I got my start working for the last of the legendary Mad Men — the wizards of Ted Bates
Advertising. They invented the USP which cracked the code for making unknown clients into #1 Brands.
They did it so well--they were famous for selling more products than all the other agencies combined. They did M&Ms (“Melts in your mouth, not in your hand”) and Halls Cough Drops (with “Vapor Action”) and scores of others that are still household names today.
There were just two problems for a rookie at Ted Bates like I was. First--it sounds crazy but it’s true--even though THEY knew how to do it, they’d never explain it to the new recruits! You were expected to just follow them around and figure it out, or get fired! So, I learned it by writing down the secrets that worked—so I could keep my job. Eventually, I won a major a copywriting award in New York.
Secondly--even though their secrets worked for any size business, they only did it for large national brands. Smaller companies and start-ups couldn’t take advantage of their magic.