The Ad Man...
The story of John Caples...
The Ad Man...
Caples' first job at an advertising
agency was with Ruthrauff and Ryan, a leading mail order agency. It was
here that Caples wrote the ad or the U.S. School of Music that made him
famous-- "They Laughed When I Sat Down At
the Piano...But When I Started To Play!" One year later Caples
moved to BBDO (Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn) where he spent the
rest of his writing career. In 1941 Caples became a vice president, and
in later years he served the company as the creative director. Caples'
career was interrupted for a short time during World War II when he was
called back into the Navy. During this time he rose to the rank of commander.
John Caples also wrote several books
throughout his career including Tested Advertising Methods (1932),
Advertising Ideas (1938) and Making Ads Pay (1957). All of
his writings followed the same themes and principles he held during his
career: Caples believed in testing of ads, consistency in copywriting practice,
and simplicity in advertisements. He was known to dislike humor in ads
because, as Caples said, "only half of the people in this country
have a sense of humor, and clever ads seldom sell anything."
In 1973 Caples was elected into the Copywriters Hall of Fame and four years later into the Advertising Hall of Fame. The John Caples International Awards were founded in his honor by Andi Emerson in 1977. When Caples died on June 10, 1990, he was 90 years old. He was survived by his wife, Dorothy Caples, and many fans.
