Helen Lansdowne Resor (Part 2)

Her Ads & Style

She focused on women as her target; studying their buying habits and what worked for them. With this brilliance, Resor led JWT to No. 1 status by 1927.

“A Skin You Love to Touch” (1910)
The ad which established Resor’s style expresses softness, romance and poetry. This may have been the first triumph for sex in advertising although in a muted way.

The Woodbury facial soap, which had been marketed for years for its medicinal properties, turned its attention on the user. The ads offered free product samples in addition to a host of skin care regimen tips for the housewife to the high society lady. Sales increased by 1,000 percent in 8 years!

Helen Lansdowne Understood the Power of Testimonials and Celebrity Endorsement.

Helen’s innovative style was also celebrated by being different from all the other advertising at that time. She developed the ‘editorial style’ of advertising that imitated the layouts of the Ladies’ Home Journals & Evening Posts. It had the newsworthy look which projected good reputation and credibility; good attributes to build for any brand.

A typical Helen Lansdowne ad would look like this: pretty painting, gentle selling copy, solid arguments for buying and an offer for a free product sample. These were powerful combinations of ‘reason why’ & ‘free gift’ few consumers could resist.

The Power of Testimonials

Helen & Stanley upgraded the concept of testimonials to obtain endorsements from famous personalities. For Lux, the use of screen stars made a bar of soap glamourous and luxurious. Lux sold fame, glamour, luxury and…sex appeal.

In 1961, the JWT Company's billing was $370 million and it became the first American advertising agency with branches out to worldwide dimensions, with 55 offices and 6,225 people employed.