 
 
 Another instance of the successful application 
 of this principle appeared in a recent issue of 
 Printers' Ink. It is entitled, "A Story of Prog- 
 ress," and gives the history of the wonderful 
 growth of the Delineator: 
 
 Then advertising was used in dailies and magazines 
 throughout the country. Bill-boards were also utilized 
 for a brief period, chiefly to spread the well-known catch 
 phrase, "Just get the Delineator." This phrase origi- 
 nated with Mr. Thayer, who, in speaking about it, said: 
 
 ' ' I had tried more than a year to hit upon a suitable 
 phrase, but nothing would come to me. One day I 
 read an article by Professor Scott in Mahin's Maga- 
 zine, in which he showed that if the words ' Cut this 
 coupon out and mail it to-day ' were used instead of 
 4 Use this coupon,' there would be a larger number of 
 replies. It is his theory that people will follow a defi- 
 nite direction of this sort, and the theory appealed to 
 me. So I formulated my phrase in the belief that its 
 suggestion would be followed, especially by women. 
 Results have proved that it is an effective phrase. 
 To my own personal knowledge the catch line has tan- 
 talized even men until they bought copies to see the 
 publication for themselves." 
 
VI 
 
 ( 
 
 THE "PSYCHOLOGICAL VALUE 
 OF THE RETURN COUPON 
 
 THE return coupon, which is the product of a 
 
 long evolution in which necessity and practical 
 
 experience were the prime moving factors, has 
 
 of recent years been greatly improved by those 
 
 who have been able to analyze it 
 
 vo u ion o an( ^ to a pp rec j ate it s possibilities. 
 
 the Coupon 
 
 Before the days of the coupon, 
 
 the advertiser met with great difficulty in try- 
 ing to keep tab on the various publications 
 in which he advertised. The " Please mention 
 this magazine" was frequently disregarded, 
 and so the idea was conceived of having some- 
 thing returned to the advertiser which would 
 indicate the publication in which the sender had 
 seen the advertisement. At first it was the whole 
 advertisement which was to be returned, and we 
 find at the end of some of the old advertisements 
 this statement, "Please cut this advertisement 
 out," etc. Then it was conceived that it was 
 not necessary to return the entire advertisement, 
 but merely a blank for the name and address, 
 and so the coupon was evolved. 
 
 The return coupon was, then, in the beginning 
 a keying device and was not intended to have 
 any value as a means of securing replies. It 
 
 79 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 was not to assist the reader to answer the ad- 
 vertisement, but was intended as an assist- 
 ance to the advertiser in keeping tab on the 
 various publications in which he advertised. 
 
 Messrs. Houghton. Mifflin & 
 
 Please send me by mail 
 out charge circula 
 checked on the following list, viz. 
 
 Lowell lontfeUoi 
 
 Harte Dickens Tbackeray 
 
 Macaulaj Anwican Statesman 
 
 Also full particulars of your 
 
 NEW OFFER FOR 1901 
 
 No. i. 
 
 Later it was discovered that the coupon had a 
 greater value than had been supposed that 
 it was in itself a strong argument and that its 
 value was therefore psychological. The coupon 
 appeals directly to the reader and induces more 
 to answer the advertisement than would do so if 
 the coupon were not there. 
 
 80 
 
VALUE OF THE RETURN COUPON 
 
 One psychological value of the return coupon 
 
 is that it attracts attention. In 
 Attention ,, . . . . , 
 
 their original form t;hese coupons 
 
 (No. i) were something different 
 from anything that had previously appeared in 
 advertisements, and attracted attention by way 
 of contrast to ordinary advertisements. They 
 also attracted attention because the ruled blank 
 
 [The accompanying cut is 
 a reproduction of a coupon 
 attached to an advertise- 
 ment in the New York 
 Herald 
 Mr. Ralph 
 that this 
 angular coupon ever 
 
 2E SAVE FRONT 837 TO 9110 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 lines and open spaces were in contrast with the 
 rest of the advertisement. The coupon is so 
 familiar now that it does not offer so strong a 
 contrast to other advertisements as formerly, 
 but is still in contrast to the rest of the advertise- 
 
 81 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 ment in which it is contained. To make this 
 latter contrast stronger, the whole advertisement, 
 as well as the coupon itself, has been greatly 
 modified. The chief alteration was in the coupon, 
 which was changed from the square or oblong to 
 the triangle (No. 2). All the lines of reading 
 matter are horizontal, but the little three-cor- 
 nered coupon has one or more oblique lines, and 
 the oblique lines run in different directions. This 
 brings it into contrast with the rest of the adver- 
 tisement. 
 
 I asked a large group of persons to think of 
 some number. Very many more of them thought 
 of three than of any other number. I have asked 
 other groups to think of some geometrical figure, 
 and more think of a triangle than of any other 
 figure. I have exposed, for a very short interval 
 of time, various geometrical figures, and the tri- 
 angle catches their attention more than any other 
 figure. The number three and a figure with three 
 sides possess a peculiar interest for us. It seems, 
 then, that the triangle is more attractive than a 
 square, an oblong, or parallel lines, and so it at- 
 tracts our attention to itself and indirectly to the 
 advertisement in which it is contained. The 
 shape of the entire advertisement and particularly 
 the shape of the border has been changed to make 
 the contrast with the three-cornered coupon 
 greater. By certain leading advertisers the bor- 
 der has been constructed of figured designs com- 
 
 82 
 
VALUE OF THE RETURN COUPON 
 
 posed of broken curved lines, or of continuous 
 curved lines, or else the border has been discarded 
 entirely (No. 3). These changes make the bold, 
 
 When 
 
 Forty Thousand 
 
 People 
 
 make up their minds to buy something, their purchasing 
 rer is tremendous iftmiud! 
 
 The Wanamaker Century Club has united some 40,000 
 ben who wanted The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia and 
 Atlas. That is the simple story of how the half-price came to be. 
 Since we fint opened The Wanamaker Century Club the cti purchased 
 
 a saving of over two million dollars 
 
 hope to find fn the one bet cycloped 
 
 Of Facts, the most complete of dictionaries of our language; the most thorough and 
 usable of World-Atlases, and takes the lace of many separate works sucli as 
 
 what you would hope to find fn the one 
 
 World-Atlases, and takes the place 01 many separate wonts sue 
 cyclopedias of Commerce, Banking, Engineering, Art, Architecture and 
 score of other subjects. It is a compute Wo, 
 
 once, or a little at a time, as you prefer 
 
 send full particulars on receipt of the c 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 straight lines of the coupon stand out in marked 
 contrast, and are almost sure to attract the atten- 
 tion as one turns over the page. 
 
 83 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 The contrast between the coupon and the rest 
 of the advertisement (not to mention the con- 
 trast with other advertisements) is not the only 
 source of attention value of the coupon. A 
 second attractive feature is found in the direct 
 
 One dollar is all! 
 
 
 
 A single Dollar (if you act at once) is all it will cost you to 
 secure possession of FIDPATH'S History of the World. 
 A great big set of 9 Royal Octavo volumes 
 with 4 000 illustrations, and many 
 maps and color plates. 
 The rest you pay 
 lonthly pay- 
 l tsof$2each. 
 
 Your 
 
 Last Chance! 
 
 fc| F jrou'd like to own the best World's History in existence,-* history 
 11 that's as interesting as a storybook and almost as reliable as the law 
 
 We're a pamphlet, prepared by the publishers of the history, which 
 tells just what the work is, how it came to be wntten, and the sort 
 
 o< readers it aims to entertain and interest. This pamphlet also 
 specimens of the illustrations and ten pages, and if 
 
 contains 
 
 you're interested, and mail us the coupon, we'll 
 
 Reading that pamphlet will settle in your mind, 
 lor all, whether you need the history or not and vo 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 command ordinarily placed between the body 
 of the advertisement and the coupon. The ex- 
 pressions "Cut this corner off," "Cut along this 
 line," etc., have a decided value in attracting 
 attention. (See chapter on "The Direct Com- 
 mand as a Form of Argumentation.") 
 
 Another source of attention value in this kind 
 of advertising is in the dotted line indicating 
 
VALUE OF THE RETURN COUPON 
 
 the place at which the coupon should be cut off. 
 This dotted line suggests action, and as such is 
 interesting and attracts the attention. If the 
 dotted lines could give the impression of perfo- 
 rated paper, the results would be better. Where 
 possible it would be well to have the paper per- 
 forated along the line where the coupon is to be 
 torn off. 
 
 Another source of attention value in this kind 
 of advertising in its modified form is found in the 
 devices employed (No. 4) to direct the attention 
 to the dotted line or to the " Cut this corner off. " 
 The index fingers, all pointing to the same thing, 
 give one the impression that there must be some- 
 thing very special at that point, and many per- 
 sons look to see what the fingers are pointing at, 
 when otherwise they would pass the entire adver- 
 tisement by without noticing it. 
 
 In addition to its power in attracting atten- 
 
 T. ,* . tion, the return coupon has a 
 
 Definite and . 
 
 Specific farther psychological value in that 
 it gives the reader something defi- 
 nite and specific to do. 
 
 I have frequently observed in teaching that 
 if pupils or students are given definite and spe- 
 cific tasks to perform, they perform them with 
 alacrity. If, however, the tasks are made gen- 
 eral and assigned as something which they might 
 do sometime, no impression is made on their minds 
 and nothing is done. A necessary characteristic 
 
 85 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 of a teacher is the ability to make his students 
 know just what he wants them to do. A prime 
 requisite of an advertisement, when direct evi- 
 dence of attention is desired, is that it should give 
 the reader something definite and specific to do 
 at once, i. e., that the reader should open a cor- 
 respondence with the firm. With our present 
 knowledge there could probably be no better 
 way of making that end clear than by the use of 
 the return coupon. Its function is much like 
 that of a sun-glass. The rays of the sun, falling 
 on a piece of paper, will warm it, but will not 
 cause it to burn. If the rays are allowed to shine 
 through the sun-glass and to focus at one point of 
 the paper, the whole will soon be ignited. The 
 argument in an advertisement may be good, it 
 may even make the reader "warm" with the 
 desire to secure the goods, but his desire may 
 not result in action. The heat was not focused 
 at one point. The return coupon concentrates 
 all this desire or "warmth" at one point; it 
 overcomes procrastination and secures the neces- 
 sary action. 
 
 An additional psychological value of the re- 
 turn coupon is that it makes it 
 
 easv to answer the advertisement. 
 Answcrin.2" 
 
 E ' There are persons who will climb 
 
 the Matterhorn because of the 
 difficulty of the ascent. There are those who will 
 spend hours and even days trying to solve 
 
 86 
 
VALUE OF THE RETURN COUPON 
 
 difficult puzzles. These are but apparent excep- 
 tions to the universal rule that mankind is as a 
 class hopelessly lazy. We desire the best results, 
 but we want to secure them with the least possi- 
 ble labor. We refuse to take two steps when one 
 is sufficient. Business men recognize this fact 
 and place their merchandise where it can easily 
 be secured by the buyer. They choose a site for 
 their stores where they will be the most accessi- 
 ble. They arrange their goods so that they may 
 be most easily seen and secured by the public. 
 They send out their representatives to display 
 the goods and leave nothing to the purchaser 
 but to indicate what he wants. In short, every- 
 thing possible is done to make it easy for the cus- 
 tomers. The traveling salesman made it so easy 
 for the customer that he undoubtedly gave 
 orders for goods which he would not have pur- 
 chased if he had been obliged to go after them or 
 even to write a letter for them. For a mail- 
 order house, the return coupon supplements or 
 takes the place of a traveling salesman. It pre- 
 sents itself to the possible customer, and all he has 
 to do is to fill it out and return it, and the goods are 
 forthcoming. Even for the experienced business 
 man it is easier to fill out a blank than it is to 
 dictate or write a letter. But all are not exper- 
 ienced business men. There are those who make 
 good customers, but whose only formula for letter- 
 writing is " I take my pen in hand to let you know 
 
 87 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 that I am well and hope that this will find you the 
 same. " For such a person to compose a business 
 letter is a task of no small importance. He does 
 not know whether to begin with "Dear Sir" or 
 with "Gentlemen;" he does not know whether 
 he should close with "Yours truly" or "Affec- 
 tionately yours." The betrayal of his ignorance 
 and the effort of composition are hindrances 
 of such magnitude that he is frequently de- 
 terred from securing the desired goods. To be 
 relieved from this embarrassment and toil is for 
 him a veritable boon. The return coupon makes 
 answering easier for all, whether with or without 
 experience in writing business letters. It makes 
 answering easy not only because it has the return 
 letter already composed, but also because the 
 composed letter is easily accessible. Some adver- 
 tisers do not seem to appreciate this latter advan- 
 tage and so allow the coupon to be placed near 
 the middle of the page and on the inside of it - 
 next to the binding. The following reduced re- 
 production is an example of such a blunder. (No. 
 5.) This makes it unnecessarily difficult to 
 get at, and so places an obstacle in the way of 
 every one who desires to* answer. Many would 
 surmount the difficulty, but some would not. It 
 certainly is bad business policy to put such a need- 
 less obstruction in the path of every "would-be 
 customer." The three-cornered coupon can be 
 cut or torn off more easily than any other. If 
 
 88 
 
VALUE OF THE RETURN COUPON 
 
 placed on one of the four outer corners of a pub- 
 lication it can be severed with a single cut of the 
 scissors or torn off with a single tear. It is more 
 accessible than it would be if in any other shape; 
 it makes the answering of the advertisement 
 easy, and to that extent is the best possible shape 
 for a return coupon. 
 
 &/>e History of the World 
 
 Edited by DR. H. F. HELMOLT 
 
 Sl3^=S=jTr=jBS?KS3s5 
 
 ** SiSS tSTSSSJS SsSSsSfv 
 s=BSr=,XT=5,':aSJf -^^x^ 
 
 W A K 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 The task recently devolved on me of purchas- 
 ing a baby carriage. I had never been interested 
 in them before and did not know where I had 
 ever seen them in stores, and so did not know 
 where I should go to secure one. I turned at 
 once to the advertisements in the morning paper 
 and saw baby carriages advertised at a certain 
 down -town store. I went there at once and 
 asked the floor-walker where they kept them, and 
 he politely informed me that they did not handle 
 them. I assured him that I had seen their adver- 
 tisement in the paper that morning and that 
 they must therefore have them. He made further 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 inquiries and found that they did have them, and 
 I secured my desired article. Having seen the 
 advertisement in the paper, it was easy for me 
 to find what I wanted. All advertisements 
 make it easy for the purchaser to know where 
 the class of goods are kept which he desires to 
 secure. It will readily be seen that one of the 
 great functions of any advertisement is in this 
 
 ay to make it easy for the purchaser to find what 
 he wants. . The coupon has the additional value 
 of being of such a nature that the purchaser can 
 secure the goods desired without going out after 
 them and even without the trouble of composing 
 and writing a letter. Some of us are not so lazy 
 as others, but we are all procrastinators. We 
 often decide that we want a thing, but we put 
 off the purchase till the desire has gone and so we 
 never secure what we wanted. Procrastination 
 is so easy that we will put off till to-morrow what 
 would cause us trouble to do to-day. With the 
 coupon, the task of ordering the goods is so easy 
 that there is almost no excuse for procrastination, 
 even if we are somewhat lazy. An advertisement 
 should make it as easy as possible for the pur- 
 chaser to secure the goods he desires and should 
 take away every possible ground for hesitation. 
 In these particulars the coupon is especially strong. 
 
 We have now seen that the coupon attracts 
 attention because of its novelty or contrast, 
 because of its triangular shape, because of the 
 
 90 
 
VALUE OF THE RETURN COUPON 
 
 direct command and the index finger which 
 frequently accompanies the return coupon. We 
 have seen that it is psychologically strong be- 
 cause it is specific and direct in its appeal. We 
 have also seen its strength in that it makes 
 answering the advertisement easy and calls for 
 immediate action. All these advantages are 
 but supplementary and subsidiary to the great 
 function of the return coupon. Its real value 
 is to be found in the fact that it 
 
 suggests to the reader that he should 
 Action 
 
 sign his name, tear out the coupon 
 
 and send it to the address given. The prime value 
 of the coupon is lost unless this is attained. The 
 coupon does attract attention, but that is of value 
 merely because in attracting attention it brings 
 the suggestion to the mind of the reader and keeps 
 it there. It is specific and direct, but that is of 
 value only because it holds before the mind the 
 one specific suggestion which is desired. It 
 makes action easy, and that is good because then 
 no barrier is placed in the way of the suggestion. 
 It calls for immediate action and that is essential 
 because unless the suggestion is acted upon at 
 once, it grows weaker and would fail of its 
 purpose. 
 
 In connection with direct commands and 
 return coupons there should be some mention 
 made of other similar devices for suggesting 
 action. Among these latter are the return pos- 
 
 9 1 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 
 tal card, the money envelope, the money card, 
 
 etc. There seems to be no end to the number 
 of such devices that skill and ingenuity may dis- 
 cover. They are used with great profit by their 
 inventors, but when the novelty has worn off, 
 they are less valuable, and other forms are then 
 demanded. 
 
 This chapter in substantially its present form 
 appeared first in a magazine article. One of the 
 readers of the magazine decided to make an 
 experiment in applying the principle to his own 
 business. He noticed this sentence, "They are 
 used with great profit by their inventors, but 
 when the novelty has worn off, they are less val- 
 uable, and other forms are then demanded." 
 He tried to preserve the psychological value of 
 the return coupon, but to present it in a new form 
 and in such a way that it would be adapted to 
 his demands. The result of his labor is seen on 
 the opposite page in No. 6. 
 
 After the form had been in use a short time we 
 received the following letter from the inventor 
 of it. 
 
 CHICAGO, April 2, 1903. 
 DR. WALTER DILL SCOTT, 
 Northwestern University, 
 Evanston, 111. : 
 
 Dear Sir, I am sending you under separate cover 
 copy of the "Ballot" advertisement, which we got out 
 
 92 
 
Check the edition of Price List you wish sent (will send both if 
 desired), also articles which you handle or use, so that we can 
 send samples and special information from time to time. 
 
 D Hardware Dealers' Edition 
 
 j 
 
 - 
 
 Steel Roofings 
 
 - 
 
 Conductor Pipe. Gutter. Etc. 
 
 ; 
 
 
 Steel Ceilings 
 
 = 
 
 Roofing and Metal Paints 
 
 i 
 
 = 
 
 Tin Plates 
 
 Galvanized. Smooth and Planished Iron 
 
 = 
 
 Asbestos Paper. Mill Board. Etc. 
 Asbestos Pipe Covering. Cements. Eu 
 
 i 
 
 j 
 
 It 
 
 = 
 
 Ridge Roll and Cresting 
 Skylights and Cornices 
 Sheet Zinc and Copper 
 
 = 
 
 Mineral Wool 
 Furnace Pipe and Registers 
 Tinner! Tools 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 D Lumber Dealers' Edition 
 
 Building Papers 
 
 - 
 
 1 wo and Three Ply Roofing 
 
 
 = 
 
 - Lincoln Roofing 
 
 
 Asphalt Roofing 
 
 ! 
 
 ~~ 
 
 Portable Gravel Roofing 
 
 = 
 
 Roof Coatings 
 
 
 
 Asbestos Fire-Proof Roofing 
 
 ~ 
 
 Deadening Felts 
 
 
 == 
 
 Waterproof Papers 
 
 
 Carpet Linings 
 
 
 
 = 
 
 Tarred Felts 
 
 = 
 
 Asphalt Metal Paints 
 
 - 
 
 N. 
 
 D 
 
 j 
 
 Pitch and Coal Tar 
 
 - 
 
 Roofing and Paving Asphalt 
 
 Town State 
 
 1 Check here if not interested in the above lines of goods and we will remove your 
 name from our mailing list. 
 
 STAMPED ENVELOPE ENCLOSED FOR RETURN OF THIS FORM. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 recently along the lines suggested by your articles in 
 Mahin's Magazine, and are pleased to report that the 
 returns are very satisfactory. Over 50 per cent, of the 
 sheets were returned, making a very valuable mailing 
 list, but we do not consider this as important as the 
 psychological value of having the retail dealers make a. 
 special request for our monthly price list. 
 
 As a test case, we mailed thirty of these sheets to, 
 dealers to whom we had been sending our catalogues, 
 and other advertising material regularly for a number 
 of years, but had never received any returns. Of these- 
 seventeen were returned, three containing special re-, 
 quests for prices, one of which resulted in an immediate- 
 order. 
 
 I find the knowledge of the psychological principles 
 of advertising very helpful in planning my advertising- 
 work, and will be pleased to give you any further data, 
 in regard to the results obtained that you may wish. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 J. C. WOODLEY.. 
 
 At the time this chapter was prepared for pub-. 
 lication in magazine form (May, 1902) there were 
 but few return coupons appearing in the current, 
 magazines, and those appearing were placed, 
 with but little regard to position. Thus in Mun-~ 
 sey's Magazine for May, 1902, there were but, 
 three return coupons, and one of them was so, 
 placed that it came next to the binding and would 
 be hard to detach. In McC 'lure's for the same ; 
 month there appeared four return coupons and 
 one of them was next to the binding. In the 
 Century Magazine for the same month there ; 
 
 94 
 
I UNIVfc^SITY ) 
 VALUE OF THE R*E TiN^6 O U P O N 
 
 appeared but a single return coupon. Com- 
 paring all the copies of the magazines at hand 
 for May, 1902, and for May, 1903, 1 find that there 
 is a very decided increase in the number of return 
 coupons and especially in the number of three- 
 cornered coupons. Furthermore in all these 
 magazines for May, 1903, there is not a coupon 
 placed next to the binding or in the middle of 
 the page, as was done so frequently before this 
 article appeared in the magazine. 
 
 95 
 
VII 
 
 FUSION 
 
 SOME years ago I was spending my Christmas 
 
 vacation at my old home. One 
 Illustration . .^. . ,, v 
 
 morning I was sitting in the li- 
 
 j ., brary reading short stories. While 
 
 I was reading, my sister went to 
 the piano and began playing some of the tunes 
 which she had played years before, and which 
 I had particularly enjoyed. I did not notice the 
 fact that she was playing at all, but I thought 
 the stories were peculiarly beautiful The next 
 day I remarked about them and had occasion 
 to refer to them. I was greatly disappointed 
 upon reading them the second time to find that 
 they were very commonplace and that ordinarily 
 they would not have pleased me at all. If I had 
 paid strict attention to the short stories alone, 
 they would have proved themselves to be very 
 uninteresting. As it was, I paid partial attention 
 to each and fused the music and the reading into 
 one total impression which was extremely pleas- 
 ing. 
 
 On certain occasions when friends are together 
 all have a jolly good time. A spirit of good 
 fellowship reigns, and every one is happy and 
 contented. The stories told are appreciated and 
 applauded. The jokes all seem so fitting and 
 
FUSION 
 
 pertinent. Even if they have been heard before, 
 they are so well told and so apropos that they 
 are as good as new. The next day one is often 
 chagrined when he tries to relate the stories and 
 jokes, and to tell why he had enjoyed the occa- 
 sion so well. The stories may have been mere 
 commonplaces and the jokes nothing but old 
 standby s, but they did not stand alone ; they were 
 enforced and improved by the spirit of good fel- 
 lowship which pervaded the company. The place, 
 the stories, the jokes, the refreshments, the amuse- 
 ment, and the occasion all united their influences 
 to make a total impression. They were fused 
 together, and their total product was what had 
 so delighted us. Any one of these things taken 
 singly would have been insufficient to produce any 
 pleasant result, but when taken collectively each 
 shines in a borrowed light. 
 
 If I hold a lead-pencil vertically in my hand 
 directly in front of my nose, the name of the man- 
 ufacturer printed on the pencil will be barely visi- 
 ble, if it is on the extreme right side of the pencil. 
 If, however, I close my right eye, the name 
 disappears. If I make a mark on the pencil 
 directly opposite the name of the manufac- 
 turer and hold the pencil as before, both the mark 
 and the name are visible. If I close the right 
 eye, the name disappears. If I close the left 
 eye, the mark disappears. As I look at the pen- 
 cil with my right eye I get a slightly different 
 
 97 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 impression than I do when I look with my left 
 eye, and vice versa. We are not conscious of 
 these two partial impressions, for we fuse them 
 into one total impression, which gives us a better 
 perception of the pencil than is contained in the 
 mathematical sum of the two partial percep- 
 tions. A discussion of the result of this fusion 
 of the two impressions made upon the two eyes 
 would be out of place at this point, but it might 
 be remarked that among these results are accu- 
 rate judgments of the distance and of the thick- 
 ness of the pencil. 
 
 At any point of time we may be receiving im- 
 pressions of sight through the eyes, impressions 
 of sound through the ears, impressions of hunger 
 or thirst from the body, and at the same time 
 we may be thinking of former experiences. All 
 these impressions, sensations, ideas, etc., are fused 
 together and have no separate existence. Each 
 plays a part in determining the whole conscious 
 impression or condition, but the parts do not 
 exist alone. It is a general law of psychology 
 that all things tend to fuse and only those thines^) 
 are analyzed that must be analyzedf In the be- 
 ginning we perceive objects as concrete wholes 
 and then later analyze the wholes into parts. 
 If the first animal which a child sees should be a 
 dog, it would see ,the dog as a very different thing 
 from what it would later appear to him. It 
 would be a dog, but his idea of it would be so 
 
 98 
 
FUSION 
 
 indefinite that he would not notice whether it 
 had four or six legs, whether it had ears or trunk, 
 nose or bill, or whether it was white or black. 
 By later experience the child would learn that the 
 dog was of a particular color, had four legs, two 
 ears, that it barked, ate, and that it had certain 
 other peculiarities and characteristics. The ex- 
 pert in natural history and the dog fancier each 
 notice certain things about the dog that the rest 
 of humanity never sees at all. We grasp every- 
 thing as a concrete whole first, and then by later 
 experience we analyze this whole and add to it. 
 The point to be emphasized is that 
 p . we do not first perceive the parts \ 
 
 Entireties an( ^ Mn ^ e them to form the greater 
 wholes, but that we first perceive 
 the wholes and only after the process of analysis .. 
 has been completed do we perceive the parts. There 
 are certain products of fusion which by most of 
 us are never analyzed at all. This is the case 
 with the sensations which we receive whenever 
 we breathe. With every breath the diaphragm 
 contracts and expands, the muscles raise and 
 lower the ribs, the lungs receive and discharge a 
 volume of air, the air passages in the nose and 
 windpipe enlarge and contract. All these play a 
 part in making the total sensation which we call 
 breathing, but we cannot with ease analyze the 
 different parts. They are fused together, and as 
 it would be of no particular benefit to analyze 
 
 99 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 the product we have never done so, and we 
 never would have known that the feeling was the 
 product of these elements unless we had rea- 
 soned it out first. 
 
 We know of no object which is independent 
 of all other things. In fact, the value of all 
 objects depends upon the relationships which they 
 have to other things. We think of things only 
 in their relations, and these relationships fuse 
 and constitute the object as we know it. An- 
 thracite or bituminous coal, yellow clay and 
 black loam, can all be thought of as pure and 
 clean, but under certain conditions they be- 
 come dirt. None of these are dirt in themselves, 
 but in certain abnormal positions they are noth- 
 ing but filth. When bituminous coal is on the 
 face of the coal heaver it is almost impossible 
 to think of it as coal. It has ceased to be coal 
 and has become dirt because of the abnormal 
 environment into which it has come. 
 
 The manner in which the environment fuses 
 with an article and determines its value is well 
 illustrated by food in a restaurant. The food 
 may be of the very best quality and the prepara- 
 tion may have been faultless, yet if the service 
 is poor, if the waiter's linen is dirty and his 
 manner slovenly, the food does not taste good 
 and is not appetizing. You may reason out that 
 the waiter has nothing to do with the prepara- 
 tion of the food and that his linen has not come 
 
 100 
 
FUSION 
 
 into contact with it, but all your reasoning will 
 do you but little good. The idea of dirty linen 
 and this particular food are in your mind indis- 
 solubly united, and now, instead of thinking of 
 food in the abstract, you are compelled to think 
 of food in this particular relationship, and the 
 result is anything but appetizing. 
 
 The same thing is illustrated in all places of 
 business. Stores and offices have a tone or at- 
 mosphere about them, and everything they 
 have to offer is seen through this atmosphere. 
 I heard a gentleman say recently that he had 
 gone to a particular store to buy a certain arti- 
 cle. The store was recommended to him and he 
 was convinced that it was the best place to 
 buy the merchandise desired. When he entered 
 the store he found such a shoddy tone to the 
 entire establishment that he could not believe 
 that the goods which were shown him were de- 
 sirable. If he could have seen the goods in 
 another store he would have purchased them at 
 once, but he could not convince himself that the 
 goods shown him there were what he wanted, 
 so he left without purchasing them. We are not 
 able to look at things impartially and abstractly, 
 but we judge of everything in the light of its 
 environment it fuses with its environment and 
 the environment becomes a part of it. 
 
 The principle of fusion is a subject which 
 should be carefully considered in placing an 
 
 101 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 advertisement. If we could think quite ana- 
 lytically and see the advertisement just as it 
 is, and as a thing independent of 
 its environment, it might be profit- 
 
 Advertisin a ^ e to P^ ace our advertisements 
 on garbage boxes and in cheap and 
 disreputable publications. As we are constructed, 
 however, such a course would be suicidal, even 
 for a house dealing in disreputable and cheap arti- 
 cles. The medium gives a tone of its own to all 
 the advertisements contained in it. Personally I 
 
 feel inclined to respect any firm 
 Mediums ,, -, ,. . ,. -, * 
 
 that advertises in a high-class 
 
 magazine, and unless there is some particular 
 reason to the contrary am willing to trust its 
 honesty. I have always regarded handbills as 
 cheap and irresponsible, and usually think of the 
 goods advertised in this way as belonging to the 
 same category. 
 
 In the course of a conversation, a very intelli- 
 gent lady recently said to me that she never 
 read the advertisements in any of the magazines 
 excepting in her home religious paper. Here 
 she read not only all the reading matter, but all 
 the advertisements as well. I asked her why she 
 read these advertisements, and she said that she 
 knew they could be depended upon. She had 
 the utmost confidence in the editor and believed 
 that he knew every firm advertising, and that 
 by accepting its advertisement and publishing 
 
 102 
 
FUSION 
 
 it he thereby gave it his stamp of approval. No 
 advertisement appearing in this periodical was 
 compelled to stand on its own merit alone, so far 
 as she was concerned, but had added to it the 
 confidence inspired by this publication. The 
 advertisement and her confidence fused and 
 formed a whole in which the lady never suspected 
 that any other element entered than those which 
 were in the advertisement itself. The lady re- 
 ferred to did not read the advertisements in 
 other magazines as a usual thing. I have seen 
 her turn over the advertising pages of other mag- 
 azines to see whether there was anything there 
 that interested her. She reads the advertise- 
 ments in her favorite magazine and merely looks 
 over the others. 
 
 In choosing the publications in which he 
 should place his advertisement, the advertiser 
 should not only consider the circulation and the 
 kind of circulation, but he should also consider 
 the tone which each publication would add to 
 his particular advertisement. It is well to have 
 a large number of persons read your advertise- 
 ment; it is better to have those read it who are 
 interested in it and have the means to purchase 
 the goods advertised ; but it is still better to have 
 a large number of the right kind of persons see 
 your advertisement in a publication which adds 
 confidence and recommends it favorably to your 
 prospective customers. Your -advertisement 
 
 103 
 
^THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING^ 
 
 will, to a greater or less extent, fuse with the 
 publication in which it appears, and the product 
 will not be your advertisement as it was prepared 
 by you, but as it conies out of the mold into which 
 you inserted it. 
 
 The statement that a man is known by the 
 company he keeps is not often challenged, and 
 yet the statement would have been equally true 
 if asserted of an advertisement. If a man is 
 seen frequently in the company of rascals, we 
 think at once that he has become a rascal, but 
 do not suppose that he has reformed his asso- 
 ciates. The honorable man loses his reputation 
 by associating with dishonorable persons. An 
 honest firm which advertises in a disreputable 
 sheet and brings its advertisement into asso- 
 ciation with advertisements of a disreputable 
 character lays itself open to suspicion. The 
 firm may be so well known that it would not be 
 greatly injured by such a course, and it might 
 by its presence raise the standard of the other 
 advertisements. Such a work of philanthropy 
 is too expensive and dangerous to recommend 
 itself to the better known firms. If, on the 
 other hand, a disreputable firm should place its 
 advertisement in a high-grade publication and 
 among honest advertisers, it would for a time at 
 least enjoy the confidence inspired by the pub- 
 lication and by the other advertisements. Every 
 honest firm which advertises should insist, how- 
 
 104 
 
FUSION 
 
 ever, that all dishonest advertisements be re-- 
 jected, for, unless this is done, the honest men 
 lose and the dishonest ones gain. The adver- 
 tisements of a publication are in the mind of the 
 public all classed together, and if it is known 
 that one of them cannot be trusted, all are 
 brought into disrepute. 
 
 Because of this principle of' fusion, it is imper- 
 ative that the advertiser should see 
 ~ up that the make-up of the publication 
 is not detrimental to his particular advertisement. 
 Your advertisement would be injured, if, in the 
 make-up, your advertisement of diamonds was 
 placed among advertisements of a questionable 
 character. If I should see an advertisement of an 
 investment scheme that guaranteed unusually 
 large profits, I would suspect fraud at once and 
 would assume a skeptical attitude. If the next 
 instant I should read your advertisement of 
 diamonds, I would be suspicious and would 
 hardly know why I was so. If the next moment 
 I should read the advertisement of a medicine 
 that cured all sorts of incurable diseases, my 
 suspicions would be confirmed, and I would be 
 sure that your diamonds were paste. If, on the 
 other hand, I should see your advertisement 
 placed among those which I knew to be reliable, 
 I would be inclined to classify yours with the 
 others, and would think that it was at least 
 worth while to investigate the matter. 
 
 105 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 The cut given below (No. i) is a good illustra- 
 tion of the violation of the proper consideration 
 of the principle of fusion in the make-up of the 
 advertisements of a daily paper. In a Chicago 
 daily for June 22, 1902, appeared three partial 
 
 DEATHS- 
 
 ^SSEWMftajS 
 
 . ***!.** 
 
 I *40 W. Taylor t., bora 
 MoW J. 23. .1 1-30 
 1, WUHjun Malcolm, .on tl Ba 
 
 Dr, Sleight's 
 Fat Reducing Tablets 
 
 columns giving announcements of deaths and 
 burials. Inserted in the middle column was 
 this advertisement for Dr. Sleight's fat-reducing 
 tablets. It might be said that this advertise- 
 ment would attract attention because of its po- 
 sition, but the effect of the atmosphere of death 
 and burials upon the fat-reducing tablets is too 
 
 apparent to need comment. 
 
 1 06 
 
FUSION 
 
 Many of those who choose illustrations for 
 their advertisements follow the 
 philosophy of the Irish boy who 
 said that he liked to stub his toe because it felt 
 so good when it stopped hurting. Many of us 
 are unable to see how the boy had made any 
 gain after it was all over, but he was satisfied 
 and that was sufficient. The philosophic dis- 
 ciples of the Irish boy are found in advertisers 
 who have certain things to dispose of which will 
 not do certain harmful things. First they choose 
 an illustration which will make you believe that 
 what they have to sell is just what you do not 
 want, and then in the text they try to overcome 
 this false impression, and to show you that what 
 they have to offer is not so bad after all. Most 
 of us are unable to see how the advertiser has 
 gained, even if he has succeeded in giving us 
 logical proof that his goods are not so bad as we 
 were at first led to think. We are not logi- 
 cally inclined, and we take the illustration and 
 the text and combine the two. The best that the 
 text can do is to destroy the evil effect of the 
 illustration. Of course, when we read in the 
 text that the illustration does not correctly rep- 
 resent the goods, we ought to discard the illustra- 
 tion entirely and think only of the text, but, 
 unfortunately, we are not constructed that way. 
 The impression made by the illustration and 
 that made by the text fuse and form a whole 
 
 107 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 which is the result formed by these two ele- 
 ments. 
 
 In No. 2 of the reproduced advertisements 
 the advertiser wants to bring out the fact that 
 his insect powder will not kill human individuals, 
 but will kill insects. The line of his argument 
 would seem to be the exhibition of a picture of 
 the skull of a person killed by his insect powder. 
 He then confidentially assures you that his pow- 
 
 INSEXDIE R 
 
 1 ants, moths, bed 1 
 
 through their bodies, having 
 no lunge, and for this reason It 
 does not require a POISON to 
 kill them. 
 
 INSKXDIE will also kill 
 Insects on blr<l, chicken.. 
 
 GINSENG imT. & 
 
 CHEMICAL CO. 
 
 !.. St. Loul.. Mo. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 der is ''non-poisonous to human." Most people 
 who notice the advertisement see the picture of 
 the skull, but fail to see the "non-poisonous to 
 human." 
 
 The "ad. -smith" of No. 3 is trying to convince 
 the public that his fountain pen will not blot. 
 He shows us a cut of his pen doing just what he 
 wants us to believe it will not do. If we could 
 look at the cut, then forget it entirely and read 
 the text without being biased by the cut, this 
 form of argumentation might be successful, but 
 that is not the way in which we think. 
 
 108 
 
FUSION 
 
 Advertisement No. 4 apparently illustrates the 
 proprietor of the rug company as an escaped con- 
 vict. The text makes no reference to this fact, 
 but tries to impress upon us the idea that this is 
 the gentleman with whom we should deal. 
 
 Advertisement No. 5 is the advertisement of 
 a sweet-smelling cigar. The way the designer of 
 the advertisement goes about it to convince us 
 that his cigars are sweet smelling is to show 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 us Uncle Sam smoking a cigar which evidently 
 has a very bad odor. In small type he asserts 
 that his cigars are not so bad, but I would not 
 have read that part of the advertisement unless 
 I had had an abnormal interest in poor adver- 
 tisements. 
 
 Advertisement No. 6 represents the "restful 
 racycle," and does so by displaying a lady on 
 such a wheel being chased by an infuriated bull- 
 dog. One of the most unpleasant things that 
 can happen to a bicycle rider, and one of the 
 
 109 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 things which might deter some ladies from buy- 
 ing a bicycle, is this fact that bicycle riders are 
 liable to be chased by dogs. The writer of this 
 advertisement, by means of this illustration, 
 
 LEFT BEHIND. 
 
 Our plan of selling all carpets from 
 manufacturer to consumer leaves our 
 competitors out of the race. 
 
 Ingrains, Brussels, Velvets, Aimin- 
 isters, Moqucttcs, Davonnierres, are 
 all on the list. 
 
 If it's Rugs, that's onr specialty; in 
 fact, we make it a point to furnish 
 homes complete with floor coverings 
 that are proper, and we do not dupli- 
 cate fine patterns. 
 
 Carpet cleaning and laying, feather 
 renovating. Rugs from old carpets. 
 
 Petoskey Rug Mfg. 
 and Carpet Go, Ltd, 
 
 455 Mitchell Street. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 practically tells every possible customer to hesi- 
 tate before she buys this wheel, because, if she 
 buys it, she is likely to be chased by dogs. 
 
 In advertisement No. 7 the author is trying to 
 bring out the point that insects do not infest 
 this particular brand of rolled oats. In his illus- 
 
 I JO 
 
FUSION 
 
 tration he shows great crowds of insects swarm- 
 ing about it. If you examine the advertisement 
 you see that, although the insects do have a 
 particular liking for this kind of oats, they can- 
 not get at them till the can is once opened. To 
 my mind this brand of rolled oats and insects 
 
 .FOR UNCLE SAM'S BIRTHDAY 
 anniversary you; don't want a 'stlnka- 
 dora. . Do. honor to your country. In; a' 
 delicious and sweet smpke on July 
 4th by smoking one of our exquisitely: 
 flavored Billy Walton's 5c Straight 
 and Grand Ducbesse cigars They are 
 the best cigars 'to be found In. twn 
 and are lust what you want tor a 
 holiday treat for your friends.- Try 
 thehi by all means. 
 
 AV. WM. M. WAI TON. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 are so firmly united that I cannot think of the 
 food without thinking of the insects. 
 
 Ordinarily the Quaker Oats advertisement 
 has been identified by the presence of the good 
 Quaker. He looks strong, hardy, clean, and 
 honest. In No. 8 we have a portrait of a man 
 who is disgusting in appearance. He fuses with 
 oats, and the product is something which is not 
 appetizing and is a food which I do not care to 
 
 in 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 taste. I have always thought of Quaker Oats 
 .as something particularly clean and healthful, 
 and my idea was determined in part by asso- 
 .ciating the food with the Quaker. When this 
 advertisement is before me, I think that Quaker 
 Oats are fit to eat only on condition that I 
 
 RIDE THE RESTFUL 
 
 Racycle 
 
 RIGID 
 
 REASONABLE 
 RADICALLY RIGHT 
 
 Reinforce! Racycle's Reputation, 
 Rlderi Remember RACYCLB 
 
 Rates to Resi- 
 
 prints of Royal Racjrclej. 
 
 MIAMI CYCLE & 
 
 MFQ. . COMPANY 
 
 Middletown, O. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 .abstract the thought of the food from that of 
 this filthy-looking specimen of humanity. 
 
 In an advertisement of food products the cut 
 is comparable to the waiter in a restaurant. We 
 know that the waiter does not prepare the food, 
 yet he is the representative of the kitchen, and 
 we will not enter a restaurant if the waiter looks 
 repulsive. In a similar manner we know that 
 the cut in an advertisement has nothing to do 
 -with the food advertised, but the cut is the rep- 
 
 112 
 
FUSION 
 
 resentative of the food, and we do not want the 
 food if its representative looks repulsive. 
 
 THIS IS THE ORIGINAL 
 
 HPACKAGE OF CEREALS 
 
 Sa/rje Quantity 3$ coptair}e<t iff usual- 
 '^^N Size two-f>ounc( Package 
 
 For Sale by Grocers Everywhere 
 
 The careful preparation given the contents of this package, justifies 
 the manufacturers in claiming that it will keep indefinitely in good 
 condition, and upon serving, present a flavor and bouquet, un- 
 equaled by any cereal ever offered to the public. 
 
 Directions for Opening And Cooking on Each Can 
 
 THE GREAT WESTERN CEREAL COMPANY, Chicago, Ills. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 All the advertisements here reproduced seem 
 to be constructed in total disregard to the great 
 principle of fusion which plays an important 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 part in all our thinking. In all these advertise- 
 ments the cut and the text (e. g., in the first 
 advertisement the deaths and funerals and the 
 
 
 Short-sighted man lacks penetration. 
 
 He is a short-sighted man indeed who cannot see the other end of the medical breakfast food hibii. 
 Any food that coddles digestion all the time must weaken digestion .at last by sheer lack of exercise. 
 
 A strong digestion might not be greatly weakened by a diet of rich foods, but even the strongest 
 digestion cannot withstand the weakening effects of laboratory foods. 
 
 Only a short-sighted man will deny that natural digestion must be relied on after all for assimilation 
 of the food elements which the body demands, and the better the digestion the better the prospect of 
 health. The way to preserve the strength of natural digestion is to offer it only natural food. 
 
 The one natural food thai fills every need of body and nerve and brain, that gives every food 
 element in exactly the proportions demanded by the human system, it 
 
 Quaker Oa^ts 
 
 No other food has ever been granted that steadfast favor in which Quaker Oats is held it t million 
 well-served breakfast tables. 
 
 You'll see the reason, unlesa you ire 
 
 A SHORT-SIGHTED MAN. 
 No. 8. 
 
 tablet advertisement) fuse, and each plays its 
 part in forming the total impression. We are 
 not able to think of the text without thinking of 
 or being influenced by the illustration. 
 
 114 
 
FUSION 
 
 The ordinary man and woman are not accus- 
 tomed to critical logical thinking. They are 
 not accustomed to consider an object or argu- 
 ment on its own merits and independent of all 
 other things. They are more inclined to take 
 objects, arguments, and events in their entirety. 
 They fuse all the impressions of a particular 
 situation into one total impression, and are 
 influenced by events in their totality without 
 being able to analyze the elements which have 
 united to form the whole. If those who construct 
 and place advertisements would consider this 
 principle of fusion, they would be more careful 
 in their choice of mediums, in the association 
 of advertisements, in the make-up and in the 
 construction of the individual advertisements. 
 
VIII 
 PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 THE introduction of the experimental method 
 is a modern innovation in the case of all the 
 sciences. Occasional experiments had been m%ie 
 in each of the sciences before experimental 
 laboratories were established, but with the found- 
 ing of laboratories for experimental purposes 
 physics, chemistry, geology, physiology and 
 botany became established on a new and firmer 
 basis. 
 
 Occasional and haphazard experiments had 
 been made in psychology ever 
 
 since the days of Aristotle, but 
 Psychological 
 
 Laborator no s y stematic attempt had been 
 made to apply experimental meth- 
 ods to psychology till 1880. At this date 
 Professor Wundt, of Leipzig, established the first 
 psychological laboratory. Since that date simi- 
 lar laboratories have been established in all the 
 leading universities of the world. 
 
 To avoid error as to the conception of the 
 function of a psychological laboratory, it should 
 be held firmly in mind that psychological labo- 
 ratories have nothing to do with telepathy, 
 spiritism, clairvoyance, animal magnetism, mes- 
 merism, fortune telling, crystal gazing, palmistry, 
 astrology, witchcraft, or with any other of the 
 
 116 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 relics of the cults of mediaeval superstition. It 
 is true that the question of occult thought trans- 
 ference in its various forms has been put to the 
 test in a few of the laboratories, but as none of 
 these superstitions have been able to stand the 
 test they have been discarded as worthless hy- 
 potheses. Quite extensive and elaborate tests have 
 been made with telepathy, but as the results 
 secured were so meager, it is safe to say that there 
 is not a director of any psychological laboratory 
 in Germany or America (most of the laboratories 
 are in these two countries) who has any faith in it. 
 In frequent association with the cults men- 
 tioned above are certain other phenomena which 
 have proven themselves to be worthy of con- 
 sideration and which do occupy a place in a 
 laboratory. Among such phenomena are hypno- 
 tism and what might be classed as prodigies or 
 "freaks." To-day no one doubts the existence 
 of hypnotism, but it is understood as something 
 so different from what it was formerly supposed 
 to be that it is robbed of its mysterious and 
 uncanny connections. A mathematical prodigy 
 is not regarded as an individual who holds rela- 
 tionship with an evil spirit, but as a person 
 abnormally developed in a particular direction. 
 Hypnotism and prodigies play such a subordi- 
 nate part in the workings of a laboratory that 
 it would not be worth while to mention them at 
 all if it were not for the fact that they are so fre- 
 
 117 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 quently associated with the theories which were 
 mentioned above and which can show no good 
 reason for their existence. 
 
 Psychological experiments are most frequently 
 carried on in laboratories especially constructed 
 for this purpose. The laboratory for some ex- 
 periments may be merely a convenient place for 
 meeting and a place free from undesirable dis- 
 turbances, or it may be rooms fitted up with the 
 most elaborate sort of instruments needed. In 
 experiments in which the element of time enters, 
 instruments are employed which record one one- 
 thousandth of a second with the greatest accur- 
 acy. 
 
 The nature of the experiment determines the 
 kind of apparatus needed, the number of persons 
 who should take part, the method to be pursued, 
 and the place to be chosen. Great ingenuity has 
 been shown in constructing apparatus, devising 
 methods, and controlling the conditions of experi- 
 ments. The experiment may be simple and call 
 for almost no equipment, or it may be intri- 
 cate and call for years of investigation and an 
 enormous expenditure of money to create the 
 necessary conditions for its successful investi- 
 gation. 
 
 In general a psychological experiment is a 
 psychological observation made under ' ' standard 
 conditions." Standard conditions are those 
 which may be repeated and that are of such a 
 
 118 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 nature that the various conditions are under the 
 control of the experimenter. This makes it possi- 
 ble for one investigator to perform 
 
 , an experiment and to have his 
 Psychological t *c 1 
 
 -r . work verified by others or to show 
 
 Expenment 
 
 wherein the first experimenter has 
 
 erred. Standard conditions are ordinarily of such 
 a nature that they may be varied, that non- 
 essential and confusing conditions may be elimi- 
 nated, the various causes investigated one by one, 
 and the real causes given and the object of the 
 experiment explained. 
 
 The nature of a psychological experiment (the 
 kinds of problems that may be attacked, the 
 method of investigation, the kind of results 
 secured, and the treatment of the result) can 
 be understood better by giving a concrete exam- 
 ple than by any complete description. The 
 following example is given because it is one that 
 is of special significance to the readers of these 
 pages and because it is so simple that it can be 
 fully described in few words. 
 
 The general passenger agent of one of the 
 . leading railroad systems was con- 
 
 T e Faces struct i n & a new t ^ me table for the 
 entire system. A dispute arose 
 as to which of two faces of the same kinds of 
 type could be the more easily read. The body 
 of the type was the same in both cases, but the 
 face of the one was heavier than that of the other. 
 
 119 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 o CD o ID . o m o in 00 iri 
 
 N30IOO <- N3 i ^O- r- CM 
 
 LO LT> W '. H9 CM CM - T- CM 
 
 ,*J in^inin-NiO'-'OmNO'O 
 
 "2 o, t w-KsmmONO*" * 
 
 hOCOCMY * CM M M M O O ON ! 00 ' 1 ! * ! 
 
 
 CDCDCDCMr-r-.COLr>Lr>CDH30t 
 
 T-Oin>roT-om'<rocM.-< 
 
 r- 
 
 w 
 
 : :SS : :S : : '-55 : :S8g 
 
 
 5-J? 
 
 *jj MMMMOOOOOOOONl^O\^ O>00 00 00 OO CO tx r* t* l-*vO u^.OO 
 
 u 
 JB e2 ; 
 
 : co : : co :oooo :cooo 
 
 ': ^ : igS : :g i 
 : : r^ : i-> : coco : : co : 
 
 g S3 : 
 lij O.CM : 
 
 : ::;:: o o 
 
 .' ' O ' oo M O ' O 
 
 . - . ^- . (^ M O 
 
 : : o : o\ : ON ON : ; ON : 
 
 S >. ' 
 
 : : : 
 
 jj j j||.j:||fi 
 
 ::::::::: : S t S 
 
 )f Type usec 
 
 . . Laclede . . . 
 
 . .Meadville... 
 . . Wheelme.. 
 
 a ' : & : : : : 5 
 
 2g ;| tZS^O E }! 
 
 ir^rlrllifSi 
 
 > ' ' ' 
 
 J > 
 
 ::::::::: t t 
 
 ; rt-irt 
 
 & f oo - 
 C/3 2 " 
 
 1? & S 5.^. ^ t:^ ?L J^ 
 
 ^cS<o>8'o- v 2^N > N: 
 
 
 l MP, nMMnh ,H 11 
 
 
 | 8!:8 
 
 ioroo 
 
 !;;';= *! 5= 
 
 . . o . co - coco in 
 * CD CMIO o 
 
 : : LO : co : coco : : r-. 
 
 (A n 
 
 : m : : m o o o o 
 
 | :* :*::>::: 9 : 
 
 H " : : 
 
 :*: : -, <oo 
 
 j |*1 H *":!:" : 
 
 Js s* : 
 
 coco : 
 
 is i U IS ;- : s i 
 
 iminiin ij 
 
 120 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 ? 
 
 u 
 
 to -e>- -f>i 
 ' " ** 
 
 -oo 
 
 -52 ' 
 -o 
 
 >>>> 
 
 
 
 
 in -to -coco 
 
 :3 :?S? S8 : 8 : : ' 
 
 :{3 
 
 in ioir> VOID 
 
 S : : ;S : :^ :S : J, 55 
 
 OOOO -'07> ^ -CD | " O 
 
 121 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 The light-face type did not crowd the figures so 
 closely together and there was more white space 
 around each figure and letter. It was argued 
 by the advocates of this style of type that the 
 white space made the type stand out plainer and 
 that it could be read more easily. The advocates 
 of the heavy -face type argued that that style of 
 type looked larger, that it used more ink, and that 
 the figures could therefore be more easily read. 
 It was impossible to decide which was the more 
 legible without putting them to an authoritative 
 test. For this purpose specimens of both styles 
 were sent to the psychological laboratory of the 
 Northwestern University, with the request that 
 each style be tested as to its relative legibility. 
 
 The method adopted was to have pages taken 
 from the time-table set up in both styles of type. 
 A number of persons were then requested to read 
 the pages as fast as possible. The manner of 
 reading was the same as that ordinarily employed 
 by the traveling public with the exception that 
 the reading was done aloud and that the entire 
 page was read instead of a part of it. I con- 
 ducted all experiments, was provided with dupli- 
 cate sheets, recorded all errors, and took the 
 exact time of reading with a stop watch. 
 
 Two full pages were taken from the time-table 
 and each page was set up in both styles of type, 
 thus making four sheets, of which two were set 
 up with small-face type and two with large. Each 
 
 122 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 sheet was marked with a letter, and the four 
 sheets are indicated as Exhibit C, Exhibit D, 
 Exhibit E, and Exhibit F, respectively. 
 
 Exhibits C and F have small-face type, as 
 shown in Table I. Exhibits D and E have large- 
 face type, as shown in Table II. The first four 
 subjects are indicated by initial letters of their 
 names, viz., R. C., N. Z., J. S., and D. W. The 
 order in which the pages were read, the time re- 
 quired, and the number of errors made are 
 indicated by the following table: 
 
 
 C. 
 
 D. 
 
 E. 
 
 F. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 '","',',', .* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 ' 8" 
 
 
 
 
 "'"fjl'r ') 
 
 22 2 (19 errors; 
 
 
 
 N.Z. <j 
 
 21 3 17 errors; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i n r Q \ 
 
 
 
 
 " |" "!>/;/ \ 
 
 15 3 v2 rrors; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22' 56'' (13 errors) 
 
 
 D. W. <j 
 
 i n ( \ 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 10 (.9 errors; 
 
 * (/ . , 
 
 
 
 
 
 39 7 errors 
 
 
 
 Total time for four persons to read small face type 150' 12" 
 
 Total time for four persons to read large lace type 145' 22" 
 
 Excess of time required for four persons to read small face type . 4' 40" 
 
 Per cent, of time lost by four persons in reading small face type . 3^ 
 
 Total errors made by four persons reading small face type . . 162 
 
 Total errors made by four persons reading large face type . . 104 
 
 Excess of errors made by four persons in reading small face type 58 
 
 Per cent, of excess of errors in reading small face type .... 55! 
 
 The four persons who took part in the ex- 
 periment as described above hardly knew what 
 was expected of them and had had no experi- 
 
 123 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 ence in such work. (Special mention will be 
 made of R. C. below.) 
 
 Two additional persons were tested and each 
 read over the list of stations and tried reading 
 parts of the pages before beginning the experi- 
 ment. After this preliminary drill they read 
 the sheets as described above, but read only the 
 first half of each sheet. 
 
 The order in which the sheets were read, the 
 time required, and the number of errors made are 
 indicated in the following table. The persons 
 are indicated, by C. W. and E. S. respectively: 
 
 
 C. 
 
 D. 
 
 E. 
 
 F. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ;;;::;:: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 '* "'' ( rr r 1 
 
 34 (2 errors; 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 51 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 .... 
 
 
 
 E. S. 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total time for two persons to read the small face type 31' 28" 
 
 Total time for two persons to read the large face type 29' 34" 
 
 Excess of time required to read the small face type ..'.... i' 54" 
 
 Per cent, of time lost by using small face type 6 
 
 Total numher of errors made by two persons in reading small face type 35 
 
 Total number of errors made by two persons in reading large face type 19 
 
 Excess of errors made by two persons in reading small face type . . . 16 
 
 Per cent, of increase of errors by use of small face type 84 
 
 Of the first four subjects R. C. is an employee 
 in the general passenger department of the rail- 
 road for which the folder was being investigated. 
 He was familiar with the names of the stations 
 and was accustomed to reading this particular 
 time-table. The first page which he read was 
 
 124 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 one with the small type. The other subject 
 who began with the small type was my brother 
 (J. S.). He knew what the experiment was and 
 was determined to read the page in less time than 
 any of the others. He made very many mistakes, 
 but read the first half of the first sheet (F) in six 
 minutes and fifty-two seconds. None of the other 
 four subjects even approximated such a speed or 
 made so many mistakes thirty-three. He found 
 that he could not maintain such a speed through- 
 out the experiment. The two of the four subjects 
 who began with the large-face type, namely, 
 N. Z. and D. W., were entirely unfamiliar with 
 the time-table and lost time in getting well under 
 way. Under these circumstances it seems fair 
 to regard the first page, which each of the first 
 four read, as merely practice sheets and to elimi- 
 nate them in the final results. 
 
 Eliminating the first sheet which each of the 
 
 four first subjects dare, and unit- 
 Summary . if 
 
 ing the results for all the six sub- 
 jects, we get the following: 
 
 Total time for six persons to read small face type 147' u* 
 
 Total time for six persons to read large face type 129' 42" 
 
 Excess of time required to read small face type 17' 29" 
 
 Per cent, of time lost by using small face type 133 
 
 Total errors for six persons reading small face type 132 
 
 Total errors for six persons reading large face type 91 
 
 Excess of errors for small face type 4 1 
 
 Per cent, of increase of errors by use of small face type ... 45 
 
 These figures make it clear that the large-face 
 type is easier to read and is not so subject to 
 error as the small-face type. 
 
 125 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 It should be added that two of the six per- 
 sons complained that the small type was hard 
 on their eyes, and three thought that the small- 
 face type was much harder to read than the large- 
 face type. 
 
 The test with R. C. was made in the office of 
 the president of the railroad concerned, and 
 twice during the experiments R. C. was inter- 
 rupted by persons calling at the door. The 
 duplicate copy used with him was not accuiate, 
 and so the number of errors which he made in 
 reading was not secured with certainty. With 
 the other five persons tested no such interrup- 
 tions occurred, and the number of errors made 
 could be accurately recorded. These five were 
 tested in quiet rooms, free from all distractions. 
 
 E. S. was able to read so rapidly that it was 
 very difficult to record his errors. Possibly he 
 made more errors than the figures show. 
 
 The figures given above are the results secured 
 during the last ten days. Some 
 
 1 lona weeks before sheets had been se- 
 
 Evidence . - . - - , 1 . 
 
 cured, printed in both styles of 
 
 type a page of one time-table set up in one 
 style of type and a different page set up in the 
 other style. The total number of trains in the 
 two pages were almost identical, and the names 
 of the stations were apparently equally difficult to 
 pronounce. So far as I could judge, the results 
 secured with these pages were trustworthy, but 
 
 126 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 to remove any possibility of doubt I had the 
 pages prepared as described in the experiment 
 above. The results secured in the two cases 
 are in general the same. The experiment as 
 described is therefore a verification of the first ex- 
 periment. We thus have the results secured 
 from twelve subjects instead of from six. The 
 total result secured from the first six persons 
 showed that the heavy type could be read 123-5 
 per ^nt. faster than the lighter-face type. The 
 per cent, secured with the last six subjects was 
 13 1-3 per cent. These results are more uniform 
 than might have been expected. Two of the 
 twelve subjects read the small-face type faster 
 than the large-face. As great a number of ab- 
 normal results as two out of twelve may ordi- 
 narily be expected. To overcome such errors a 
 large number of persons should take part in the 
 experiment and then in the general average sin- 
 gle exceptions are less disturbing. 
 
 The marked contrast in the results secured 
 from the two kinds of faces of the same size type 
 is found in the number of errors which the readers 
 made, the difference being 45 per cent, or more. 
 The errors were ordinarily in misreading the 
 time. Frequently the time was connected with 
 the wrong station. One person, for example, read 
 that the train leaves Cream Ridge at 7.52, when 
 in fact the train leaves there at 7.25 and leaves 
 Chillicothe at 7.52. An error of that kind would 
 
 127 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 cause the would-be passenger to miss his train. 
 Mistaken pronunciation and similar minor mis- 
 takes were not recorded as errors. 
 
 When it is taken into consideration that time- 
 tables are used as sources of information as to 
 the times of trains, and when it is discovered that 
 the lighter face type increases the chance of errors 
 45 per cent, and increases the time necessary to 
 read any part of the time-table 13 per cent., it 
 then becomes evident that such minor dif- 
 ferences as that of the two faces here given 
 are details which should be carefully consid- 
 ered. Those who construct time-tables try 
 to get them up in such form that it will be easy 
 and pleasant for the public to read them. The 
 smaller- face type is harder to read, as is shown by 
 the two facts of increase of time and increase 
 of number of errors in reading it. The smaller- 
 face type is also less pleasant reading than the 
 heavier face, as is shown by the fact that several 
 of the persons complained that the small-face 
 type was hard on their eyes. Time-tables are 
 often read at night and by poor light. This fact 
 makes it essential that the type should be of 
 such a nature that it does not unnecessarily 
 strain the eyes. 
 
 The results of this experiment are not of more 
 importance to the advertising manager of a rail- 
 road than they are to other advertisers who are 
 limited to the use of type for the exploiting of 
 
 128 
 
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT 
 
 what they have to offer to the public. The easier 
 and more pleasant the type is to read, the greater 
 are the chances t]iat it will be read and have the 
 desired effect. 
 
 129 
 
IX 
 
 PERCEPTION 
 
 THE relationship existing between our minds 
 and bodies is one of the closest that can be im- 
 agined. The basis of this relation- 
 
 . y ? ica ship is the nervous system. 
 Basis for 1 .. 1 . - 
 
 Perception Rou g hl y speaking, the nervous 
 system consists of three parts: 
 the brain, the nerve endings (sense organs), and 
 the fibers connecting the brain to these nerve 
 endings. The brain fills the skull and is about 
 one-fortieth of the weight of the entire body. 
 The nerve endings are found in the so-called 
 sense organs, that is, the eyes, the nose, the 
 mouth, the ears, and the skin, and also in the 
 joints and muscles. The nerve fibers are white, 
 threadlike bands, which connect each nerve end- 
 ing with a particular part of the brain, e.g., 
 the optic nerve is such a bundle of nerve 
 fibers and it connects the various nerve end- 
 ings in the eye with specific portions of the 
 back part of the brain. The function of the 
 nervous system may be likened to the trans- 
 mitter, connecting wire, and receiver of a tele- 
 phone. The similarity is striking in the case of 
 all the nerve endings, but particularly so in the 
 case of the ear. If air waves of a certain quality 
 and of sufficient intensity strike against the 
 
 130 
 
PERCEPTION 
 
 transmitter of a telephone, they are propagated 
 along the line till they reach the receiver. Here 
 they reassume the form of air waves, and when 
 heard are what we call sound. If air waves, 
 vibrating from 14 to 40,000 times a second, strike 
 against our ear, a corresponding wave is propa- 
 gated along the auditory nerve to the brain, 
 where by some unknown process a sensation of 
 sound is awakened which corresponds to the air 
 wave, and is ordinarily referred to as the direct 
 result of the air 'wave, even if such a statement 
 is challenged on the ground that a sensation is 
 purely mental and an air wave is purely 
 physical, and one cannot be the cause of the 
 other. For our purpose it will be sufficient to 
 regard this and all other sensations as the direct 
 result of the contact of the outer world with our 
 nerve endings and particularly with our sense 
 organs. This contact with the outer world seems 
 to be the cause of the sensation, because when 
 there is no contact there is no sensation, and 
 when there is contact, there ordinarily is sensation ; 
 the more intense the contact the more intense the 
 sensation, and the quality of the sensation 
 changes with the quality of the contact. 
 
 The first time a child opens its 
 eyes the ether waves strike against 
 
 ^ the retina in which the nerve 
 
 Perception 
 
 endings are located. Here a cur- 
 rent is set up which is propagated to the brain. 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 Then a pure sensation of sight occurs. The 
 nature of the sensation depends entirely on the 
 nature of the light and the current which it sets 
 up. There is no recognition of the light, there 
 is no comparison of it with other sensations, and 
 no fusing of it into former sensations. This 
 is the only really pure sensation of sight which 
 the child will ever have, for its next sensation 
 of sight will be seen in relation to the first sensa- 
 tion. It would be affirming too much to say 
 that the child recognizes or compares this second 
 .sensation, but it is quite certain that this second 
 sensation is to a very limited degree modified 
 because of the preceding one. The second 
 experience is added to from the previous one and 
 so is not a pure sensation, but is a perception. 
 i A perception is a fusion of sensations with former 
 ; experiences and embraces comparison, recogni- 
 tion, etc. When the term "perception" is used, 
 special reference is intended to the sensation or 
 sensations which are received through the sense 
 organs and which enter into the total product 
 called a perception. When the term "apper- 
 ception" is used, special reference is intended 
 to the comparison, recognition, and other proc- 
 esses which are dependent upon former experi- 
 ence and which are not caused directly by sen- 
 sations received from the sense organs, but are 
 added by the mind to the total product, which 
 in this case is called an apperception, but is the 
 
 132 
 
PERCEPTION 
 
 identical product which in the other aspects is 
 called a perception. Thus the terms ' ' perception ' ' 
 and ' ' apperception ' ' may be used to indicate the 
 same process, but the different terms emphasize 
 different aspects of the same thing. In the case 
 of a young child, perceptions are largely sensa- 
 tional, while former experiences play a small 
 part. When we come into contact with new 
 objects or come into new experiences, we depend 
 upon sensations to form a large part of our per- 
 ceptions, and the former experiences add rela- 
 tively a small part to the total product. The 
 first time we saw an orange, we saw it merely as 
 an object of a particular color. Then we touched 
 it, and our perception of it became the perception 
 of an object with a particular color and a par- 
 ticular shape and touch. Then we tasted and 
 smelt it, and each of these new sensations added 
 a new element to our perception. Now, as we 
 see an orange in the distance, we perceive it as 
 an object having a certain color, touch, taste, 
 odor, weight, etc. The only sensation that we 
 have, as the orange is in the distance, is one of 
 sight, but our perception contains these other 
 elements which we add from our former experi- 
 ence. Little by little the elements added to 
 perception by sensation decrease and the ele- 
 ments added by former experience increase till 
 we can get a good perception of an orange even 
 if it is at a great distance from us and if it is in 
 
 133 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 poor light. The process continues and we 
 begin to use symbols for the object. Thus the 
 spoken word ''orange" is sufficient to give us 
 a perception of the object. A picture may 
 represent the original, and later the spoken and 
 printed or written word may be sufficient to 
 bring a perfect perception to our minds. As is 
 evident, a long process of development is neces- 
 sary before the symbol (picture, spoken and 
 written word) can take the place of the original 
 object. The symbol has no symbolic significa- 
 tion, and becomes the object of the sensation 
 itself unless it typifies to the persons some- 
 thing which they have met in their former experi- 
 ence. Thus a Chinese letter is to me no symbol, 
 but is a group of lines. As I look at it I receive 
 the same sensation that a Chinaman does, but 
 the perception is different because he adds more 
 from his former experience than I do. If a 
 geologist finds a rare specimen, it becomes to him 
 an object of great delight, because the simple 
 sensation of sight has added to itself many 
 elements from the geologist's former experience 
 which make the perception very different from 
 the simple sensation. To his son, however, the 
 specimen may be nothing more than a stone which 
 is good for throwing at birds. The sensations 
 which we receive from an object may be a very 
 minor part in our perception of it. 
 
 The distinction between the terms " perception" 
 134 
 
PERCEPTION 
 
 and "idea" is very small. If an orange is -before 
 me, I perceive the orange, and if a symbol of an 
 orange is before me and I think of the orange, 
 I am still said to perceive it. If, however, the 
 object and its symbol are absent and I still think 
 of it, I am said to have an idea of it in my mind. 
 This distinction is of very minor importance and 
 the terms may be used interchangeably. 
 
 Whether we are thinking of present or absent 
 objects, whether our thought is in the form 
 
 of perceptions or of ideas, it is 
 We Think , . r 
 
 . T , certain that a large part of our 
 
 Things thinking is determined by the 
 sensations which come to us 
 through eye and ear, and the other sense organs. 
 We first become acquainted with objects through 
 the sensations which we receive from them, and 
 when we think of them afterward we think in 
 terms of sensations. If I should try to learn 
 about a new kind of fruit which was discovered 
 in Africa, I could acquire the knowledge of it 
 in two different ways: I could secure some of 
 the fruit and then receive all the sensations from 
 it possible. I would look at it, touch it, lift it, 
 smell it, bite it, taste it. This would be the best 
 way to learn of it. If this were impossible I 
 might read descriptions and see pictures of it 
 and then I would think of it (have ideas of it) 
 in terms of touch, weight, smell, and taste which 
 were taken from former experiences in which 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 similar objects were present to my senses. 
 Whether we think by means of perceptions or 
 by means of ideas, the original material of thought 
 and the forms of thought come to us in sensations. 
 The original, easiest, and surest method of 
 acquiring knowledge is through perceptions, in 
 which the sensations play a lead- 
 Picture - n g p art j n man y instances the 
 
 Lai^aT b;iect f thou S ht cannot be P res ~ 
 ent to the senses and, further- 
 more, the processes of thought are made more 
 rapid by substituting symbols for the original. 
 Thus, early in the history of the race, a spoken 
 language was developed in which spoken words 
 were symbols for objects of thought. Later, 
 a pictorial writing was invented in which crude 
 portraits were made to symbolize objects. The 
 latest products of civilized humanity in this 
 direction are, first, more perfect portraits and, 
 second, a form of printed language in which the 
 original symbolic spoken word is represented 
 by a symbol. This second form is the most 
 convenient and is the one in ordinary use, but 
 it should be observed that our printed words 
 are nothing but symbols of symbols. The printed 
 word is an uninteresting thing in itself and is 
 only used because it assists perception on account 
 of its simplicity and ease of manipulation. It 
 is easy to describe a scene or a commodity and 
 to reduce the description to printed form that 
 
 136 
 
PERCEPTION 
 
 will be accessible to thousands. It would be 
 extremely difficult to deliver the scene and the 
 commodity directly to these same people. The 
 description and illustration are, however, not 
 so clear, distinct, and interesting as i^ the original 
 thing described. The great danger with the 
 printed symbol is that it will lose in perspicuity 
 and interest what it gains in convenience. The 
 printed word has almost no interest for us in 
 itself. It becomes interesting only in so far as 
 it symbolizes interesting things to us. The 
 more the printed page has to say and the easier 
 it is for us to interpret it, the more interesting 
 it becomes. 
 
 Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the 
 advertiser is compelled to rely wholly on symbols 
 
 in exploiting what he has to offer. 
 Advertisers TT -,. ... .-, ,, 
 
 He cannot, ordinarily, provide the 
 
 Dependent ii^t. i_- r. 
 
 upon Symbols P OSSlble customer Wlth that whlch 
 
 he has to offer and thus allow 
 
 him to become acquainted with the goods in 
 the normal and direct way. He is compelled to l 
 substitute the symbol for the thing symbolized.' 
 He has a choice between two kinds of symbols - 
 printed words and pictorial illustrations. 
 
 The first form of writing was picture writing, 
 but was abandoned because it was not so con- 
 venient as are the phonetic characters now in use. 
 Picture writing could not be written or read so 
 easily and quickly as the writing in the characters 
 
 137 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 now in use and it was therefore discarded. Accord- 
 ing to the standard of ease of interpretation, all 
 forms of type must be judged. Type forms must 
 not be regarded as a production of artistic de- 
 mands, but as a product of the demands of con- 
 venience. Hundreds of styles of "artistic type" 
 have been brought forth, but they have not re- 
 mained in use, for they are confusing to the eye 
 and are not artistic in the full sense of the term. 
 Those forms of type and of illustration best per- 
 form their proper functions which are so easy of in- 
 terpretation that they are not noticed at all. There 
 is no advantage in emphasizing the symbol, but 
 there is a great advantage in emphasizing the 
 thing symbolized. In using printed forms, the 
 advertiser supplies a very small part to the total 
 perception which he desires to make, and he 
 should therefore make this little mean as much 
 as possible. 
 
 A series of experiments were carried on to 
 determine whether white or black type made the 
 more attractive display in maga- 
 zine advertisements. Experiments 
 versus , . , js t. 
 
 tin,-* T were made with over five hun- 
 Wnite Type 
 
 dred persons. The background 
 
 for the white type was gray in some cases, but 
 in most cases it was black. The results show 
 that the ordinary reader is more likely to notice 
 display type which is black than a display type 
 of the same sort which is white. 
 
 138 
 
PERCEPTION 
 
 A series of laboratory experiments were made 
 on the same subject. Specially prepared pages 
 were shown for one seventh of a second. On 
 part of the sheets black letters on white back- 
 ground and white letters on black background 
 were shown. In other cases one half of the sheet 
 had a black background, with words in white 
 type, and the other half of the sheet had a white 
 background with words in black type. Scores 
 of cards were constructed in which all the possible 
 combinations of white and black were made and 
 shown to a number of persons for such a short 
 space of time that no one could perceive all there 
 was on any sheet. Under these circumstances 
 the subjects saw what first attracted their atten- 
 tion and what was the easiest to perceive. The 
 final results showed that the black letters on a 
 white background were seen oftener than the 
 white type on a black background. 
 
 It seems quite certain that, other things being 
 equal, those advertisements will be the most often 
 read which are printed in type which is the most 
 easily read. The difference in the appearance 
 of the type in many cases may be so small that 
 even persons experienced in the choosing of type 
 may not be able to tell which one is the more 
 legible, and yet the difference in their values may 
 be great enough to make it a matter of impor- 
 tance to the advertiser as to which type he shall 
 use. 
 
 139 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 If the matter of the proper use of type is of 
 
 importance to the advertiser, it is even more 
 
 important that he should make 
 
 a wise use of the illustration, 
 Function of , . , . ,, , . r 
 
 T11 ,. which is the second form of sym- 
 Illustration . J 
 
 bol at his disposal. 
 
 The illustration is frequently used merely 
 as a means of attracting attention, and its func- 
 tion as a symbolic illustration is disregarded. 
 In a few cases this may be wise and even 
 necessary, but when we consider the value of an 
 illustration as a symbol, we are surprised that 
 illustrations are not used more extensively as 
 well as more judiciously. The first form of writ- 
 ing, as stated above, was picture writing, and the 
 most simple and direct form of graphic representa- 
 tion is through the picture and not through the 
 printed word. At a single glance we can usually 
 read about four words ; that is to say, the width 
 of perception for printed words is about four. 
 At a single glance at an illustration we can see 
 as much as could be told in a whole page of 
 printed matter. The width of perception for 
 illustrations is very much more extensive than 
 it is for printed forms of expression. 
 
 The illustration may perform either one or 
 both of two functions. It may be a mere picture 
 used to attract attention or it may be an " illus- 
 tration" and a real aid to perception by assisting 
 the text to tell the story which is to be presented. 
 
 140 
 
PERCEPTION 
 
 In the first case it would be called an irrelevant 
 illustration; in the second case it is relevant. 
 There have been several investigations carried 
 on to determine the relative attention value of 
 relevant and irrelevant illustrations. Although 
 the results thus far reached are not so decisive 
 as might be desired, yet it seems certain that the 
 attention value of relevant illustrations is greater 
 than had been supposed and that the irrelevant 
 " picture ' ' is frequently not so potent in attracting 
 attention as a relevant illustration would be. 
 Under these circumstances it seems that, in gen- 
 eral, the illustration in an advertisement should 
 have the double function of attracting attention 
 and assisting perception. Which one of these 
 functions is the more important might be a profit- 
 able question for discussion, but when these two 
 functions can be united in the same illustration, 
 its value is enhanced twofold. Irrelevant illus- 
 trations are produced merely because they are 
 supposed to attract attention, when in reality 
 they may attract the attention of no one except 
 the person who designed them and of the unfor- 
 tunate man who has to pay for them. Similarly 
 there are many illustrations produced and in 
 serted in advertisements because they are sup- 
 posed to assist the perception. They are supposed 
 to tell the story of the goods advertised and to 
 be a form of argumentation. The designer of the 
 illustration and one familiar with the goods knows 
 
 141 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 what the picture stands for, and so for him it is 
 a symbol of the goods and tells the story of the 
 special advantages of the goods. To one un- 
 acquainted with the illustration and with the 
 goods- advertised, the illustration is no illustration 
 at all. 
 
 When we want to teach a child the letters of 
 the alphabet, we do not secure some ''sketchy" 
 
 and artistic looking letters, but 
 Illustrations ,, ,. , , 
 
 _ . we secure those which are simple 
 
 Intended for . 
 
 the Publi m oume anc * a ar g e slze - 
 
 choose those which make a very 
 
 decided sensation, for in that way we help deter- 
 mine the perception. When the child becomes 
 more familiar with the alphabet, he can read 
 small letters and those which are not printed so 
 plainly. In forming perceptions there must at 
 first be a large element furnished by sensation, 
 whether the perception be formed from an object 
 directly or indirectly from a symbol. Those 
 who forget this principle are likely to construct 
 illustrations which do not illustrate. Their sym- 
 bols are only symbols for those who are well 
 acquainted with the goods advertised. As an 
 example of this sort of illustrations we reproduce 
 herewith an illustration which appeared in the 
 magazines less than a year ago. 
 
 This advertisement for F. P. C. wax (No. i) 
 seems to be an attempt to tell a great deal about 
 the goods by means of an illustration. It took 
 
 142 
 
PERCEPTION 
 
 me some time to translate it, and after I had 
 interpreted it as far as possible, I showed it to 
 
 WvUW^vWWVWWWWWlW 
 
 F.P.C 
 
 V V V V 
 
 WAX 
 
 The 
 kind 
 
 that keeps' 
 the iron 
 
 CLEAN 
 (&SMOOTH 
 
 F.P.C. 
 WAX 
 
 is the 
 Jbest 
 and 
 most 
 econ- 
 omical 
 Laun- 
 dry 
 Wax 
 sold 
 
 your 
 
 Put up in little wooden 
 tubes with an automatic 
 handle that keeps the 
 wax in position and 
 prevents waste 
 The neatest and nicest 
 way that wax can be 
 used for ironing purposes 
 
 AND 
 
 for 5 two-cent stamps 
 we will send you 2* 
 sticks to try -After that 
 they can be had from 
 dealer 'cause 2, never satisfy 
 
 FLAME PROOF CO. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 No. i 
 
 some ladies who were magazine readers. None 
 of them had ever taken the pains to figure it out. 
 One of them thought that it was an advertisement 
 of Bibles. When my attention was called to it, 
 
 143 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 I saw the resemblance between the cut as a whole 
 and the cover of an ordinary Bible. The white 
 space is evidently intended to look like the bottom 
 of an iron and the border containing the words 
 "F. P. C. Wax" is intended for a cut of a stick 
 of the wax. None of the ladies had interpreted 
 the cut in that way, but when their attention 
 was called to it, they agreed with me that that 
 was probably what the "artist" had intended. 
 We were unable to interpret the white dots and 
 the heavy black border. To those familiar with 
 the advertisement the sensation aroused by the 
 cut is sufficient to produce the desired perception. 
 For all others the sensation is not sufficient to 
 call up the necessary elements to complete the 
 perception and it has no more meaning than a 
 Chinese puzzle. It has nothing which it seems 
 to be trying to tell to those who turn over the 
 pages of the magazine, and so does not attract 
 their attention. We notice those illustrations 
 which have something to say and say it plainly. 
 We disregard in general those things which do 
 not awaken in us a perception. The sensation 
 which does not embody itself into a perception 
 is of such little interest to us that we pay no 
 attention to it at all. 
 
 The advertiser desires to produce certain per- 
 ceptions and ideas in the minds of the possible 
 customers. The material means with which 
 he may accomplish this end are printed words 
 
 144 
 
PERCEPTION 
 
 and illustrations, which in the first instance 
 awaken sensations; these in turn embody them- 
 selves into perceptions and ideas. These 
 
 F. P. 
 
 wax 
 
 A specially imported wax, chemically treated, so that when it is ortce 
 rubbed over the iron, the latter is cleaned as if my magic. It prevents all 
 odor, giving the work that beautiful silky polish sought for by the laundress, 
 
 * A r || TLT O Because each fine cut stick of f. P. C Wax is 
 \.\. M K I in an automatic wooden holder, which keeps it 
 from dripping; it never loses shape, and is good until the last par- 
 ticle of wax is used. The handle saves your fingers from burns. 
 
 If your (rrocer tries to substitute the old wu that spoils your 
 ironing and your temper, send 10 cents for two sticks to the 
 
 FLAME PROOF COMPANY, - NEW YORK 
 
 No. 2 
 
 sensations seem so unimportant that they are 
 frequently forgotten and the place which they 
 are to take in forming the desired perceptions 
 and ideas is disregarded. 
 
 This second advertisement of F. P. C. wax 
 (No. 2) appeared several months later than the 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 one given above, and is inserted here to illustrate 
 how an advertisement may be improved in the 
 particular point under discussion. The newer 
 cut is really an illustration. It helps perception 
 by giving a sensation which is more decided and 
 more easily interpreted. It furthermore attracts 
 attention and tells the story better than could 
 be done by any text. 
 
 The advertiser is so familiar with what he has 
 to offer that he cannot appreciate the difficulty 
 the public has in getting a clear and complete 
 perception by means of his advertisements of 
 the goods advertised. It is almost impossible 
 to err on the side of clearness. A sketchy illus- 
 tration may appear artistic to the designer, but 
 there is danger that it will be regarded as mean- 
 ingless scrawls by the laity, and so it will not 
 receive a second thought from them. The text 
 and the illustration should, first of all, be clear 
 and should in every way possible assist the mind 
 of the possible customer in forming a correct 
 perception of the goods being exploited. 
 
 146 
 
X 
 
 APPERCEPTION 
 
 ANATOMY is the science which divides the 
 human body into its constituent parts, and is a 
 
 completed science when it has all 
 
 e . m of these parts correctly described 
 
 n . and labeled. Physiology is the 
 
 science which describes and ex- 
 plains the different functions of the human body. 
 It supplements anatomy by showing the function 
 of each of the bones, muscles, and organs, and by 
 showing their mutual relations. In anatomy we 
 divide the body into distinct divisions, and in 
 physiology we discover different functions. We 
 often try to think of mind after the analogy of 
 the body, and by so doing are led into confusion. 
 The attempt has been made to divide the mind 
 into a definite number of separate faculties 
 (anatomy). The function of each faculty has 
 been described as something quite different from 
 the other faculties, and an attempt was made 
 to define these faculties exactly and to describe 
 their functions completely (physiology). The 
 attempt has failed and has been abandoned. The 
 mind is not a bundle of faculties. It is not com- 
 posed of memory, reason, association, etc., but 
 it is a unit which remembers, reasons, feels, etc. 
 No one function is carried on to the exclusion 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 of all others at any one time. During all of its 
 conscious existence the mind feels, knows, wills, 
 etc., but at certain times it is employed in reason- 
 ing more than at others, and at one time it may 
 be feeling more intensely than at others, but 
 no one function ever totally occupies the field. 
 When the mind recognizes an event as having 
 occurred in the past, it is said to remember, but 
 feeling, attention, and association of ideas may 
 have entered into this process of memory. No 
 one mental process is a thing existing apart 
 and independent of other processes. The ana- 
 tomical method can never be applied to the 
 mind. The functions of the mind are not 
 independent activities of the mind, but in 
 every function memory, perception, suggestion, 
 and many other functions play a more or less 
 important part. 
 
 We have no "apperceiving" faculty which is 
 to be distinguished from all other faculties, and 
 which carries on an independent process. The 
 mind does act in a particular and well-known 
 manner, which we have called "apperception." 
 The term has been used for two centuries, and 
 is applied to a well-known process, or function, 
 of the mind which is of great practical and theo- 
 retical importance. It includes sensations, per- 
 ceptions, assimilation, association, recognition, 
 feeling, will, attention, and other actions of the 
 mind, and yet is a very simple and well-known 
 
 148 
 
APPERCEPTION 
 
 process. It can best be understood if discussed 
 and illustrated from its various aspects. 
 
 The first thing to be said about apperception 
 is that it is the act of the mind by which per- \ 
 ceptions and ideas become clear 
 
 and distinct - l ma y look at m y 
 
 ink bottle on the middle of the 
 Attention 
 
 table. I see it very clearly and 
 
 distinctly. I can also see, at the same time, 
 other objects on the table, and even some which 
 are not on it at all. As long as I continue to 
 look at the ink bottle the objects distant from 
 the table are not visible. The ink bottle is very 
 clear and the ones near it are comparatively so; 
 those a few feet away are very indistinct or 
 entirely invisible. I am said to apperceive the 
 bottle, but to perceive the more distant objects. 
 Certain parts of the bottle are not noticed par- 
 ticularly, while some of the objects on the table 
 stand out plainly. It is quite evident that 
 " clearness" does not draw a set line between 
 the various objects, but there are all grades of 
 clearness, from the most clear to the most obscure. 
 We feel that the mental process connected with 
 the ink bottle and that connected with the other 
 objects are different and yet there is an uninter- 
 rupted gradation from one to the other. When 
 considered from this point of view apperception 
 is simply an act of attention, for what we attend 
 to becomes clear and distinct to us, while that 
 
 149 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 which is not attended to remains indistinct. 
 Furthermore, there are all degrees of attention. 
 Certain things demand our greatest attention, 
 while others are entirely disregarded. Most 
 things, however, are of the intermediary class. 
 We pay a certain amount of attention to them, 
 but they might easily receive more or less. Some 
 things catch our attention so slightly (are so 
 slightly apperceived) that we are not aware 
 that we have noticed them at all. I did not 
 know that I had ever noticed the walls of the 
 barber shop which I patronize, but as soon as 
 I entered it recently I knew that changes had 
 been made, and I missed certain details which 
 I had frequently seen, but to which I had paid 
 so little heed that they were merely perceived 
 and could not be said to have been apper- 
 ceived at all. 
 
 The second thing to remark about appercep- 
 tion is that it is more than mere attention. It 
 
 is attention of a particular kind. 
 Apperception Qur attention to an object or 
 
 and Past P 
 
 event is an act of apperception 
 Experiences 
 
 if the attention is brought about 
 
 by means of the relationship of this object or 
 event to our previous experience. Apperception 
 has been defined as the bringing to bear what has 
 been retained of past experience in such a way as to 
 interpret, to give weight to the new experience. This 
 aspect of apperception has been most clearly 
 
 150 
 
APPERCEPTION 
 
 brought out in the following quotation from 
 Dexter and Garlack: 
 
 "A child who has not learned any physiology, 
 and who has not previously looked through a 
 microscope, looks at a drop of blood under the 
 microscope. He probably says that he sees noth- 
 ing. 
 
 " Another child who has, we will suppose, 
 studied botanical sections under the miscroscope, 
 looks at the same drop of blood and says that 
 he sees some small round bodies. 
 
 "A third child who has learned a little physi- 
 ology, looks through the microscope, recognizes 
 the small round bodies as corpuscles, notes that 
 the majority are reddish, looks for and perhaps 
 finds a white corpuscle, and so comes to the con- 
 clusion that it is a drop of blood that he sees. 
 
 "In the three instances everything is the 
 same except the children. The differences in the 
 results of the acts of observation must be due 
 to the differences in the minds of the children. 
 The reason that the third child saw more than 
 the other two was that he was fitted by pre- 
 vious training to see more. In order that we may 
 see a thing properly it is not sufficient that rays 
 of light should come from the object to the eye 
 and nerve vibrations travel along the optic 
 nerve to the brain. The mind must be in a posi- 
 tion to interpret, to understand these vibrations. 
 To sensations coming from without the mind 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 adds imagination (i. e., image -making) working 
 from within. This combination of action of 
 object on mind and the reaction of mind on 
 object is known as apperception." 
 
 The third thing to notice about the process of 
 apperception is that it increases our knowledge 
 
 by gradually adding new ele- 
 
 Gradual . r 
 
 ments to our previous store of 
 
 Growth of , . 
 
 Knowledge ex P enence - In the use of the 
 microscope, as cited above, each 
 
 child added to its store of knowledge in propor- 
 tion to the amount of previous training which 
 could be brought to. bear at this point. The 
 first child had had no previous training in this or 
 in any related work, and so was unable to profit 
 by this experience. He did not focus his eye 
 correctly, and could not direct his attention to 
 what the third child saw. An object, event, or 
 situation which has no relation to our previous 
 experience fails to attract our attention, is 
 not apperceived, makes no impression on us, 
 and adds nothing to our store of knowledge. 
 Nothing is regarded worthy of our consideration 
 which does not relate itself to our previous 
 experience. In fact, we can imagine nothing 
 which is out of relation to all our previous ex- 
 periences. Things and events are only signifi- 
 cant in so far as they signify relationships which 
 we know. The slight difference between the letters 
 "O" and "Q" is immediately noticed by us, but 
 
 152 
 
APPERCEPTION 
 
 would not be seen by any one unfamiliar with 
 our alphabet. There are many important char- 
 acteristics about the Chinese alphabet which 
 we never observe, because they mean nothing 
 to us. They are unimportant for us because 
 they do not unite themselves with our previous 
 stock of ideas. We interpret all things by our 1 
 own standards (our stock of ideas) we observe) 
 only those things which have significance for us, 
 we increase our store of ideas not by adding new 
 and independent ones, but by uniting the old 
 with the new. We are not capable of forming 
 entirely new ideas, but must content ourselves 
 with adding new elements to our stock in trade. 
 All our so-called new ideas are composed very 
 largely of old elements. 
 
 The practical importance of this subject for 
 the advertiser is found in the three aspects of 
 the process as discussed above. In the first 
 place, some advertisements never stand out 
 clearly and distinctly in the minds of the possible 
 customers. We may turn over the pages of a 
 
 magazine and see every adver- 
 Concentration tisement ther6| but our seeing 
 
 may be of the sort of those of whom it was said, 
 ''having eyes they see not." I frequently turn 
 over the pages of publications and direct my 
 eyes toward advertisements and hold them there 
 long enough to have noticed all the striking 
 characteristics of them, and yet in ten minutes 
 
 153 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 afterward I do not know that these particular 
 advertisements are in the publication at all. 
 I had perceived them, but had not apperceived 
 them. The designers of these advertisements 
 had not been successful in concentrating my 
 mind on any particular thing which had a special 
 reference to my previous experience, and which 
 would therefore be apperceived by me. 
 
 We cannot apperceive a large number of things 
 at the same time. An advertisement which 
 is constructed upon the principle that all parts 
 of it should be attractive at the same time will 
 so divide the attention that no part of it will 
 stand out prominently, and so it will not be 
 noticed at all. A superfluity of details should 
 be strenuously guarded against in both the text 
 and the illustration. If a single point of an 
 advertisement is apperceived it serves as an 
 opening wedge for the entire advertisement. If, 
 however, there are too many details the atten- 
 tion may be so distracted that none of it will be 
 apperceived, although it may all be seen (per- 
 ceived). The things which we perceive do make 
 a slight impression on us, but they are so unim- 
 portant in comparison with the things that we 
 apperceive that we may almost disregard them 
 entirely. 
 
 The second point for the advertiser to con- 
 sider is that the apperception value (identical 
 with attention value in this case) of the adver- 
 
APPERCEPTION 
 
 tisement does not depend so much on what 
 the reader receives from the advertisement, but 
 
 what he adds to it. Your adver- 
 Know Your tisement and all other printed mat- 
 Public ter is composed of a few straight 
 
 lines and a few curved ones, of 
 a few dots, and perhaps one or more colored sur- 
 faces. These, when seen, cause a sensation of 
 sight, but that is the smallest part of the result 
 of your advertisement. These visual sensations 
 are immediately enforced by the previous expe- 
 rience of the reader. The value of your adver- 
 tisement depends almost entirely on the number 
 and kind of former experiences which it awakens. 
 The advertisement is not a thing which contains 
 within itself the reason for its existence. In 
 and of itself it is perfectly worthless. The aim 
 of the advertisement is to call forth activity in the 
 minds of its readers and, it might be added, 
 action of a particular sort. The advertisement 
 which is beautiful and pleasing to its designer, 
 and which begets activity in his mind, may be 
 perfectly worthless as an advertisement. The 
 drop of blood in the miscroscope brought forth 
 no activity on the part of the first child who looked 
 at it, as cited above. The child had nothing in 
 its former experience which was suggested by 
 the appearance of the drop of blood, and so it 
 was not interpreted and was not connected with 
 the child's former life, and so made no impression 
 
 155 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 on him. That which happened to the children 
 in looking through the microscope happens every 
 
 No. i 
 
 day to the readers of advertisements. The same 
 advertisement will call forth different amounts 
 of activity from different readers. Some adver- 
 tisements have a meaning to those who are well 
 
 TS6 
 
APPERCEPTION 
 
 acquainted with them, and to such they tell 
 their story accurately and quickly. To some 
 readers they tell a confused or erroneous story; 
 to others they have nothing to tell at all. As 
 an example of such advertisements we have 
 reproduced the advertisement (No. i) of Whit- 
 man's chocolates. 
 
 This looks like a very neat advertisement, 
 but it fails at the two crucial points it neither 
 attracts attention nor assists in forming a cor- 
 rect perception of the goods advertised. As a 
 proof of this statement it is but necessary to 
 refer to the result obtained with this advertise- 
 ment in a series of tests recently made. The 
 magazine containing this advertisement was 
 shown to 516 young people between the ages of 
 ten and twenty-five. After they had looked at 
 all the advertisements they were asked to write 
 down all the advertisements which they had 
 noticed and could remember. One girl remem- 
 bered that she had seen an advertisement of 
 candy, but could not remember whose it was or 
 what the advertisement was. One boy remem- 
 bered that " Whitman's candy" was advertised, 
 but thought the advertisement had the picture 
 of a lady eating a piece of candy. The first of 
 the two probably referred to Huyler's adver- 
 tisement (Huyler advertised in the same issue) 
 and the second certainly confused the two ad- 
 vertisements. Besides these two none of the 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 516 persons noticed the advertisement suffi- 
 ciently to remember that it was there at all. 
 
 A 
 
 Token 
 of 
 
 Remembrance 
 Always in Good 
 Taste. 
 
 For sale everywhere. 
 
 WHITMAN'S 
 
 Instantaneous Chocolate 
 
 Made in a minute with boiling milk. 
 
 STEPHEN F. WHITMAN & SON, 
 1316 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 
 
 Established 1842. 
 
 No. 2 
 
 This second advertisement (No. 2) of Whitman's 
 appeared in a later issue of the same magazine. 
 I have made no tests of this advertisement, but 
 feel sure that if the 516 had seen this instead 
 
 158 
 
APPERCEPTION 
 
 of the other advertisement a very large per 
 cent, of them would have noticed it and have 
 remembered it. It attracts attention and tells 
 more at a glance than could be told in many 
 well-formed sentences. It would create a de- 
 sire on the part of many of these young people 
 to send for or to purchase a box of such desir- 
 able looking candy. It is an illustration which 
 illustrates by helping perception, and it also 
 attracts attention because it has something to 
 tell. 
 
 The third thing for the advertiser to observe 
 in connection with apperception is that advance- 
 ment in knowledge is jnade by 
 
 ** joining the new on to the old. 
 a. New 
 
 Commodity The P eda gg ical maxim of advanc- 
 ing from the known to the un- 
 known finds its justification here. 
 
 It is very difficult to get the public to think 
 along a new line, because they cannot connect 
 the new fact with their previous experience, 
 i. e., they cannot apperceive it. This makes it 
 very difficult to introduce a new article on the 
 market. Old firms find it difficult to introduce 
 a new brand, and new firms find it difficult to 
 get themselves noticed at all. Frequently firms 
 have resorted to questionable means to get the 
 public even to notice them. It seems to be 
 impossible for them to get a hearing for the de- 
 tails of their propositions until they have let the 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 public become familiar with their names and 
 know who they are. The promoters of Omega 
 Oil have been severely criticised for their goose, 
 but the goose has introduced them to the public, 
 and now they are in a position to get a hearing 
 and to present the arguments for their commodity. 
 It is quite possible that the expense of keeping 
 the goose before the public was an unnecessary 
 luxury, but they have been wise in not advanc- 
 ing their argument faster than the public was 
 willing to hear it. They have taken but one step 
 at a time. They first let the public know that 
 there was such a thing as Omega Oil, and they 
 took great pains to make this new fact known, 
 and in doing this they were acting in accordance 
 with the principles of apperception. They first 
 gave the public some experience of Omega Oil, 
 and then tried to get the public to interpret their 
 arguments in the light of that previous experience. 
 It is not always necessary or even wise to 
 attempt to present all the arguments for a com- 
 modity at a single time. It is frequently wise 
 to carry on an educational campaign and to pre- 
 sent single arguments. In this way the mind 
 of the possible customer is not crowded with a 
 lot of new and disconnected facts, but each 
 argument has time to be assimilated and to 
 form a part of his experience, and is called up 
 to strengthen and impress each succeeding 
 argument. 
 
 160 
 
APPERCEPTION 
 
 In writing an advertisement the public to be 
 reached must be carefully studied. In exploit- 
 ing a new commodity the writer should ask 
 himself what there is about his goods which 
 will fall into " prepared soil" on the part of the 
 reader. The reader must first be appealed to 
 by something which he already knows, and thus 
 activity on his part is awakened, and this ac- 
 tivity may be made use of for presenting the 
 new elements, which, if presented at first, would 
 have met with no response whatever. Nothing 
 should be presented as something , absolutely 
 new, but as an improvement or substitute for 
 something which is well known. The reader's 
 interest can be best awakened by appealing to 
 his past experiences. 
 
 161 
 
XI 
 ILLUSIONS OF PERCEPTION 
 
 IF there is anything in the world that we feel 
 
 sure of, it is that our senses (eyes, ears, etc.) 
 
 do not deceive us, but that they 
 
 present the outside world to us 
 
 Believing J ust as {t is * Some have been 
 so impressed with the truthful- 
 ness of their senses that they have discredited 
 all other sources of knowledge and are unwill- 
 ing to accept anything as true which they can- 
 not see. "Seeing is believing," and nothing is 
 so convincing as our perceptions. 
 
 Many centuries ago it was discovered that 
 und<M* .certain conditions even our senses de- 
 ceived us. This discovery was emphasized and 
 the certainty of any and all our knowledge was 
 questioned till the extremest sort of skepticism 
 prevailed. Such a condition was abnormal and 
 transient, but it certainly is a great shock to us 
 when we discover that under certain conditions 
 our senses are not to be depended upon. 
 
 All the sense organs are the product of a long 
 evolution in which the various organs were 
 developed as instruments of communication by 
 means of which we might adjust ourselves to our 
 environments. Of all the sense organs the eye 
 is the most highly developed, and yet it was not 
 
 162 
 
ILLUSIONS OF PERCEPTION 
 
 one of the first to be developed. It is marvel- 
 ously well adjusted for the functions which it 
 has to perform, but it has certain weaknesses and 
 defects which are surprising. 
 
 Although each of the sense organs is a source 
 of illusion, this chapter will be confined to a pres- 
 entation of some of the most striking illusions of 
 the eye. 
 
 One of the most glaring of the so-called " optical 
 illusions" is the illusion as to the length of lines. 
 
 We iudge distances by the amount 
 
 r J i i 
 
 of eye movement which is neces- 
 
 sary to look from one extremity 
 of the line to the other. Under 
 some circumstances this eye movement is fa- 
 cilitated and under others it is retarded. Lines 
 
 Illusion 
 ... ,, 
 
 No. i 
 
 or distances over which the eye moves readily 
 are underestimated, while those over which the 
 eye moves with difficulty are overestimated. 
 
 No. i shows two lines of equal length. The 
 line at the top seems much shorter and the 
 explanation is as given above. The arrowheads 
 
 163 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 which are turned in stop the eye movement 
 before the end of the line is reached. The arrow- 
 heads which are turned out invite the eye to go 
 even further than the end of the line. I have 
 conducted experiments with very finely con- 
 structed instruments which showed that as I 
 looked at the bottom line my eye moved further 
 than it did when I looked at the upper line. 
 
 When out walking, we are inclined to judge 
 the distance traversed by the amount of effort 
 
 we have put forth in covering 
 Filled Space the distance Any one who has 
 
 Overestimated , , . ,, ., -, 
 
 had occasion to walk on railroad 
 
 ties knows that the distance which he thought he 
 had covered was much greater than the distance 
 which he had actually covered. In walking on 
 the railroad ties, every tie must be noticed 
 and its distance from the next tie must be 
 roughly estimated. There is a constant start- 
 ing and stopping which calls for the putting 
 forth of an excessive amount of energy. When 
 we walk over a smooth and well-known path there 
 is no starting and stopping at all, but movement 
 is continuous and easy. In the case of these 
 walks the distance covered is judged according 
 to the amount of energy which the limbs must 
 put forth to cover the distance. A similiar illu- 
 sion occurs when the eye is called upon to judge 
 of distances which, roughly speaking, correspond 
 to the railroad ties and the smooth path. 
 
 164 
 
ILLUSIONS OF PERCEPTION 
 
 In No. 2 the extents indicated by A and B 
 are equal. A is an open space bounded by two 
 dots, and the eye moves over it readily and with- 
 out any delays. B is a space bounded by two 
 dots broken by three others, and, although the 
 eye seems to run over them smoothly, there 
 is a slight tendency to notice each dot, and this 
 
 A B 
 
 ^-x 
 c 
 
 III! 
 
 D 
 
 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 
 
 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 
 
 ) 
 
 
 
 E, 
 H II 1 Illill III 
 
 F 
 
 G 
 
 inn iiiinii 1 1 
 
 No. 2 
 
 stopping and starting at each dot requires more 
 energy than it does to move the eye over an 
 empty space of the same size. As seen extents 
 are estimated according to the amount of energy 
 necessary to move the eye over them, B is judged 
 to be greater than A. The other illusions shown 
 in No. 2 are explained in the same way- C ap- 
 pears much shorter than D, and F appears much 
 shorter than E or G. 
 
 In No. 3 the two squares are of equal size, but 
 the left-hand one appears to be much the larger. 
 As the eye passes over the upper square there is 
 a tendency to stop at each cross line, and these 
 stoppings and startings cause us to overestimate 
 the size of the square. 
 
 165 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 Nos. 2 and 3 are but a few of the examples 
 which might be given to show that filled space 
 is overestimated and that empty space is under- 
 
 No. 3 
 
 estimated. In every, case the cause of the 
 illusion is found in the fact that we base our 
 estimation of extents upon the eye movements 
 which are necessary to look over the field or 
 extent being estimated. 
 
 All eye movements are made by means of 
 the three pairs of muscles which are attached 
 to each eye. They are so ad- 
 Vertical j ust ^ t h at they can move the 
 
 direction ' but the 
 pairs of muscles are not symmet- 
 
 rically placed, and as a natural consequence it 
 is harder to move the eyes in certain directions 
 than in others. If you move your eyes from 
 right to left and from left to right, you will observe 
 that it is much easier than it is to move them 
 up and down. Our conclusion from this would 
 be that if we judge distances by eye movement, 
 we would overestimate vertical distances and 
 
 1 66 
 
ILLUSIONS OF PERCEPTION 
 
 underestimate horizontal distances. Such is the 
 case. 
 
 In No. 4 the horizontal and vertical lines 
 are equal, but to most persons the vertical line 
 
 No. 4 
 
 appears longer. A square does not look to be 
 square, but looks as if its vertical sides were 
 greater than its horizontal ones. 
 
 No. 5 combines several different causes of 
 illusions, and the result is very striking. Meas- 
 urements made along the dotted 
 Combination v , , , . 1 v 
 
 lines show the horizontal line to 
 
 be about one-sixth longer than 
 Illusions 
 
 the vertical line. The /explana- 
 tion of this illusion is more difficult to find than 
 that of the figures above given, but it is quite 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 certain that all the explanations given above 
 apply here, and in addition we must mention 
 the " error of expectancy. " We expect to see the 
 
 No. 5 
 
 horizontal arms of a cross shorter than the height 
 of it, and so we are inclined to see it that way 
 even when the reverse is true. The error of 
 expectancy will be more fully discussed in the 
 next chapter. 
 
 In certain positions straight lines look crooked 
 and crooked ones look straight. 
 
 No. 6 shows straight lines which seem to be 
 decidedly warped. The four horizontal lines 
 are two pairs of straight and parallel lines. 
 The explanation of this illusion is that we un- 
 
 168 
 
ILLUSIONS 
 
 EPTION 
 
 derestimate the size of large angles and over- 
 estimate the size of small ones. Each horizontal 
 line is crossed by a number of 
 
 oblique lines and each oblique line 
 Appear 
 
 Crooked lorrns two acute and two obtuse 
 
 angles with each horizontal line. 
 
 As we overestimate the size of the acute angles 
 
 and underestimate the size of the large ones, 
 
 No. 6 
 
 the straight lines must appear crooked to allow 
 for these mis judgments. 
 
 In certain positions figures which are the same 
 size may appear to be very far from being equal. 
 
 No. 7 shows two identical figures, but the 
 lower one appears to be much smaller than the 
 upper one. The explanation of 
 
 thiS illusion is somewh at different 
 from the explanation of the other 
 illusions as given above. In comparing the size 
 
 169 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 of two objects we ordinarily judge by the com- 
 parative size of adjoining areas. In the figures 
 
 No. 7 
 
 shown the targe side of one is next to the small 
 side of the other. We involuntarily compare 
 these adjoining sides, and so the illusion occurs. 
 
 There is another class of illusions which do 
 not depend upon eye movement, but upon the 
 way the different rays of light 
 
 - "see" objects when the rays of 
 
 light reflected from them fall upon 
 the retina of the eye. From large objects 
 more light is reflected than from small objects. 
 Because of this we have come to judge objects 
 not only from the eye movement, but also from 
 the size of the object as it is reflected upon the 
 eye. The rays of light reflected from some 
 colors spread themselves out, or " irradiate," 
 and so the image of the object as it is reflected 
 
 170 
 
ILLUSIONS OF PERCEPTION 
 
 in the eye is greater than the image of an object 
 of the same size but of a color which does not 
 irradiate. For this reason white objects appear 
 larger than black ones. The stock buyers of the 
 West are often compelled to guess at the weight 
 of animals. I am told that they always reduce 
 their "guess" on white animals and add to the 
 
 No. 8 
 
 apparent size of black ones. A white square 
 looks larger than a black one. In No. 8 the white 
 square to the right appears larger than the black 
 square to the left, although they are of equal 
 size. Nor is this illusion confined to white and 
 black. Red, orange, and yellow objects look 
 larger than objects of the same size which are 
 green and blue. Corpulent people dress them- 
 selves in black or in the darker shades of blue 
 or green. Small, thin people dress in white, red, 
 orange, or yellow. 
 
 Another source of errors is found in the fact 
 which, technically expressed, is that the eye is 
 
 171 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 not corrected for chromatic aberration. The 
 result of this defect in the eye is that certain 
 colors look closer than others. Thus red objects 
 look closer than green ones. I remember look- 
 ing at a church window which had a red disk 
 in a green background. The red appeared to 
 stand out from the green in such a remarkable 
 manner that I was not satisfied till, after the 
 service was over, I went to the window and felt 
 of it. The red and the green were in the same 
 plane, but, as the red might have stood out, the 
 illusion was not counteracted by my knowledge 
 of the prospective and was very striking. 
 
 Tailors and dressmakers have taken advan- 
 tage of some of the sources of illusions as given 
 above. They know how to cover defects and 
 to produce the desired appearances. Corpulent 
 ladies are not found wearing checks, nor are 
 tall ladies in the habit of wearing vertical stripes. 
 As far as the writer knows, advertisers have never 
 made a conscious effort to profit by illusions in 
 their illustrations and construction of display. 
 It is not the function of this article to suggest 
 how the principles here enunciated might be 
 applied to any particular concrete case, but 
 the ingenious advertiser will find the applica- 
 tion. The Purina Mills put up their goods in 
 checkerboard packages, which make the packages 
 look larger than they really are. This illusion is 
 illustrated in No. 3. Ordinarily the illustration 
 
 172 
 
ILLUSIONS OF PERCEPTION 
 
 in advertisements of fountain pens represents 
 the pen in a horizontal position. I have re- 
 cently noticed some of the illustrations in which 
 the pen is represented in a vertical position. 
 This makes the pen look larger, as is indicated 
 in No. 4. 
 
 If the designer of an advertisement desires 
 to give the impression of bigness to an article 
 
 which he is presenting, he might 
 Appearai make use Q gome Qr all Q the 
 
 u B> illusions given above. The cut 
 
 of the article might be so con- 
 structed that the eye would move completely 
 over it or even beyond it, as is shown in the 
 lower figure of No. i. It might be of such a 
 nature that the eye would not move over it 
 readily, as is the case with B, D, E, and G in 
 No. 2. It might be checkered like the left-hand 
 square of No. 3. It might have its dimensions 
 indicated by vertical and not by horizontal lines. 
 It might take advantage of the error of expec- 
 tation, as is shown in No. 5. Its size might 
 be made to appear greater by the introduction 
 of acute angles, as is shown in No. 6, in which 
 the distance between the two parallel lines is 
 increased and decreased by acute and obtuse 
 angles. The cut might be brought into contrast 
 with some other figure which would give the 
 impression of great size, as is done in the upper 
 figure of No. 7. Finally, the part of the cut 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 which is to look large might be colored red, 
 orange, yellow, or white. If several of these 
 principles of illusions could be employed in a 
 single cut the effect would be astonishing. 
 
 As will be seen, the cause of all illusions of per- 
 ception is found in some maladjustment of our 
 normal sense organs. The advertiser is perfectly 
 justified in taking advantage of this defect of 
 ours, and in some cases this could be done to 
 advantage. 
 
 174 
 
XII 
 
 ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 IN Evanston, Illinois, two grocery firms are ac- 
 customed to advertise on hand-bills which are 
 
 placed in the morning papers before 
 Confusions ,, , v , , 
 
 they are delivered by the carriers. 
 
 Advertisements A friend of mine ' who was the head 
 of a family, had frequently noticed 
 
 these bills in his morning paper and, having 
 noticed at some time the name of ' ' Robinson 
 Brothers " on one of the advertisements, had 
 come to the conclusion that all these hand -bills 
 were from Robinson Brothers. On a certain 
 morning Winter's Grocery offered to sell several 
 lines of standard goods at a very great reduction 
 from the ordinary price. As my friend was going 
 down town that morning his wife handed him the 
 hand-bill and asked him to order quite an exten- 
 sive quantity of the special bargains offered that 
 morning. He took the advertisement, checked off 
 what his wife wanted, and went down town. 
 As he entered Robinson Brothers' store he held 
 Winter's advertisement in his hand and read off 
 to the clerk the order which he was commis- 
 sioned to make. When the goods were delivered 
 he was taken to task by his wife for ordering the 
 goods at the wrong store and thereby failing to 
 save the special reductions for that day. It so 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 happened that the advertisement was still in his 
 pocket. As he took it out and looked at it 
 
 ELASTIC RIBBED 
 
 Union Suits 
 
 Sold Bv Best Dtaltrs Ever}' 
 
 No. i 
 
 again he was very much surprised to see " Win- 
 ter's Grocery " in plain type at the bottom. It 
 was not comforting to him either to remember 
 the way the clerk had smiled when he had held 
 
 176 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTLON 
 
 the advertisement in his hand and ordered 
 the goods. He even believed he remembered 
 that the cashier stopped work and scanned him 
 and the advertisement while the order was being 
 given. 
 
 In the reduced reproduction (No. i) of a full- 
 page advertisement, which appeared in Every- 
 body's Magazine, the Oneita goods occupied three- 
 fourths of the page and the Munsing goods 
 one-fourth. It seems that there should be no 
 confusion about this, but such has not been the 
 case. The Munsing people received a number of 
 letters of inquiry concerning the Oneita union 
 suits. For persons desiring union suits this full- 
 page advertisement was all supposed to be an 
 advertisement issuing from the manufacturers of 
 the Munsing underwear. An advertising manager 
 of a progressive magazine saw this page and, like 
 many other readers, supposed that it was all one. 
 He wrote to the Munsing people, making them 
 rates on the full-page advertisement, and enclosed 
 the page from which the half-tone was made as 
 shown above. 
 
 Confusions often arise between advertisements 
 which present the most dissimilar kinds of goods. 
 It might seem surprising that the advertisements 
 for portable houses should be confused with the 
 advertisement of pens , but the following illustra- 
 tion will show how naturally such an error could 
 occur : 
 
 177 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 In the reduced reproduction of the full-page ad- 
 vertisement (No. 2) the Conklin Pen Company 
 
 Mershon & Money 
 Portable Houses 
 
 No. 2 
 
 occupies the upper right-hand quarter page and 
 the lower left-hand quarter page. The upper 
 right-hand quarter is of such a nature that it 
 arrests the reader's attention as he turns over the 
 page. It is of such an indefinite nature that it 
 
 1/8 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 does not direct the attention to anything in par- 
 ticular, but merely arrests it and causes one to 
 look down. It does not draw attention to the 
 lower left-hand quarter more than it does to the 
 lower right-hand quarter. Under these circum- 
 stances the lower quarter which appeals to the 
 reader the most strongly receives the most atten- 
 tion. We may for the present assume that 
 the two lower quarters are equally attractive. 
 Under these circumstances it will depend upon 
 the reader himself as to whether he will see the 
 portable houses or the pens. If he has been think- 
 ing of portable houses if he wants a portable 
 house his attention will immediately be at- 
 tracted by the advertisement of Mershon & Mor- 
 ley, and he will take it for granted that Mershon 
 & Morley have used the entire right-hand half of 
 the page. This conclusion is not merely hypotheti- 
 cal, for Mershon & Money have positive proof as 
 to very many such confusions and they are of the 
 opinion that they have received as much benefit 
 from the upper right-hand quarter as the Conklin 
 Pen Company has. 
 
 Of two hat firms of Chicago one puts great em- 
 phasis on its own name and address, the other 
 emphasizes the style of the hat sold. For con- 
 venience' sake we shall call the first firm " A " and 
 the second " B." Hatter A has made his name 
 so well known that when a possible customer sees 
 an advertisement of hats he at once begins to 
 
 179 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 think of A. Last summer Hatter B advertised a 
 particular style of hat very extensively. His 
 name was on all the advertisements, of course. 
 The name, however, was not the important or the 
 emphasized thing. After they had read the ad- 
 vertisement through many persons still supposed 
 that it was A's advertisement. Hatter A is not 
 willing to have his name or that of his competitor 
 mentioned, for he does nolxiesire to see the present 
 condition changed. His position can be appre- 
 ciated when we learn that he sold over twenty 
 dozen hats last summer to persons who thought 
 they were getting the hat which they had seen 
 advertised by B. 
 
 I have frequently observed that people mis- 
 read advertisements. In some cases the mistakes 
 are astonishing. After a young lady had com- 
 pleted "looking through" a magazine, I asked 
 her to write down as full an account as possible 
 of some of the advertisements in the magazine. 
 Here is what she wrote: " What sensations are 
 more agreeable after exercise than a hard rub 
 with a towel and a rub with Armour's toilet soap, 
 and a dash of water? Armour's soap may not be 
 very valuable, but it is very refreshing after exer- 
 cise. Armour's soap may be bought at any store 
 at five or ten cents a bar." What she had read 
 was the following: " What sensations are more 
 agreeable than those following some good, quick 
 exercise, a rub with a rough towel, a scrub with 
 
 1 80 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 Ivory soap and a dash of cold water? ... If the 
 Ivory soap is not positively essential, it is at least 
 delightfully cleansing," etc. I asked several hun- 
 dred persons to write down -a description of the 
 advertisements which they had just read. This 
 confusion of Armour's and Ivory soap is but one 
 of scores of similar confusions which I discovered. 
 At an international congress of psychologists 
 held in Munich, in 1896, an alleged " photograph " 
 of the human brain (No. 3) was exhibited. 
 
 No. 3 
 
 All those present were much interested in the 
 structure and functions of the brain. Many of 
 
 Ambiguous them ' at first si ht ' saw nothin g 
 unusual about the picture, but ob- 
 served the position of the various 
 convolutions and fissures of the brain. Later it 
 dawned upon them that it was not a photograph 
 of the brain at all, but was a group of naked babies. 
 I have since that time shown the picture to vari- 
 ous persons and have noticed that those who are 
 
 181 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISIN 
 
 familiar with the brain first see a brain, but ot 
 persons are likely to see the babies at once. 
 
 The first time I saw this photograph of a bx 
 I did not notice the babies for several secont. 
 then for some time I could see it as either a br- 
 er a group of babies. Now I find that I can. 
 see it as a brain at all, but every time I look at 
 I see the babies and there is scarcely any reseii 
 blance to a brain there. 
 
 The following cut (No. 4) differs from the one 
 last discussed in this particular. I can see it 
 equally well in two different ways. 
 
 No. 4 
 
 If I look away from it and think how it should 
 be to represent a duck and then turn my eyes 
 upon it, behold it is a duck. If I think how it 
 should be to represent a rabbit and then look at 
 it, it ceases to look like a duck and is the likeness 
 of a rabbit. The figure itself may represent 
 equally well either a rabbit or a duck, but cannot 
 possibly suggest both to me at the same time. If 
 I continue to look at it steadily for some minutes 
 it changes from a rabbit to a duck and then back 
 
 182 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 > a rabbit. When I see it as one it does not seem 
 ssible that it could ever look like the other ; for 
 .e two things are so totally different in appear- 
 ance. 
 
 The following illustration (No. 5) differs from 
 jie one given immediately above in several im- 
 
 No. 5 r 
 
 portant particulars. The one given above is seen 
 equally well in either of two ways, and we seem to 
 have no preference as to which way we shall see 
 it. The one given below can be seen in at least 
 four different ways, but we see it much more read- 
 ily in one way than in any other. 
 
 The easiest way to interpret this figure is to 
 regard it as a representation of a staircase as seen 
 from above. It is quite possible, however, to see 
 it as a representation of the same stairs as seen 
 from below. This latter interpretation is made 
 easier if you think just how the stairs would look 
 if seen from below, and if at the same time you 
 direct your eye to the point marked " a " in the 
 cut. It is possible to interpret the cut, not as a 
 
 183 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 staircase at all, but as a strip of cardboard bent at 
 right angles like an accordion plait and situated 
 in front of the apparent background. It is diffi- 
 
 No. 6 
 
 cult to " see " the figure this way. It is still more 
 difficult to see the figure as a plane surface corn- 
 posed of straight lines without any perspective. 
 This fourth interpretation is the one that would 
 apparently be the most natural, for it is the one 
 which takes the cut for just what it is and adds 
 nothing to it. It might be added that the angles 
 
 184 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 in the staircase figure may be seen as right angles, 
 acute angles, or oblique angles. 
 
 No. 6 is like the previous illustrations in that it 
 can be seen in more than one way, but it is differ- 
 ent in that the figure seems to change under the eye 
 
 No. 7 
 
 more rapidly than the others. It assumes two or 
 three different appearances in a very few seconds. 
 
 These changes are assisted by moving the eye 
 from one part of the figure to another. In look- 
 ing at solid figures or bodies our eyes usually rest 
 on the nearest edge or surface. It comes about 
 in this way that the lines at which we look are 
 very likely to appear to be the nearest edge or 
 surface of the solid. 
 
 No. 7 consists of a group of either six or seven 
 blocks. If it is looked at steadily for some sec- 
 
 185 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 onds,- the blocks seem to fall and to arrange them- 
 selves in a new way. If at first there were but 
 six blocks, there may be seven there after they 
 have fallen. Many people find it very difficult 
 to count the blocks, for while they are counting, 
 the number changes. If you look at No. 7 a and 
 hold an image of it in your mind while you 
 count the blocks in No. 7 you will probably 
 find six blocks. If, however, you first look at No. 
 
 No. ?a No. 7b 
 
 76 and retain its image in your mind you will be 
 able to find seven blocks in No. 7. If the desired 
 results are not secured, turn the page upside- 
 down and the blocks will then certainly " fall." 
 
 No. 8 
 
 No. 8, at first sight, appears to most people as 
 a book which is half opened and turned in such 
 
 1 86 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 a way that the cover alone is visible. To some 
 it will appear as if the book was opened toward 
 them and as if two of the pages were visible. If 
 we try to think how a book should look when 
 opened and turned away from us, and if we then 
 look at the figure, it will appear to represent the 
 book of which we are thinking and also in the 
 position in which we imagined it. 
 
 The upper or feathered end of the arrow (No. 
 9) is identical with No. 8 and yet it appears to 
 
 No. 9 
 
 be flat, while that one appeared as a solid. If we 
 cover up the shaft and head of the arrow as shown 
 in this figure, we can then see the top of the figure 
 as a book. If we think of it as the end of an arrow 
 it is flat, but if we think of it as a book it imme- 
 diately appears as a solid drawn in perspective. 
 
 187 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 If I put on red glasses and then look at a land- 
 scape, all objects appear red to me. If I put on 
 
 Principles green g lasses a11 objects appear 
 green. The objects are colored 
 Involved J . 
 
 by the glasses which were before 
 
 my eyes. In a similar way, by apperception, the 
 thoughts which are in my mind color all the objects 
 at which I look. We see things through our own. 
 eyes and with our own minds. This is equiva- 
 lent to saying that all we see is changed by the 
 thoughts which are in our minds when we look. It 
 is also equivalent to saying that we see everything 
 in relation to our own previous experience. Al- 
 though the grass is green I am unable to see it as 
 green till I remove the red glasses. The rose may 
 be red, but it will not appear so to me till I take 
 off the green glasses. In a similar way I fail to 
 see the green grass when I am thinking of the red 
 rose and I fail to see the red rose when I am think- 
 ing of the green grass, although both are present 
 all the time. We see 'most easily those things of 
 which we happen to be thinking or of which we have 
 had previous experience, but we see with difficulty 
 those things of which we have had no previous ex- 
 perience. 
 
 For the practical advertiser the theoretical dis- 
 cussion of the illusions of apperception has a spe- 
 cial importance, as it assists him to discern the 
 causes of such illusions and to avoid them in his 
 advertisements. The principal cause of all illu- 
 
 1 88 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 sions of apperception is found in the fact that the 
 mind of the reader is not prepared for the reception 
 
 of the case as presented. The second 
 Practical * 
 
 cause of such illusions is that the 
 Application .. - ,, 
 
 presentation of the case is not as 
 
 clear and distinct as it should be. The first of 
 these facts is the peculiar and distinctive cause of 
 most illusions of apperception. The reader's mind 
 may be unprepared either because it is distracted 
 by a competing thought or because the -material 
 presented is entirely new. The presentation may 
 be lacking in clearness because in some particular 
 it is ambiguous. 
 
 By observing the part which these two causes 
 played in the illusions given above we are better 
 prepared to understand and therefore to avoid 
 such illusions. The householder who misread 
 Robinson for Winter had his mind preoccupied 
 with the thought of Robinson. Winter had not 
 succeeded in occupying a place in his mind, while 
 Robinson had. On the other hand, Robinson's 
 and Winter's advertisements look as much alike 
 as two peas and neither has a characteristic fea- 
 ture which would help to identify it. 
 
 The readers of Everybody's Magazine looked at 
 the lower right-hand corner of the page and read 
 " The N. W. Knitting Company, Minneapolis." 
 With this thought in mind they looked at the 
 Oneita goods, but failed to notice that they were 
 not sold by the N. W. Knitting Company. The 
 
 189 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 Oneita people are in part responsible for the illu- 
 sion in that they allowed their advertisement to 
 appear without an address and on a page with a 
 similar advertisement which has an address. The 
 more recent advertisements of the Oneita union 
 suits have an address given and therefore are 
 not so subject to illusions of this sort. 
 
 The confusion by which readers supposed that 
 the portable houses were presented by a full 
 half -page advertisement is a typical illusion of ap- 
 perception. The readers had their minds preoc- 
 cupied by the thought of portable houses, and so 
 the attention went to portable houses, and not to 
 " The Pen That Fills Itself." The Conklin Pen 
 Company did not make it perfectly clear that the 
 hand was pointing to their space. 
 
 In the confusion of hats referred to, Hatter A 
 had made his name so familiar to the residents of 
 his city that when they read a hat advertisement 
 they did it with their minds preoccupied with the 
 thought that it was A's advertisement. It came 
 about in this way that when they read B's adver- 
 tisement they read it as A's and failed to notice 
 B's name, which was given at the bottom. It is 
 quite possible that B might have greatly reduced 
 the number of confusions if he had put more em- 
 phasis upon his own name and address. 
 
 The young lady who misread Armour's for 
 Ivory had been influenced by extensive adver- 
 tisements of Armour's which had appeared in her 
 
 190 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 town. She had associated the name of Armour 
 and soap so closely together that when she read 
 of soap she naturally assumed that it was Ar- 
 mour's and failed to see Ivory, just as the inex- 
 perienced proofreader reads the proof as he thinks 
 it tmght to be and fails to observe some of the 
 most glaring errors. It should also be observed 
 that the soap advertisement did not emphasize 
 the name of Ivory at all. 
 
 The figures given above illustrate the same 
 principles of illusions of apperception, but they 
 make it clearer than any confusion of concrete 
 advertisements can possibly do. In most, if not 
 in all, of the figures the reader can voluntarily 
 preempt his mind with a thought and then can 
 see in the figure that of which he is thinking. He 
 can in this way interpret each figure in two or 
 more ways. By means of these figures we can 
 see the part the mind adds to a sensation when 
 it interprets a written, printed, or drawn sym- 
 bol. These figures also show the need of clear 
 and distinct presentation. They are extremely 
 ambiguous, and can with equal ease be inter- 
 preted in two or more ways. With slight changes 
 all of these figures could be remodeled so that 
 it would be much more difficult to interpret them 
 in any way except the one which the author 
 desired. 
 
 That firm which does the most and the best 
 advertising is the one that preempts the minds of 
 
 191 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 the possible customers and so gets the benefit of 
 more advertisements than it pays for. The firms 
 
 . . , that advertise extensively and do 
 
 Avoid 
 
 not fail to put the proper emphasis 
 Confusions ,-. , , , 
 
 on their names and addresses are 
 
 the firms that profit most by confusions. New 
 firms and firms that put little emphasis on their 
 names and addresses would be much surprised 
 if they knew how many possible customers read 
 their advertisements and still fail to notice who 
 they are. 
 
 Many advertisers believe that they should put 
 all their emphasis on the quality of the goods. 
 They assume that if any one wants the goods thus 
 presented they will take the trouble to ascertain 
 the brand of the goods, the name of the firm, and 
 its address. Such a theory sounds well, but the 
 instances of confusion cited above indicate the 
 weakness of the theory when applied to specific 
 advertisements . 
 
 In this chapter we have confined our attention 
 to illusions in which the reader has confused one 
 advertisement or one figure for another. Ordi- 
 narily illusions do not go to this extreme, but are 
 confined to confusions and misunderstandings as 
 to the specific arguments of the advertisements. 
 Since we have positive evidence that these ex- 
 treme illusions are not uncommon, we can well 
 believe that illusions of a less extreme but serious 
 nature are of all too frequent occurrence. The 
 
 192 
 
ILLUSIONS OF APPERCEPTION 
 
 number of such illusions would be materially de- 
 creased if the writers of advertisements would see 
 to it that the minds of the possible customers are 
 prepared for the argument which they are about 
 to write and if they would present their argu- 
 ments clearly and distinctly. 
 
 193 
 
XIII 
 
 PERSONAL DIFFERENCES IN 
 MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 YESTERDAY I looked in at a shop window where 
 the current magazines were displayed. I saw 
 
 the front outer cover of over a 
 Classes of score Q them NQ ^ l git {n 
 
 Mental 
 
 j my study, miles away from that 
 
 window, I can still see the maga- 
 zines with my "mind's eye;" that is to say, I 
 can form a mental image of the window and the 
 magazines. I can describe some of the covers 
 accurately as to color, shape, type, etc. I know 
 that there were several magazines off to the left 
 side of the window, but all I can see of them now 
 is the barest outline. They are so indistinct that 
 I cannot tell what they are at all. My mental 
 image of them is very indistinct. 
 
 But recently I was talking with a friend while 
 a company of young people in an adjoining room 
 was playing on the piano and violin and singing 
 college songs. As I sit here I can imagine how 
 my friend's voice sounded; I can hear in imagi- 
 nation how the piano and the violin sounded ; I 
 can hear in imagination the tunes which they 
 were singing; that is to say, I can form a men- 
 tal image of the sounds which I had previously 
 heard. I notice, however, that my mental image 
 
 194 
 
DIFFERENCES IN MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 is not so distinct and pronounced as the original 
 perception. I cannot form a mental image of 
 some of the notes which I heard from the violin. 
 Only the more striking parts of the tunes seem 
 to be plain, and even they seem to be quite low 
 and of much less volume than the originals. 
 
 Only an hour ago I ate my breakfast. The 
 odor and taste of the coffee were at that time 
 very pleasing to me. Now I can imagine how 
 it smelt and tasted, but the images of it are not 
 very vivid and are not strong enough to give me 
 any pleasure in recalling them. 
 
 Last night I was on the ice playing hockey. 
 The exercise was very vigorous and exciting. 
 At the time I did not stop to think how it felt 
 to "put the puck," but I must have felt the 
 exertion of my muscles as I performed the act. 
 Now I can form a mental image of the act; I 
 can feel my muscles as they make the strain 
 necessary for the performance. I was perspir- 
 ing when I left the pond and soon my woolen 
 underwear became excessively unpleasant. I 
 felt the unpleasant contact on my skin at that 
 time, and now I can form a mental image of the 
 sensation, which is so strong that it makes me 
 want to stop writing to scratch. 
 
 As is indicated by the examples given above, 
 I can form a mental image of that which I have 
 seen, heard, tasted, smelt, felt (in my muscles), 
 or touched (with my skin). In general it might 
 
 195 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 be said that we can form a mental image of any- 
 thing which we have ever perceived. There are 
 many exceptions to this statement, as will be 
 shown later. 
 
 Almost all of our dreams and reveries and a 
 large part of our more serious thinking are com- 
 posed of a succession of these mental images of 
 things which we have previously experienced. 
 We cannot see the images in the mind of our 
 neighbor, but we are likely to suppose that his 
 thinking is very much like our own. It was 
 formerly supposed that such was the case. It 
 was assumed that the normal mind could form 
 images of everything which it had experienced. 
 It was further assumed that there were no personal 
 differences as to the clearness and vividness of 
 such mental images. 
 
 In 1880 Francis Galton discovered that there 
 was a great difference in individuals in their 
 
 ability to form these mental 
 
 Personal . ^ , ,, 
 
 _._ images. He found that some 
 
 Differences , , . , . 
 
 Discovered P ersons could form mental images 
 
 which were almost as vivid and 
 
 strong as the original perception, while for others 
 
 the past was veiled in indistinctness. He also 
 
 found that certain persons could form mental 
 
 images of one class of perceptions, but could 
 
 form no mental images of other classes. Thus, 
 
 one man could not imagine how his friends 
 
 looked when he was absent from them; another 
 
 196 
 
DIFFERENCES IN MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 could not imagine how a piano sounded when the 
 piano was out of his hearing. 
 
 Prof. William James, of Harvard Univer- 
 sity, continued the investigations begun by Mr. 
 Galton. He collected papers from hundreds 
 of persons in which each one described his own 
 image of -his breakfast table. One who is a good 
 visualizer writes: 
 
 "This morning's breakfast table is both dim 
 and bright: it is dim if I try to think of it when 
 my eyes are open upon any object ; it is perfectly 
 clear and bright if I think of it with my eyes 
 closed. All the objects are clear at once, yet 
 when I confine my attention to any one object 
 it becomes far more distinct. I have more 
 power to recall color than any other one thing; 
 if, for example, I were to recall a plate decorated 
 with flowers, I could reproduce in a drawing the 
 exact tones, etc. The color of anything that 
 was on the table is perfectly vivid. There is 
 very little limit to the extent of my images: I 
 can see all four sides of a room; I can see all 
 four sides of two, three, four or even more rooms 
 with such distinctness that if you should ask me 
 what was in any particular place in any one, or 
 ask me to count the chairs, etc., I could do it 
 without the least hesitation. The more I learn 
 by heart the more clearly do I see images of my 
 pages. Even before I can recite the lines I see 
 them so that I could give them very slowly, word 
 
 197 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 for word, but my mind is so occupied in look- 
 ing at my printed page that I have no idea of 
 what I am saying, of the sense of it, etc. When 
 I first found myself doing this, I used to think 
 it was merely because I knew the lines imper- 
 fectly, but I have quite convinced myself that 
 I really do see an image. The strongest proof 
 that such is really the fact is, I think, the 
 following : 
 
 ' ' I can look down the mentally seen page and 
 see the Words that commence all the lines, and 
 from any one of these words I can continue the 
 line. I find this much easier to do if the words 
 begin in a straight line than if there are breaks. 
 Example : 
 
 ' 'Etant fait . . . 
 
 "Tous . . . 
 
 "Ades . . . 
 
 "Quefit . . . 
 
 "Avec . . . 
 " Un fteur , . . 
 
 "Comme . 
 
 "(La Fontaine 8, iv.)" 
 
 Those who are poor visualizers are likely to 
 suspect the writer of the above paper as exag- 
 gerating the vividness of his visual images, yet 
 there is every reason to suppose that there is no 
 exaggeration about it. 
 
 One who is a poor visualizer writes : 
 198 
 
DIFFERENCES IN MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 "My ability to form mental images seems, 
 from what I have studied of other people's 
 images, to be defective and somewhat peculiar. 
 The process by which I remember any partic- 
 ular event is not by any distinct images, but a 
 sort of panorama, the faintest impressions of 
 which are perceptible through a thick fog. I 
 cannot shut my eyes and get a distinct image 
 of any one, although I used to be able to a few 
 years ago, and the faculty seems to have grad- 
 ually slipped away. In my most vivid dreams, 
 where the events appear like the most real facts, 
 I am often troubled with a dimness of sight 
 which causes the image to appear indistinct. To 
 come to the question of the breakfast table, there 
 is nothing definite about it. Everything is vague. 
 I cannot say what I see ; could not possibly count 
 the chairs, but I happen to know that there are 
 ten. I see nothing in detail. The chief thing 
 is a general impression that I cannot tell what 
 I do see. The color is about the same, as far as I 
 can recall it, only very much washed out. Per- 
 haps the only color I can see at all distinctly 
 is that of the tablecloth, and I could probably 
 see the color of the wall-paper if I could remem- 
 ber what color it was." 
 
 Every year I ask each of my students in psy- 
 chology to write out in full a description of his 
 mental image of his breakfast table, a railroad 
 train, and a football game. In these papers are 
 
 199 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 examples of as good and as poor visualizers as 
 those given from the papers collected by Pro- 
 fessor James. I have found that 
 Investigations there is not only a personal differ- 
 
 Continued ence in the ability to form visual 
 images, but that the same differ- 
 ences exist for the other classes of perceptions. 
 One student who has strong auditory imagery 
 writes as follows: 
 
 "When I think of the breakfast table I do 
 not seem to have a clear visual image of it. I 
 can see the length of it, the three chairs, 
 though I can't tell the color or shape of these, 
 the white cloth and something on it, but I can't 
 see the pattern of the dishes or any of the food. 
 I can very plainly hear the rattle of the dishes 
 and of the silver and above this hear the conver- 
 sation, also the other noises, such as a train 
 which passes every morning while we are at 
 breakfast. Again in a football game I dis- 
 tinctly hear the noise, but do not see clearly 
 anything or anybody. I hear the stillness 
 when every one is intent and then the loud 
 cheering. Here I notice the differences of pitch 
 and tone." 
 
 I had read that some people were unable to 
 imagine sounds which they had heard, but it 
 had not impressed me, for I had supposed that 
 such persons were great exceptions. I was 
 truly surprised when I found so many of my 
 
 200 
 
DIFFERENCES IN MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 students writing papers similar to those from 
 which extracts are here given: 
 
 "My mental imagery is visual, as I seem to 
 see things and not to hear, feel, or smell them. 
 The element of sound seems practically never 
 to enter in. When I think of a breakfast table 
 or a football game I have a distinct image. I 
 see colors, but hear no sound." 
 
 Another, in describing his image of a railroad 
 train, writes: 
 
 ' ' I am not able to state whether I hear the 
 train or not. I am inclined to think that it is 
 a noiseless one. It is hard for me to conceive 
 of the sound of a bell, for instance. I can see 
 the bell move to and fro, and for an instant 
 seem to hear the ding, dong; but it is gone 
 before I can identify it. When I try to con- 
 ceive of shouts I am like one groping in the dark. 
 I cannot possibly retain the conception of a 
 sound for any length of time." 
 
 Another, who seems to have no vivid images 
 of any kind, writes : 
 
 "When I recall the breakfast table I see it 
 and the persons around it. The number of 
 them is distinct, for there is only one of them 
 on each side of the table. But they seem like 
 mere objects in space. Only when I think of 
 each separately do I clearly see them. As for 
 the table, all I see is a general whiteness, inter- 
 spersed with objects. I hear nothing at all, and 
 
 201 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 indeed the whole thing is so indistinct it bewilders 
 me when I think of it. My mental imagery 
 is very vague and hazy, unless I have previously 
 taken special notice of what I now have an image. 
 For instance, when I have an image of a certain 
 person, I cannot tell his particular characteristics 
 unless my attention was formerly directed to 
 them." 
 
 Another writes: 
 
 1 ' There is no sound in connection with any 
 image. In remembering I call up an incident 
 and gradually fill out the details. I can very 
 seldom recall how anything sounds. One sound 
 from the play 'Robespierre,' by Henry Irving, 
 which I heard about two years ago and which 
 I could recall some time afterward, I have been 
 unable to recall this fall, though I have tried to 
 do so. I can see the scene quite perfectly, the 
 position of the actors and stage setting, even the 
 action of' a player who brought out the sound." 
 
 Quite a large proportion of persons find it 
 impossible to imagine motion at all. As they 
 think of a football game all the players are 
 standing stock still; they are as they are rep- 
 resented in a photograph. They are in the act 
 of running, but no motion is represented. Like- 
 wise, the banners and streamers are all motion- 
 less. They find it impossible to think of such 
 a thing as motion. Others find that the motions 
 are the most vivid part of their images. What 
 
 202 
 
DIFFERENCES IN MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 they remember of a scene is principally movement. 
 One writes: 
 
 "When the word 'breakfast table' was given 
 out I saw our breakfast table at home, espe- 
 cially the table and the white tablecloth. The 
 cloth seemed to be the most distinct object. I 
 can see each one in his place at the table. I can 
 see no color except that of the tablecloth. The 
 dishes are there, but are very indistinct. I can- 
 not hear the rattle of the dishes or the voices 
 very distinctly; the voices seem much louder 
 than the dishes, but neither are very clear. I 
 can feel the motions which I make during the 
 breakfast hour. I feel myself come in, sit down, 
 and begin to eat. I can see the motions of 
 those about me quite plainly. I believe the 
 feeling of motion was the most distinct feeling 
 I had. When the word 'railroad train' was 
 given, I saw the train very plainly just stopping 
 in front of the depot. I saw the people getting 
 on the train; these people were very indistinct. 
 It is their motions rather than the people them- 
 selves which I see. I can feel myself getting 
 on the train, finding a seat, and sitting down. 
 I cannot hear the noise of the train, but can hear 
 rather indistinctly the conductor calling the 
 stations. I believe my mental imagery is more 
 motile [of movement] than anything else. Al- 
 though I can see some things quite plainly, I 
 seem to feel the movements most distinctly." 
 
 203 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 A very few in describing their images of the 
 breakfast table made special mention of the 
 taste of the food and of its odor. I have dis- 
 covered no one whose prevailing imagery is 
 for either taste or smell. With very many the 
 image of touch is very vivid. They can imag- 
 ine just how velvet feels, how a fly feels on one's 
 nose, the discomfort of a tight shoe, and the 
 pleasure of stroking a smooth marble surface. 
 
 It is a well-observed fact that different classes 
 
 of society think differently and that arguments 
 
 which would appeal to one class 
 
 would be worthless with another. 
 and Mental A , ... 
 
 Im A man s occupation, his age, his 
 
 environment, etc., make a dif 
 ference in his manner of thinking, and in the 
 motives which prompt him to action. In ap- 
 pealing to people we ordinarily think of these 
 conditions and formulate our argument in accord- 
 dance with these motives. That is to say, we 
 address ourselves to a particular social or indus- 
 trial class. The study of mental imagery makes 
 it evident that there are personal differences 
 apart from differences due to environment, 
 but which are inherent in the individual. Some 
 well-educated persons are so destitute of visual 
 images that they are utterly unable to appreciate 
 the description of a scene when it is described in 
 visual terms. Many persons find themselves 
 bored even by Victor Hugo's description of the 
 
 204 
 
DIFFERENCES IN MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 scene of the battle of Waterloo. To them the 
 whole scene is unimaginable and therefore unin- 
 telligible and uninteresting. I have been inter- 
 ested in observing that the authors which are 
 read with universal delight are those who appeal 
 to all the various classes of mental imagery. 
 Dickens, Sir Walter Scott, Tennyson, Washing- 
 ton Irving, and many of the authors who are 
 universally appreciated, appeal to and awaken 
 many auditory images as well as images of taste, 
 smell, touch, and. motion ; Browning appeals most 
 often and most exclusively to visual images. It 
 is quite certain that a person can best be 
 appealed to through his dominating imagery. 
 A person who has visual images that are very 
 clear and distinct appreciates descriptions of 
 scenes. A person with auditory imagery delights 
 in having auditory images awakened. The same 
 holds true for the other classes of mental imagery. 
 Of all the writings of Washington Irving "The 
 Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is one of the favorites. 
 One element of strength in this is the manner in 
 which the author succeeds in awakening the differ- 
 ent classes of mental imagery in the reader. Take, 
 for example, the following passages, in which the 
 "eye-minded" reader sees the scene while the 
 "ear-minded" reader hears that which is being 
 described : 
 
 " Not far from this village, perhaps about 
 two miles, there is a little valley, or rather lap 
 
 205 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 of land, among high hills, which is one of the 
 quietest places in all the world. A small brook 
 glides through it, with just murmur enough to 
 lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of 
 a quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost 
 the only sound that ever breaks in on the uni- 
 form tranquility. ... I had wandered into 
 it at noontime, when all nature is peculiarly 
 quiet, and was startled by the roar of my own 
 gun as it broke the Sabbath stillness around 
 and was prolonged and reverberated by the 
 angry echoes." 
 
 As an example of the way in which Washing- 
 ton Irving could awaken images of taste and 
 of odor, examine the following, taken from the 
 same selection: 
 
 "The pedagogue's mouth watered as he looked 
 upon this sumptuous promise of luxurious winter 
 fare. In his devouring mind's eye he pictured 
 to himself every roasting pig running about 
 with a pudding in his belly and an apple in his 
 mouth; the pigeons were snugly put to bed in a 
 comfortable pie, and tucked in with a coverlet 
 of crust; the geese were swimming in their own 
 gravy, and the ducks pairing cosily in dishes, 
 like snug married couples, with a decent com- 
 petency of onion sauce. In the porkers he saw 
 carved out the future sleek side of bacon and 
 juicy, relishing ham; not a turkey but he beheld 
 daintily trussed up, with its gizzard under its 
 
 206 
 
DIFFERENCES IN MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 wing and perad venture, a necklace of savory sau- 
 sage, " etc. 
 
 This author is not regarded as one of the great- 
 est, but certainly the fascination for his writings 
 is found in part in the fact that 
 Practical in his imagination he could see 
 
 Application the woodland, he could hear the 
 murmur of the brook, he could 
 taste the pies, he could smell the fragrance of 
 the orchards, he could feel the bumps as Ichabod 
 Crane rode the old horse Gunpowder, he could 
 feel the muscle contract in the brawny arms of 
 Brom Bones. Having all these images distinct 
 himself, he depicted them so well that similar 
 images are awakened in us in as far as we are 
 capable of imagining what he described. It is 
 not to be supposed that Washington Irving 
 intentionally tried to awaken in his readers 
 these various classes of images, but he did uncon- 
 sciously what it might be wise for us to do con- 
 sciously. 
 
 An advertiser, as well as any other author, 
 might do well to examine his own writings to 
 see what sort of images he is appealing to. It 
 is in general best to appeal to as many different 
 classes of images as possible, for in this way 
 variety is given and each reader is appealed 
 to in the sort of imagery in which he thinks 
 most readily and by means of which he is most 
 easily influenced. 
 
 207 
 
XIV 
 
 PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF 
 MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 THE young men and women of to-day are ac- 
 cused of being poorer spellers than their parents. 
 The reasons for this may be many, but one has 
 direct bearing upon our subject of discussion. 
 Formerly children in school spelled orally. They 
 saw the word printed in their books; they did 
 more or less writing, and then felt the move- 
 ments of their hands and arms as they wrote ; 
 they were called upon to spell the word in class 
 orally, and so heard how it sounded. They 
 thus had three "cues" for the word they saw 
 it, they felt it, and they heard it. When they 
 were called upon to spell a word they had all 
 of these three cues to assist them in remember- 
 ing how it was spelled, i. e., to assist them in 
 forming an image of it. Some years ago oral 
 spelling was displaced by written spelling. In 
 this way one of the cues was abandoned, the 
 oral one, and it was found that pupils made 
 more mistakes in writing than those who had 
 spelled orally. Because of this fact oral spelling 
 is being brought back to the schoolroom. An 
 attempt is being made to have the scholars 
 see, hear, and feel the word, and, in this way, 
 their spelling will be better than if they omitted 
 
 208 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 one of the three processes. The scholar knows 
 the word better and can form a more distinct 
 image of it if he has these three cues to assist 
 him. 
 
 In a former age the seller, the buyer, and 
 the commodity were brought together. The 
 seller described and exhibited his wares. The 
 buyer saw the goods, heard of them, tasted them, 
 smelt them, felt, and lifted them. He tested 
 them by means of every sense organ to which 
 they could appeal. In this way the buyer 
 became acquainted with the goods. His per- 
 ception of them was as complete as it could be 
 made. In these latter days the market place has 
 given way to the office. The consequent separa- 
 tion of buyer, seller, and commodity made the 
 commercial traveler with his sample case seem a 
 necessity. But, with the growing volume of 
 business, and with the increased need for more 
 economical forms of transacting business, the 
 printed page, as a form of advertisement, has 
 superseded the market place, and is, in many 
 cases, displacing the commercial traveler. In 
 this transition from the market place and the 
 commercial traveler to the printed page, the 
 advertiser must be on his guard to preserve as 
 many as possible of the good features of the 
 older institutions. In the two older forms of 
 barter all the senses of the purchaser were ap- 
 pealed to, if possible, and in addition to this the 
 
 209 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 word of mouth of the seller was added to increase 
 the impressions and to call special attention to 
 the strong features of the commodity. In the 
 printed page the word of mouth is the only feature 
 which is of necessity entirely absent. Indeed, 
 the printed page cannot appeal directly to any of 
 the senses except the eye, but the argument may 
 be of such a nature that the reader's senses are 
 appealed to indirectly through his imagination. 
 
 One of the great weaknesses of the present- 
 day advertising is found in the fact that the 
 writer of the advertisement fails 
 to appeal thus indirectly to the 
 
 senses. How many advertisers 
 Advertisements 
 
 describe a piano so vividly that 
 
 the reader can hear it ? How many food products 
 are so described that the reader can taste the 
 food? How many advertisements describe a 
 perfume so that the reader can smell it? How 
 many describe an undergarment so that the 
 reader can feel the pleasant contact with his 
 body? Many advertisers seem never to have 
 thought of this, and make no attempt at such 
 descriptions. 
 
 The cause of this deficiency is twofold. In 
 the first place, it is not easy in type to appeal 
 to any other sense than that of sight. Other 
 than visual images are difficult to awaken when 
 the means employed is the printed page. In 
 the second place, the individual writers are defi- 
 
 210 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 cient in certain forms of mental imagery, and 
 therefore are not adepts in describing articles 
 in terms which to themselves are not significant. 
 This second ground for failure in writing effec- 
 tive advertisements will be made clear by the 
 following examples taken from good and from 
 poor advertisements. "Good" and "poor" are 
 used here in a very narrow sense. For conven- 
 ience' sake these advertisements are called good 
 which are good according to the single standard 
 here under consideration. 
 
 A piano is primarily not a thing to look at 
 or an object for profitable investment, but it 
 is a musical instrument. It might 
 be beautiful and cheap, but still 
 be very undesirable. The chief 
 thing about a piano is the quality of its tone. 
 Many advertisers of pianos do not seem to have 
 the slightest appreciation of this fact. As a first 
 example of this, read the following advertisement 
 (No. i), in which an entire advertisement of the 
 Emerson piano is reproduced exactly, with the 
 single exception that the word " incubator" is 
 substituted for "piano." 
 
 The Emerson advertisement is not peculiar 
 because of its deficiency. In fact, the majority 
 of piano advertisements are equally poor. The 
 following advertisement of the Vose (No. 2) be- 
 longs to the same class. In it the word " camera" 
 is substituted for "piano." 
 
 211 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 What has been said of these two advertise- 
 ments would hold true of the advertisements 
 
 Emerson 
 
 Incubators 
 
 TF any one offers you a "just as 
 * good" Incubator at a lower price 
 than an EMERSON costs, you had 
 better buy it but make sure it is 
 "just as good." A reputation for 
 reliable goods is better than a repu- 
 tation for low prices. Our prices, 
 however, must be right or there 
 would not be to-day over 76,000 
 Emerson Incubators in use! 
 
 Write for illustrated catalogue and our 
 easy payment plan. 
 
 EMERSON INCUBATOR CO. 
 
 BOSTON DEPT. E. CHICAGO 
 
 120 Boylston St. 195 Wabash Ave. 
 
 No. i 
 
 in the current issues of the magazines of the 
 Gabler piano, and of many others. 
 
 These advertisements apply equally well for 
 paintings, perfumes, fountain-pens, bicycles, 
 
 212 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 snuff, or sausages, and would be equally poor 
 if used to advertise any of them. They are 
 not specific, and do not describe or refer in any 
 way to the essential characteristic of a pianc. 
 
 M- 
 
 vose 
 
 CAMERAS 
 
 ! HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED 50 YEARS S 
 
 !and are receiving more favorable comments to-day 
 from an artistic standpoint than all other makes 4 
 
 combined. 
 
 WE 
 
 Challenge Comparisons. | 
 
 A By our easy payment plan, every family in mod- A 
 
 I erate circumstances can own a vose camera. We 
 
 ' allow a liberal price for old instruments in exchange, 1 
 
 and deliver the camera in your house free of expense. * 
 
 You can deal with us at a distant point the same as in 1 
 
 A Boston. Send for catalogue and full information. 1 
 
 VOSE & SONS CAMERA CO., I 
 
 4 1 63 Boylston Street, ... Boston i 
 
 No. 2 
 
 They awaken no images of sound; they do not 
 make us hear the piano in our imagination. 
 
 The advertisement of the Blasius (No. 3) is an 
 attempt in the right direction. The musical 
 scale suggests music specifically; the picture 
 of the piano recalls the sounds of the music to 
 a certain extent; the lady at the piano suggests 
 
THE THEORY OF AD VERTISI NG 
 
 music, for she is not turning around to be 
 looked at (cf. an advertisement of Ivers & Pond 
 pianos in the current magazines), but is intent 
 upon her playing. The text also uses words 
 whose sole function is to awaken images of sound. 
 These expressions appear in the advertisement: 
 " Excellent tone," "the sweetest tone I ever 
 
 No. 3 
 
 heard," "sweet and melodious in tone," "like 
 a grand church organ for power and volume; 
 and a brilliant, sweet- toned piano, in one." 
 
 The ^advertisement of the Packard Piano 
 (No. 4) says more in three inches than many 
 advertisements of pianos say in a whole page. 
 "Lasting Tone-beauty" is put in display type. 
 Two children are intent upon- their playing, 
 and two others seem to be appreciating the 
 music. This piano is represented by word and 
 
 214 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 by illustration as doing just what we want a 
 piano to do. It is furnishing pleasing amuse- 
 ment to all those, who hear it. 
 
 The man who cannot appreciate the tone 
 
 Lasting Tone-beauty 
 
 is what one demands m a piano. The 
 Packard tone is singularly rich and of 
 great endurance. " Practice " will not de- 
 stroy it. Becomes ampler and more sym- 
 pathetic with use. Superior materials and 
 skillful workmanship insure this perma- 
 nence of tone-loveliness. % 
 
 We will send catalogue and full particu- 
 lars upon request. Address P O. Box C 
 
 THE PACKARD CO.. Fort Wayne, ind. 
 
 No. 4 
 
 of a piano, and who can form but indistinct 
 images of musical tones, is not a good man to 
 write the advertisements for a music* house. 
 He might improve his style of writing by read- 
 ing selections in which the author shows by 
 his writing that he hears in imagination what 
 he describes and nis descriptions are so vivid 
 that he makes us hear it too. 
 
 215 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 In determining which foods I shall eat it is 
 a matter of some importance to know how 
 
 the goods are manufactured, what 
 Advertisements the {ce { how it ^ ed 
 
 of Foods c . . 
 
 for the table, and whether it is 
 
 nourishing or harmful to my system. The one 
 essential element, however, is the taste. When 
 I look over a bill of fare I seek out what I 
 think will taste good. When I order groceries I 
 order what pleases and tickles my palate. I want 
 the food that makes me smack my lips, that 
 makes my mouth water. Under these circum- 
 stances all other considerations are minimized to 
 the extreme. 
 
 In advertisements of food products I have 
 been surprised to note that many foods are 
 advertised as if they had no taste at all. One 
 would suppose that the food was to- be taken 
 by means of a hypodermic injection and not 
 by the ordinary process of taking the food into 
 the mouth and hence into contact with the' organ 
 of taste. The advertisers seem to.be at a loss 
 to know what to say about their foods, and so 
 have, in many cases, expressed themselves in 
 such general terms that their advertisements 
 could be applied equally well to almost any prod- 
 uct whatever. The two reproduced advertise- 
 ments (Nos. 5 and 6), taken from recent issues 
 of household periodicals, are samples of such 
 meaningless generalities. 
 
 216 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 These two advertisements are reproduced ex- 
 actly with the single exception that the names 
 of the commodities have been changed in each 
 case. I would suggest to these firms that they 
 might improve their advertisements by leaving 
 off the name of the goods entirely and then 
 offer a prize to the person who could guess what 
 
 are THE BEST 
 
 Best beans only are used. 
 Extra care exercised in blending, 
 Corn shells and dirt are removed, 
 Adulterations -oot permitted, 
 Use of most improved machinery. . 
 Standard of merit our watchword, 
 Endless watchfulness during manufacture. 
 
 Cost no more than others 
 
 No. 5 
 
 they were advertisements of, or else offer the 
 prize for the one who should suggest the largest 
 list of goods which could be equally well pre- 
 sented by these advertisements. 
 
 Some advertisers of food are evidently chronic 
 dyspeptics and take it for granted that all others 
 are in the same condition. They have nothing 
 to say about their foods except that they have 
 wonderful medicinal properties. To me a food 
 
 217 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 which is only healthful savors of hospitals and 
 sickrooms, and is something which a well man 
 or woman would not want. 
 
 The Smile that Won't Come Off 
 
 More Parlor Matches the Grocer said, 
 No other brand will do instead ; 
 
 And o'er his kindly features spread 
 The Smile that won't come off. 
 
 Look for the Coupon in the Packag 
 
 No. 6 
 
 There are advertisers who appreciate the 
 epicurean tendency of the ordinary man and 
 woman. They describe foods in such a way 
 that we immediately want what they describe. 
 
 218 
 
r 
 
 That very old proverb 
 about reaching the 
 heart of a man is best 
 
 NABISCO 
 
 Sugar 
 Wafers 
 
 A Fairy Sandwich with 
 an upper and lower 
 crust of indescribable 
 delicacy , separated with 
 a creamy flavoring of 
 
 Lemon, Orange, 
 Chocolate, Vanilla, 
 
 Strawberry, 
 Raspberry, or Mint. 
 
 Ask for your favorite fiavt 
 
 NATIONAL BISCUIT COMPANY 
 
 No. 7 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 Of all the advertisements in current magazines 
 perhaps the one of the National Biscuit Com-. 
 pany reproduced herewith (No. 7) presents. 
 their product in the most tempting manner.. 
 According to this advertisement "Nabisco" is, 
 something to be eaten, and it is presented in such 
 a way that it would seem that one cannot read 
 of it without being convinced that it is good and 
 something that he wants and the quicker he 
 gets it the better. 
 
 This advertisement has character and individ-. 
 uality. Its statements could not be applied to 
 anything but foods or, indeed, to anything but 
 Nabisco. They do not say that Nabisco is 
 wholesome, but when I read them I feel sure that 
 Nabisco would agree with me. 
 
 The skin is the sense organ by means of which. 
 we receive sensations of pressure, touch, heat, 
 
 and cold, and it is the organ 
 Advertisements whkh iveg more ' < comfortable 
 
 and ' ' uncomfortable " feelings. 
 Clothing 
 
 than any other. Having expe- 
 
 rienced touch, pressure, cold, heat, and the 
 comforts and pains connected with our skin, 
 we should be able to imagine such sensations,, 
 and to seek the pleasant and to avoid the un- 
 pleasant. Some people are very deficient in 
 imagining the sensations which we receive from 
 the skin, and, strange to say, not a few of these 
 deficient individuals have been put in charge; 
 
 220 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 of the advertisements which have to do with 
 these very sensations. One of the prominent 
 characteristics of all clothing is that it gives 
 
 DETTKR leather has 
 *~* never been tanned 
 than goes into Craw- 
 ford Shoes. 
 
 That s whv they 
 wear so long. 
 
 boot 
 
 Calf, double sol 
 I, lace style 
 First-class Healers 
 handle Crawford Shoes, 'if nol 
 sold in your vicinity we can fit yen 
 i?b our Mail-Order Depart 
 
 nt. Individual attention is given 
 
 ice. $3.75 per pair, delivery charges prepaid 
 
 Crawford Shoe Makers 
 
 "-Es" 
 
 ,...~ 
 
 No. 8 
 
 us either a pleasant or an unpleasant sensation 
 by means of its contact with our bodies. 
 
 Shoes are sold for different prices; therefore 
 the price is to be considered. They are things 
 that wear out sooner or later; we therefore 
 
 221 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 must consider their durability. They are things 
 that we see with our eyes; therefore their ap- 
 pearance style - must be considered. Lastly, 
 
 CRO T SSET 
 
 SHOE 
 
 '0m 
 
 Regarding Shoes' 
 in general 
 
 No other portion of the 
 human body is so tortured, 
 in the efforts made to clothe 
 and protect it, as the feet. 
 
 The experience of sur- 
 geons proves that a large 
 proportion of sprained 
 joints, ruptured ligaments 
 and fractured limbs are the 
 natural result of defective, 
 weakened, deformed feet. 
 
 Shoe friction and inequal- 
 ity of pressure cause pre- 
 mature wear at particular 
 points, as well as serious 
 discomfort to the feet. 
 
 There is no reason why 
 footwear should not be 
 comfortable as well as styl- 
 ish and have at the same 
 time the practical value of 
 serviceableness. 
 
 The day of the high- 
 priced, custom-made shoe is 
 over. Modern shoe manu- 
 facturing uses precisely the 
 samekind of materials, made 
 up upon correct anatomical 
 principles, and guaranteed 
 to give comfon, together 
 with fine wearing quality. 
 
 'Crossett Shoes 
 in particular 
 
 ^ 
 
 Crossett Shoes fit the feet, 
 nstead of making the feet 
 fit the shoes. 
 
 They support at every 
 point the series of arches 
 of which the human fob! is 
 composed providing an in- 
 ner space which the foorex- 
 actly fills without restraint. 
 
 They go far toward seiour- 
 ing a safe step, a firm gail 
 and a graceful carriage. 
 
 They can be manuiac- 
 lured at a low price owing 
 to admirable methods and 
 perfection of machinery 
 in short they are a typical 
 American product. 
 
 They have an individual- 
 ity of design, and that cer- 
 tain character which is the 
 essence of good style. 
 
 The workmanship and 
 finish of each shoe is there- 
 suit of nearly twenty y^irs 
 of constant improvement in 
 materials and methods. 
 
 The name and price is 
 woven in the strap al 
 the back of every Crossett 
 Shoe. 
 
 LEWIS A. CROSSETT. INC.. MAKER.. NORTH ABINCTON. MASS. 
 
 No. 9 
 
 -but not last considered by the purchaser, 
 shoes come into close contact with our skins, 
 and sensations that are either pleasant or pain- 
 ful result; we must therefore consider the fit 
 and comfort of the shoe A very common defi- 
 
 222f 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 ciency in shoe advertisements is found in the 
 failure of the advertiser to imagine the comfort 
 of the shoe advertised, and to express it in his 
 argument. As a typical advertisement of this 
 sort consider the advertisement of the Crawford 
 shoe (No. 8). It might well be the ad vert is- 
 ment of a leather pocket-book if a few insignifi- 
 cant changes were made. 
 
 In the advertisement of the Crossett shoes 
 (No. 9) the text matter is most excellent. The 
 writer is one who can appreciate the comfort of 
 a good-fitting and easy shoe; he has been able 
 to imagine the sensation, and he has described it 
 so vividly that the reader feels in imagination 
 the comfort of a Crossett shoe. 
 
 Omega Oil is a liniment that is supposed to 
 increase the pleasant sensations which we re- 
 ceive through the skin. The writer of this ad- 
 vertisement seems to have been able to imagine 
 the uncomfortable feeling of sore feet, and of 
 the comfort which his oil would secure. The 
 artist who drew the sore feet (No. 10) surely 
 could appreciate the situation in a striking 
 manner. The artist does not depict and the 
 author does not describe what he cannot 
 imagine. 
 
 Omega Oil is not only a thing which can be 
 applied to and felt by the skin, but it is also a 
 thing that can be seen and smelt. To many 
 it might seem a little thing that Omega Oil is 
 
 223 
 \ V 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 green, but that single advertisement, "It's 
 Green" (No. n), has done a great deal to help 
 
 Ome^a Oil 
 
 For sore FEET 
 
 The average mart weighs about 140 
 pounds and the average woman about 
 <20. 
 
 If you want to realize how heavy that 
 is, pick up something about those weights 
 ana see now long your hands and arms 
 can bear the strain 
 
 If you can stand it a full minute, you 
 are doing remarkably well. 
 
 Did you ever stop and think that your 
 feet hold up tht big weight for hours at 
 a time every day <* 
 
 That is why your feet are sore and 
 tiredjit ni^ht. 
 
 Tnai is why they ache. itch, burn and 
 swell 
 
 A foot-bath before retiring is helpful. 
 but it does not go far enough 
 
 The strained, tired-out muscles and 
 ligaments call for something strengthening, 
 just as your stomach calls lor food. 
 
 The kind of strength needed for sore. 
 tired feet is the kind of strength to be 
 found in Omega Oil. 
 
 Give your feet a good bathing in warn) 
 water, and get all the impurities out of the 
 pores. Then rub the feet thoroughly with 
 
 will go in through the clean 
 open pores, and strengthen and comfort 
 your feet in a manner that will astonish 
 vou 
 
 j my one without any si;n c 
 
 Omega Oil it food for cvrr 
 
 Wo. 10 
 
 the readers to form a distinct image of the lini- 
 ment. The man who cares but little for odors 
 would not have taken so much space to say 
 
 224 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 that it "smells nice" (No. 12). In these three 
 advertisements and others like them the adver- 
 
 It's Green 
 
 One p cculiar thin ^ about 
 
 Omega Oil is its green 
 color. Some people think it is colored green to make it 
 look nice, but that is not so. Omega Oil is green because 
 Nature makes it green It contains a powerful green 
 herb that gives it its color, and it is this same herb that 
 Stops pain in peopled bodies. - There are plenty of white, 
 brown and yellow liniments, but there is only one Omega 
 Oil, and 'it is green Tlvere is nothing like Omega Oil 
 for curing pain, just as there is nothing like the sun For 
 making rcsl daylight. m 
 
 No. ii 
 
 tiser of Omega Oil has shown his appreciation of 
 the human mind to which he has been appeal- 
 ing. It may , however, be questionable whether 
 such minor considerations for liniment as color 
 
 22=; 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 and odor should receive so much emphasis as is 
 given them here. 
 
 As was shown in the preceding chapter, many 
 people are deficient in certain forms of imagery. 
 
 Most people can imagine with 
 
 Deficient some degree of satisfaction how 
 
 Imagination things look. Not quite so many 
 
 can imagine how things sound 
 or feel. Very many have difficulty in im- 
 agining how things taste and smell. This 
 would be sufficient ground for appealing espe- 
 cially to visual images if the commodity was 
 primarily a thing of sight. When the objects 
 advertised are things primarily perceived by 
 other senses than the eye, the greatest care 
 should be taken to awaken those more difficult 
 images, i. e., those of sound, touch, taste, smell, 
 etc. The man who is blind and deaf is greatly 
 handicapped. He cannot perceive color or hear 
 sound, and (if always blind and deaf) cannot 
 imagine sights and sounds. The sense organs 
 have been called the windows of the soul. The 
 more sensations we receive from an object the 
 better we know it. The function of the nervous 
 system is to make us aware of the sights, sounds, 
 feelings, tastes, etc., of the objects in our environ- 
 ment. The nervous system which does not 
 respond to sound or to any other sensible quali- 
 ties is defective. Advertisements are sometimes 
 spoken of as the nervous system of the business 
 
 226 
 
APPLICATION OF MENTAL IMAGERY 
 
 world. That advertisement of musical instru- 
 ments which contains nothing to awaken images 
 
 Smells Nice 
 
 Omega 
 Oil 
 
 You can tell by the 
 smell of Omega Oil 
 that h is different 
 from any other lini- 
 ment you ever saw. 
 It has a peculiar 
 and pleasant odor. 
 Besides being the 
 best remedy in tho 
 world for stopping 
 pains, it is also 
 the nicest to use. 
 It is not made of 
 turpentine or ammo- 
 nia, but the body of 
 it is a pure vegeta- 
 ble oil. Into this 
 oil is put four other 
 ingredients, one of 
 which is, a green 
 herb that stops pain 
 a good deal on the 
 same principle that 
 a puff of wind blow* 
 out a lamp, or '"ater 
 quenches a fire. 
 
 Oaxg* OU i good lor everything a liniment ought to b* ood Jot. 
 
 No. 12 
 
 of sounds is a defective advertisement. That 
 advertisement of foods which awakens no images 
 of taste is a defective advertisement. As our 
 
 227 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 nervous system is arranged to give us all the 
 possible sensations from every object, so the 
 advertisement which is comparable to the ner- 
 vous system must awaken in the reader as many 
 different kinds of images as the object itself can 
 excite. 
 
 It might be well for a young man who^xpects 
 to make a profession of writing advertisements 
 to make a test of his own mental imagery. If 
 he finds that he is peculiarly weak in visual im- 
 agery he should seek employment with firm 
 that handles goods other than those which are 
 particularly objects of sight, e.g., pictures. The 
 man who cannot imagine how a musical instru- 
 ment sounds should hesitate to write the adver- 
 tisements of a musical house. The man who 
 cannot imagine how foods taste will be greatly 
 handicapped in attempting to write advertise- 
 ments for food products. Forms of mental 
 imagery may, to a limited extent, be cultivated, 
 and, by giving special attention to the subject, 
 one with a weak form of imagery may greatly 
 improve upon his former efforts, in which he fol- 
 lowed out his natural bent without considering 
 the forms of mental images which could be ap- 
 pealed to by his particular class of goods. 
 
 228 
 
XV 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 IN the first chapter of this volume it was 
 asserted that there should be a theoretical basis 
 for evL.y important practical undertaking; that 
 the leading advertisers were asking for some 
 fundamental principles upon which a rational 
 theory of advertising could be constructed; and 
 that psychology alone seemed able to furnish 
 such principles. In the succeeding chapters 
 certain well-established facts of psychology were 
 discussed and an attempt was made to show 
 the bearing of such psychological facts upon the 
 work of the practical advertiser. To appreciate 
 their importance it is but necessary to recall to 
 mind some of the more important features which 
 were presented in each of these chapters, and 
 to review them rapidly one after the other. 
 
 One of the greatest problems of the advertiser 
 is how to attract the attention of possible cus- 
 tomers. The second chapter presents six funda- 
 mental rules for attracting attention, and shows 
 how they may be applied in the preparation of 
 " copy " and in the placing of advertisements. 
 
 Naturally, every advertiser seeks to get his 
 particular brand or " make " of goods firmly 
 associated with the general class of goods of which 
 they are a part. Thus one firm which manu- 
 
 229 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 factures photographical apparatus has attempted 
 to get the public to associate the idea of portable 
 cameras with the name -of its own make of port- 
 able camera (the " Kodak ") so iirmly that they 
 should think of this name whenever they think 
 of portable cameras. The third chapter gives 
 the accepted psychological laws for the forming 
 of such associations, and illustrates their applica- 
 tion in forming associations in the minds of those 
 to whom certain advertisements were intended 
 to appeal. 
 
 Every advertiser is searching for the easiest 
 method of securing the desired action on the 
 part of the public. In Chapters IV, V, and VI 
 this question has been discussed and methods 
 suggested for securing such action with the least 
 possible resistance. Advertisements have been 
 reproduced which were constructed according 
 to these methods and which have met with 
 unusual success. 
 
 The advertiser must consider the relative value 
 of different media, of different " make-ups," and 
 of different styles of illustration. The seventh 
 chapter presented some important principles 
 bearing upon these questions, and showed repro- 
 ductions of advertisements which were weak- 
 ened by disregarding these principles. 
 
 It is frequently desirable to test an advertise- 
 ment in some more satisfactory manner than 
 is possible by means of any " keying " device 
 
 230 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 yet discovered. In the eighth chapter has been 
 shown how certain features of an advertisement 
 may be tested accurately without delay or ex- 
 pense. This chapter presents and illustrates the 
 scientific experimental method of investigation. 
 
 The success of an advertisement depends, 
 among other things, upon the wise choice of 
 type, illustrations, and other symbols. Chapter 
 IX presented some fundamental considerations 
 on such choice and illustrated these principles 
 by means of reproductions of good and of poor 
 advertisements. 
 
 Most successful advertisement writers have 
 discovered, after costly experience, that there are 
 certain things which it is unwise to attempt. 
 Of these things one is to attempt to move the 
 mind of the public suddenly ; another is to attempt 
 to crowd many things into a single advertise- 
 ment; and another is to describe goods in tech- 
 nical terms, or terms that are not understood by 
 many who might be induced to become pur- 
 chasers. In Chapter X was shown the necessity 
 for a prolonged advertising campaign; for con- 
 centration; and for an appreciative acquaintance 
 with the public to which the appeal is made as 
 well as the folly of talking over the head of the 
 average customer. 
 
 The inexperienced writer is liable to make his 
 advertisement unclear and ambiguous at certain 
 points. Chapters XI and XII have shown some 
 
 231 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 of the causes for such mistakes as well as the need 
 for methods of avoiding them. Numerous illus- 
 trations show some of the typical illusions with 
 which the advertiser should be familiar. 
 
 In influencing the mind of another it is of 
 importance to know in what terms he is think- 
 ing, so that the construction of the argument 
 may be best adapted to his particular mental 
 processes, for in this way he can be most easily 
 influenced. This is a point to which the aver- 
 age advertiser gives little or no heed, as is shown 
 by an examination of current advertisements. 
 Chapter XIII has presented the subject of the 
 terms in which we think under the general head- 
 ing of Mental Imagery. Continuing this line of 
 thought, Chapter XIV has shown how the ad- 
 vertiser may profitably make use of this knowl- 
 edge in choosing the line of argument which will 
 best describe his commodity and which will most 
 easily influence his customers. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that in each of the pre- 
 ceding chapters some scientific principle has 
 been presented and the necessary relationship 
 between the principle and successful advertising 
 has been illustrated. With all this evidence 
 before us it would seem that we must admit 
 that the practical nature of psychology in this 
 connection has been demonstrated and that it 
 has proved itself to be sufficient to meet the 
 demands for a scientific basis for the theory of 
 
 232 
 
CONCLUSION 
 
 advertising. The understanding si the 
 of possible customers^? \^e^as^n^TRS 
 of the best methods of presenting the goods* 
 preparing the copy, selecting media, and placing 
 the advertisement to influence most effectively 
 the minds of these same persons all this prac- 
 tical ability is conditioned by a working knowl- 
 edge of psychology. The successful Advertiser 
 mtist be a psychologist. It may not be neces- 
 sary for him to be able to formulate his system 
 and he may never have studied in any school or 
 under any instructor other than his practical exper- 
 ience. No matter how he acquires his knowledge 
 of psychology, he must, at least, possess it. 
 
 If this little book shall assist * business men 
 to any extent in acquiring this necessary knowl- 
 edge, or shall prove an incentive to further 
 researches which shall throw more light upon 
 the true principles of a most important part of 
 all modern business, the author feels that it 
 will have accomplished its mission by adding 
 its mite to the spread of science and to the 
 advancement of industry. 
 
 or TH 
 ( UNIVERSITY ) 
 
 or 
 
 233 
 
INDEX 
 
 Action, analysis of, 65; its relation to direct commands, 74; 
 suggested by return coupons, 48$, 85. 
 
 Esthetic feelings, consideration of the, in advertisements, 29. 
 
 American Lead Pencil Co., 24. 
 
 Apperception, Chapter X, 147$; application of, to advertis- 
 ing, 159; application of illusions of. to advertising, ij6ff: 
 aspects of, 149; basis of, in past experiences, 150; com- 
 pass of, 148; description of, 149; degrees of, illustrated, 
 151; elements in, 148; growth of "knowledge through, 
 152; illusions of, Chapter XII, 175^, see Illusions; prin- 
 ciples involved in illusions of, 188; its relation to atten- 
 tion, 160; its relation to association of ideas, 147. 
 
 Armour's Soap, iSoff, 190. 
 
 Association of ideas, Chapter III, 34$; application of laws of, 
 to advertising, 41 ff; its dependence on habit, recency, 
 vividness, 39^; an element in apperception, 148; gen- 
 eral law of, 38; illustrated, 37, 42^; its relation to per- 
 ception, 36 ff; its relation to habit, 39$; its relation 
 to memory, 148; specific laws of, 39$. 
 
 Astrology, 117. 
 
 Attention, Chapter II, 6ff; commands, 66, 74; counter attrac- 
 tions to, in advertisements, 12; coupons and, 81-86; an 
 element in apperception, 148; movement and, 74; prin- 
 ciples of attention- value, 9$: (i) Absence of counter 
 attractions, 9; (2) Intensity of sensation, 2, 12; (3) 
 Contrasts, 15; (4) Ease of comprehension, 18; (5) Rep- 
 etition, 24; (6) Intensity of feeling aroused, 29; place of 
 illustration in attracting, i^off; its relation to action 
 and suggestion, 75^; value of different colors in at- 
 tracting, 14; value of different-sized type in attracting, 
 14; voluntary and involuntary, 8, 32; width of, 6. 
 
 Baldwin, J. Mark, 61. 
 
 Ballot advertisement and coupon, 93. 
 
 Bernheim, H , 61. 
 
 Borders in coupon advertisements, 82 ff 
 
 Brain, human, ambiguous illustration of, 181. 
 
 Browning, Robert, 205. 
 
 23 S 
 
THE THEORY OF A"D VERTISI NG 
 
 Burlington Route, n, 17, 45. 
 
 Century Magazine, coupon advertisements in, 94. 
 
 Clairvoyance, not included in Psychology, 116. 
 
 Colors, effect of, in advercising, 14$; attention values of black 
 on white background and white on black background, 14; 
 black, 14, 17, 171; blue, 171; green, 14, 171; orange, 
 171; red, 14, 171; white, 14, 171; yellow, 171; harmony 
 of, in advertisements, 29; irradiation, ijoff. 
 
 Command, the direct, Chapter V, 62$; advantages of direct, 
 64/7; attention and, 66; examples of, 64$; form of ex- 
 pression in, 68, 71, 73; functions of , to attract attention 
 and to cause immediate action, 74$; habit in relation to, 
 64; personality in, 73; its relation to return coupons, 
 85; suggestion and, 65$, 85, 91. 
 
 Conception, 4. 
 
 Confusion in advertisement, 12, ijjff, 192. 
 
 Conklin Pen Co.,. 187 ft. 
 
 Contrast, its attention value in coupons, Sift. 
 
 Contrasts, harmonious vs. unharmonious, 17. 
 
 Counter attractions to attention in advertisements, 12. 
 
 Coupons, the psychological value of return, Chapter VI, 
 
 79ff- 
 
 Coupon return, as keying device, 80; attention value of, 
 8 iff; ballot form of, 92$; a cause of definite and spe- 
 cific action, 58; evolution of, 88; its relation to direct 
 commands, 85; suggestive of action, 91; three-cornered, 
 82 ; value of position of, 88$. 
 
 Cream of Wheat, 28. 
 
 Crystal gazing, 116. 
 
 Delineator, The, an example of the value of direct command, 
 78. 
 
 Dexter and Garlack, 151. 
 
 Dickens, Charles, 215. 
 
 Difficulties in advertising, see Hindrances. 
 
 Direct command, see Command 
 
 Discrimination, 4. 
 
 Douglas Shoe, 39. 
 
 Emotion, 4, 29. 
 
 Everybody's Magazine, 177. 
 
 236 
 
INDEX 
 
 Expense in advertising, 2. 
 
 Experiment, psychological, Chapter VIII, n6/J; nature of, 
 118; standard conditions in, 118. 
 
 Experiments, list of: (i) black and white type, 39, 138; (2) 
 effects of different colors, 14; (3) fr g- I 5ff'^ U) geomet- 
 rical figures, 82$; (5) letters, 9$; (6) numbers, 82; (7) 
 railroad time tables, 119$; (8) test made with adver- 
 tisements in a current magazine, 157; (9) type faces, 
 119$, 138$; (10) width of attention, 7 
 
 Feeling, an element in apperception, 148; an element in at- 
 tention, 29; its relation to memory, 148. 
 
 Form, harmony of, in advertisements, 29; of expression, 68, 
 
 7i. 73- 
 
 Fortune telling, 116. 
 
 Franklin Mills Co., 26, 76-77 
 
 Fusion, Chapter VII, 96$; environment as an element in, 
 100$; illustration of, 96 ff; law of, 98; its relation to 
 perception of parts and entireties, 99; its relation to 
 advertising, 102. 
 
 Garlack, Dexter and, 151. 
 
 Ginsing, Dist. & Chemical Co., 108. 
 
 Gold Dust Twins, 69, 72. 
 
 Great Western Cereal Co., 113. 
 
 Habit, as a factor in association, 39$; its relation to sugges- 
 tion and commands, 64. 
 
 Hindrances to effective advertising: (i) Confusions, 12, 177, 
 192; (2) Lack of mental imagery, 2ioff; (3) Obtrusive 
 and repulsive advertisements, 30, 39; (4) Poor me- 
 diums, 104; (5) Poor names and trade marks, 19. 
 
 Hugo, Victor, 204. 
 
 Huxley, Thomas H., 64. 
 
 Hypnosis, see Hypnotism. 
 
 Hypnotism, 53, 6off, 117; relation to suggestion, 63. 
 
 Ideas, perception and, 124, 132$; suggestion and, S 2 ff- 
 
 Illusions, advantages of, 172$; application of, to advertising, 
 173$, 175$, 189; of apperception, Chapter XII, 175$; 
 cause of illusions of apperception in ads, 188$; explana- 
 tion of, 164 ff; illustrations of, 163$; necessitv of elimi- 
 nation of, in advertisements, 192; optical, 163$; of per- 
 237 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 ception, Chapter XI, 162$; principles involved in, 
 a source of confusion in advertisements, 175. 
 
 Illustration, function of, 140^; its relation to perception, 
 1 40; relevant and irrelevant, 141$; use of, for public, 142. 
 
 Imagery, see Mental Imagery. 
 
 Imagination, deficiency of, 227. 
 
 Inhibition, 48, 51, 59, 66. 
 
 Instinct, 4. 
 
 Irradiation, 17 off. 
 
 Irving, Washington, 225. 
 
 Ivory Soap, 181, 190. 
 
 James, William, 197 200. 
 
 Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia, 61. 
 
 Laboratory, apparatus of a psychological, 118; description 
 of a psychological, 1 16 ; first psychological, 1 16 ; functions 
 of a psychological, 117. 
 
 La Fontaine, 198. 
 
 Language, picture and written, 136. 
 
 Lettering, simple vs. complex, 19. 
 
 London Times, 54. 
 
 Mabie, Todd & Bard, 109. 
 
 Magnetism, animal, 116. 
 
 Mahin's Magazine, 78, 94. 
 
 Makeup, attention value of contrasts in, 17; influence of 
 advertisements on, 105$. 
 
 McClure's Magazine, 84, 88, 94. 
 
 Memory, 148. 
 
 Mental Imagery, advertisements defective in, 227; applica- 
 tion of, to advertising, 201$; auditory, 200 ; classes of, 194; 
 cultivation of, 228; deficiency in, 220/7, 228; examples 
 of, 194^; hindrance to good advertising, through de- 
 ficiency in, 2ioff; literature and, 204/7; of movement, 
 taste, touch, 203220; practical application of, Chapter 
 XIV, 208/7; personal differences in, Chapter XIII, 194 #; 
 its relation to perception, 196$; spelling and, 208$; 
 visual, 198/7- 
 
 Mershong and Morley, 177, 179, 190. 
 
 Mesmerism, 116. 
 
 Miami Cycle Mfg. Company, 112. 
 
 238 
 
INDEX 
 
 Mind, differences in, 34; lawlessness of, 34; reading, 48; unity 
 of, 147$. 
 
 Moll, Albert, 61. 
 
 Movement and attention, 74. 
 
 Munsing Underwear, 177. 
 
 Munsey's Magazine, 94. 
 
 Murphy Varnish Co., 10, 21. 
 
 Nation, The, 61. 
 
 Nervous system described, 130. 
 
 New York Herald, 8 1, 83. 
 
 North Western Knitting Co., 189. 
 
 Oneiromancy, 61. 
 
 Oneita Underwear, 176^, i&gff. 
 
 Orangeine, 19. 
 
 Outdoor advertising, 76. 
 
 Pears' Soap, 68 
 
 Perception, Chapter IX, 130^; definition of, 131; distin- 
 guished from apperception, 132, 133, 148; distinguished 
 from sensation, 133, 136; distinguished from ideas, 124, 
 134$; illusions of, Chapter XI, 162^; physical basis of, 
 130; parts and entireties in relation to fusion, 99; sensa- 
 tion and, 142, 146; symbols and, 134. 
 
 Personality, an element in commands in advertisements, 73$. 
 
 Petoskey Rug Mfg. Co., no. 
 
 Pope, quotation from, 50. 
 
 Powell, 69. 
 
 Printer's Ink, 78. 
 
 Prodigy, 117. 
 
 Prudential Insurance Co., 31. 
 
 Psychology, definition of, 3. 
 
 Purina Mills, 19$, 172. 
 
 Quacks, 61. 
 
 Quaker Oats, 114. 
 
 Reason, 4. 
 
 Repetition, attention value of, 24; basis of law of association, 
 39; extent of, in advertisements, 25; problems of, to 
 advertisers, 24. 
 
 Robinson Bros., 175, 189. 
 
 Scribner's Magazine, 94. 
 
 239 
 
THE THEORY OF ADVERTISING 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, 205. 
 
 Sensation, as an element in apperception, 148; perception 
 and, distinguished, 132/7, 142, 146; pure, 132; relation 
 to memory, 148. 
 
 Sidis, 56 
 
 Sleight, Dr., 106. 
 
 Slocumb, Dr., 13, 17. 
 
 Spiritism, 116. 
 
 Suggestibility in animals, 55. 
 
 Suggestion, Chapter IV, 47^; abnormalities in, 57$; actions, 
 voluntary and involuntary in relation to, 52$; applica- 
 tion of, to advertising, 61; attention in relation to, J$ff: 
 commands and, 6$ff, 82, 91; coupons and, 85, 91; exam- 
 ples of, 47/7; examples of social, 55; explained, 47; 
 explanation of abnormalities of, in social suggestion, 58^; 
 habit in relation to, 64; ideas and, 52^; law of, 47. 
 
 Symbols, dependence of advertisers on, 137; place of, in per- 
 ception, 134/7; without meaning, 142; words aSj 136, 
 
 Telepathy, 116. 
 
 Tennyson, Alfred, 205 
 
 Test, see Experiment. 
 
 Type, attention value of different sized, 14; black vs. white, 
 138; importance of selection of , 128/7. 
 
 Van Dyke, 73. 
 
 Walton, W. M., in. 
 
 Wanamaker, John, 8 1, 83* 84. 
 
 Wheatlet, 26. 
 
 White Star Coffee, 23. 
 
 Whitman's Chocolates, 156$. 
 
 Will, an element in apperception, 148. 
 
 Winter's Grocery, 175/7, 189. 
 
 Witchcraft, 117. 
 
 Woodley, J. C., 94. 
 
 Wundt, Professor, 116. 
 

14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 RECD LD 
 
 APR 2 9 'B4 -8 PI 
 
 BRARY 
 
 JUN 28 196 
 
 IAB 1Q1971 7 g 
 
 -1989 
 
 JQPM! 
 
 JIDBC JUN 2 (99) 
 
 LD2lA-40m-ll,'63 
 (E1602slO)476B 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES 
 
 ^ 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY