Hard to imagine, isn't it? A father and son who disagree? My son is a communications major with an emphasis in marketing communications. He's a really smart kid with a great mind for advertising and public relations, but he believes that I'm old-fashioned.

I'm a Long-Copy Sort of Guy... He's Not

I don't hold it against him. He's been taught by his professors that copy doesn't sell anymore. People won't read copy and you certainly can't "measure" advertising results.

Most ad agencies want to win awards... they don't care about your product

I once spent some time in a firm that believed you couldn't write a single word of copy unless you had sold for a living. Advertising is supposed to sell. Period.

I'm not a real football fan, but I enjoy watching the advertisments during the Super Bowl. They are very creative and cause a lot of stir within the advertising industry, but they aren't designed to sell. They are created to entertain... and that's not the same thing. I wonder how many people reach for the phone or run to the store to purchase whatever product they are supposed to be selling?

The agencies that created that advertising will tell you it's all about awareness

Hogwash. Unless you're Coca-Cola, you can't afford to wait for awareness to produce results for you. You need advertising that will produce results. Phone calls, reply cards, and yes... orders.

How do I know what works and what doesn't?

What I'm about to tell you, you're advertising agency will probably disagree with. There is a science to advertisng that works and it's been tried and tested for years. And you need to have an understanding of that science if you're going to be able to evaluate the effectiveness of your advertising.

Direct Marketers have been practicing this science for years. And they have made a lot of money doing it too. You need to find an agency that understands the science, if you want every advertising dollar you spend to count.

You can start by learning more about it yourself

Tested Advertising Methods by John Caples is a great place to start. If you only read one book on marketing and advertising, read this one. Evaluate your agency by the principles outlined by Mr. Caples and you'll be well on your way to making your advertisng work for you, and not your agency.

By the way, you've read all the way to the end and demonstrated that you've got an attention span far greater than your ad agency thinks you do. You should be proud of yourself.

Now, go sell something.