Copyright 2006 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
This blog post was transferred from another service.
Jay Abraham has also been blogging -- http://www.abrahamblog.com/blog/
Here's a response I posted -
Hi Jay,
There are good lessons in the advertising you wrote about, but I don't know if I'm remembering the exact ad.
I probably started noticing Charles Atlas ads about 10 years after you did. But since we're both Mid-West baby-boomers, we probably both had similar experiences -- in addition to inflamed sinuses.
I can identify with the beach scenes since I grew up along "Wisconsin's East Coast." Though if Charles Atlas's marketing person segmented the messages, you might have seen different messages in Indianapolis.
If those were segmented by location, that could've added more power.
Nobody kicked sand in my face or took a girlfriend away from me. But I didn't have the most stunning body on local beaches.
I lived in Nebraska for a while, the lakes there are like ponds compared to the Great Lakes, so, space on beaches is scarce. Messages about working in fields might have appealed to guys there -- having strength & not being shy about taking off a shirt when heat reached 100 degrees & humidity was over 60%. Maybe this theme would still be appealing, though a lot of the work is done by machines now.
If the theme is developed well enough, it could be something men would aspire to, even if they don't plan to live the full reality.
I can imagine a theme like this - a muscular guy is loading or unloading big, heavy equipment or bales & some attractive women/girls coyly glance at him, then they blush when he notices & winks at them. If the females are different types -- blond, redhead & brunette, short, tall & in-between (to appeal to a variety of men/boys) guys might think my kind of woman/girl goes for that type of guy.
This is bringing out more thoughts than I realized. But writing all of them would take up a web page or more. Is Leo Costa hunting for another theme to test?
Charles Atlas seemed to focus on guys who weren't interested in & probably couldn't afford the money & time to spend 6 or more hours per day in gyms. Some of his direct mail follow-ups focused on injuries from exercise equipment.
The exercises he developed -- I think he called them Dynamic Tension -- didn't include equipment. He used muscles pushing against other muscles to increase strength & size. Some of the exercises are what he-men use as poses but don't look quite so ridiculous.
He didn't seem to have a Mr. Universe or Mr. Olympia physique, but many don't want one of those. If Bill Bixby would've been "before" & Lou Ferrigno is "after", ("The Incredible Hulk" TV show) Charles Atlas might be "in-between."
Some men & women don't like seeing that much definition or blood veins bulging.
Many of us don't want a train car strapped to our heads & don't aspire to want to pull a train car, but Atlas's antics got attention.
I remember the pictures of him showed shadows of his nose & eyebrows. I used to wonder why he'd use pictures in which he looked like he had black-eyes & his tongue was hanging out. But maybe I'm the only one who perceived those. Since a major part of the theme is appearance, I think different pictures from different angles or at least a change of lighting would be better.
From a branding angle, though it's obvious mythology, I don't know if Atlas is the best idea. Atlas is/was strong enough to hold the Earth & heavens apart, but that's written as a punishment. That would seem to conflict with an idea of being liberated by being stronger & bigger. But considering how some religions are formed & sustained around the theme of punishment & burdens - maybe it's appealing to some.
Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.
Copyright 2006 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.
When you compete against big businesses with big budgets you need powerful marketing strategies & tactics. You'll find them here-
https://thriving-small-businesses.blogspot.com/
http://www.voy.com/31049/
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