"Because It's Better"
By HENRY T. EWALD
President Campbell-Ewald Co., Detroit
Merchandise is advertised because it is better ? also, it is better because it is advertised.
That is neither a paradox, nor a wise-crack, _It is a truism.
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The influence of advertising is two-fold. It reaches out into the world, and sways pub
lic opinion in favor of a worthy product. It reaches back into the factory and inspires the
manufacturer, the shop foreman, and the humblest workman to build better and better and
still better value into the product.
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It establishes a standard of quality that leads the buyer to expect much, and that impels
the maker to measure up to the expectation.
To this extent then, merchandise is advertised not only because it is a better product ?
but it actually becomes a better product because it is advertised.
Consistent advertising is the manufacturer's pledge of quality. It is a visible proof that
he has faith enough in his product to back it with his name ? and with his money.
People know instinctively that a product so sponsored is worthy of their confidence.
They prefer it, naturally, to its unheralded, unsung competitor.
Advertising cannot work miracles. It may sell inferior merchandise for a short time, but
it cannot keep on selling it. When you see a motor car, or a breakfast food, or a fountain
pen advertised consistently, year after year, you know that it is a good product and that it
is giving satisfaction. . You buy it with confidence, and you are seldom disappointed.
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Advertising is educational in its influence. It carries the news of business into the far
flung corners of civilization. It displays the new style on Main Street the same day that they
make their appearance on Fifth Avenue. It makes familiar to millions of people, the names
and trade-marks and qualities of innumerable products.
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It makes it possible for the women in Tuscon or Bangor or New York to shop with equal
confidence, knowing not only what she wants, and what it will cost, but what she can expect
from it, in satisfaction and service. A
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No time is lost in guessing. The buyer knows from long experence that advertised pro
ducts must be dependable, or they could not continue to be advertised.