(^94) T H E M IN D O F THE BUY E R
In terpreting goo d feelin g a s hila riou s h um or
t hey c onc eive th ei r rol e to b e th a t of a c ourt
j ester ; to m a nufac ture a c onsta n t flow of wi t
with wh ich to keep th e spi ri ts of th e b uyer
a t a high pi tc h.
S ome a dve rtise rs a ct on th e sam e p ri ncipl e,
s t raining eve ry n e rve t o evolve a h um orou s
s tory, pic tu re o r l im e rick. Wh e th er thi s de
vice i s succ essful o r no t i s se rio usly open to
question. If w e seek th e t es timony t o be
fo un d i n th e p rac tic es o f th e maj ority o f a d
ver tisers w e fin d sca n t use of h umo r a s a
stimulan t to go od feeling. In a n i nves ti ga tio n
o f th e a dvertisements a pp ea rin g i n Co l lier’s
Weekly a n d H arp er’s Weekly be twe en^1902
a n d (^1919) , th e a u th o r fo un d tha t th e n umbe r
of h um oro u s a dvertisement s neve r exc eeded
seve n i n (^100). If we pla ce any relianc e upon
t h e histo ri cal m e th od a s a n index of successful
selling p ra c tices, w e m ay c oncl ude tha t few
a dve rtisers h ave found h um o r a val uabl e
sel ling ai d.
P erh ap s this appare nt lac k o f succe ss is no t
due to any in tri nsi c unpro fita bl eness in
h um or o r to any vi olen t distast e fo r i t on th e
p art of th e b uyer. Th e appa rent suc cess of a
few such mil dly hum orous devi ce s a s th e do g
wh o h ears “ H is Ma ster’s Voic e” ' th e G ol d
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