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168 The Seven Lost Secrets of Success

6. A purpose: “Never write an ad without the idea
that something is going to happen. What do we
want the reader to do? . . . Remember the power
of a direct command. Don’t say, ‘If you would like
this beautiful booklet, we will be glad to send it.’
Say, ‘Sit down right now and fill in this coupon.’”
(BBDO Newsletter, 1966, pp. 42–43)

“In good times people want to advertise; in bad times, they
have to.”

—Bruce Barton, 1923

Here are the same six points, as decoded by Joe
“Mr. Fire” Vitale:

LOST GENIUS REVEALS HOW TO WRITE SALES
MATERIALS THAT SELL: OR, BRUCE BARTON’S

SIX POINTS FOR WRITING ADS

Joe “Mr. Fire” Vitale

Bruce Barton was a celebrity in the 1920s. He was a best-
selling author, confidant to presidents, master copy-
writer, philanthropist, congressman, and co-founder of
the largest advertising agency in the world, BBDO.

He helped five men become U.S. presidents. He wrote
a fund-raising letter that got a 100 percent response.
The only book ever written on Barton and his ideas is
The Seven Lost Secrets of Success. I recently discovered
Barton’s six points for writing ads, which he probably
delivered in a speech in the early 1930s. Here they are,
as Bruce Barton himself delivered them: