(Note: Shortly after Herschell Gordon Lewis’s passing, AWAI asked me to write an article as a tribute to him. The following is what I originally wrote. The article that AWAI published was cut down (by me) by about 75% to fit into their required word count. I stumbled across this yesterday and thought the unabridged version might be of interest to some.) “Herschell Gordon Lewis, “The Godfather of Gore.” Dies at 87.” This was the headline of Variety’s September 26th, 2016 obituary. After a brief summary of his film career, they tacked on the following two lines…“In addition to being a filmmaker, Lewis taught college literature, worked in radio, and produced and directed TV commercials. He wrote several books on marketing and copywriting.” In a 2003 interview conducted by actor/producer Jennifer Rouse on the set of the movie Chainsaw Sally (which Lewis acted in), when asked how it made him feel about impacting so many filmmakers’ lives, Lewis said… “Originally it was embarrassing. It was embarrassing because I know how little we had put into these movies. But subsequently, when I see how the film industry has either evolved or devolved depending on how you want to interpret it, based on that, I’m delighted to be regarded in that respect. I don’t want it on my tombstone. I don’t want them to say here lies the guy who started the gore movies.” In a question-and-answer session for his book The Sleaze Merchants: Adventures in Exploitation Filmmaking, author John McCarty asked Lewis what he wanted his epitaph to be. Lewis said… “He seen somethin’ different. And he done it.” Today, I will look back on the movie and marketing careers of Herschell Gordon Lewis. Lewis was born on June 15th, 1926, in Pittsburgh. When he was six, his father died. A few years later, his mother moved the family to Chicago. In his twenties, he taught English and Humanities at Mississippi State. He left after determining that “if you have any ambition to change the course of human history, it’s a dead end.” After various jobs (radio DJ and ad sales; door-to-door encyclopedia sales; Racine, Wisconsin radio station assistant manager; producer/director at WKY-TY in Oklahoma City) a high school chum, who owned a small Chicago advertising agency, told Lewis he desperately needed a television director as he was about to land a huge account. This was around 1953. Lewis moved back to Chicago and took the job, but the account never landed. So, he bought a half interest in a small Chicago film studio, and he got a job writing copy for a small advertising agency “to put Kraft dinner on the table.” How he got into gore films is now part of movie...

A month or so back, I watched the 1949 movie The Girl From Jones Beach on TCM. It was of interest to me because I’m a fan of the late actress Virginia Mayo. Plus, it was written by the acclaimed writer I.A.L. Diamond, who was movie legend Billy Wilder’s script-writing partner for many years and movies. The Girl From Jones Beach also starred Ronald Reagan, Eddie Bracken, and an actress by the name of Dona Drake. Drake was also a singer.  In the early 1940s, she toured across the United States under the name of Rita Rio  with her “All Girl Orchestra.” She was officially married to Oscar-winning dress designer William Travilla for 45 years, although they separated in 1956 after 12 years together. In The Girl From Jones Beach, she played Eddie Bracken’s girlfriend. From the above picture, you can see that Dona Drake was a very attractive woman. Stunning even. But everything was not as it seemed with Dona Drake. You could say she spent her entire career living a lie.  Pretending she was who she appeared to be, but not who she really was. Was she a reformed con looking to hide her past criminal record? No, and no. For her entire movie career, Drake passed herself off as being a Latino.  The resume that Paramount sent out about her said she was of Mexican, Irish and French descent and was born and raised in Mexico City. But it was a lie.  Drake was born to Eunice and Joseph Westmoreland of Arkansas. Both Eunice and Joseph were black. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been for Dona. Pretending you’re not really who you say you are.  Worrying that a gossip columnist would one day discover that the actress studios were hiring to play the girlfriend of a white actor was really a black woman. For whatever reason, the situation Drake faced reminded me of what Oscar-winning and extremely loveable actress Hattie McDaniel said when someone asked her if she was tired of always playing the part of the maid in movies.  McDaniel said,” I’d rather play a maid than be one.” McDaniel was following her passion and doing what she had to do to survive.  As was Drake. Today, there are still many people who, like Dona Drake, hide who they really are for fear of the repercussions.   And it causes them great duress.  Many even commit suicide.  They feel a future filled with nothing is better than a future filled with bullying and taunting. All they really need is understanding.  And love.  Two things that don’t cost anything and are so easy to give. Dona Drake passed away on June 20th, 1989, at the...

The year was 1907 … Frank Bettger received the shock of his life when his manager informed him he was fired from his Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Tri-State baseball team because he was too lazy. On his way out the door, his manager told Bettger to put some life and enthusiasm into his work. Upon reporting to his new team in Chester, Pennsylvania, in the Atlantic League, Bettger went from making $175 per month to just $25 per month. Unhappy about his demotion and his dramatic drop in pay, Bettger decided to take the manager’s advice to heart and inject some enthusiasm into his game. It wasn’t long before people began to take notice. He soon landed a position with the New Haven, Connecticut, team in the New England League. Inspired by his promotion, he made up his mind to build himself a reputation for being one of the most enthusiastic ball players in the league. The New Haven newspaper took notice: “This new player, Bettger, has a barrel of enthusiasm. He inspired our boys. They not only own the game but looked better than at any time this season.” Within 10 days, his enthusiasm had catapulted him from $25 a month to $185 a month. It didn’t happen because he suddenly became a better ball player – it happened solely because he added enthusiasm to his game. Two years later, an injury forced Bettger to give up playing ball. Bettger then channeled his enthusiasm into a 32-year-long successful sales career. He later wrote the inspirational book How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling in which he observed that … “Enthusiasm is by far the highest paid quality on earth, probably because it is one of the rarest; yet it is one of the most contagious.” Could you use more enthusiasm in your life? The benefits of living a more enthusiastic life can’t be overstated … You’ll have more confidence. You’ll be more productive. People will view you in a more positive light, which will open you up to more and better opportunities. Plus, you’ll experience more peace of mind at the end of every day. So how do you go about it? Here are 16 things you can do on a daily basis that will help you ignite enthusiasm: 1. To become more enthusiastic, act more enthusiastic – This is Frank Bettger’s number one enthusiasm rule. Bettger used to challenge people to put this rule into action for 30 days, telling them that if they did, it could easily revolutionize their life. Bettger says to stand up each morning and say the following: “Force yourself to act enthusiastic, and you’ll become more enthusiastic.” This quote from American...

He once invented a fish-powered boat. But not surprisingly, it didn’t catch on (no pun intended). The idea for the invention he’s known for today came from a paint can. The way the grooved lid created a tight seal that kept the air out and the paint in. In 1945, he turned his idea into a unique, innovative, and much-needed product when he invented the Wonder Bowl and what was to become known as the “Tupper Seal.” His name was Earl Tupper. And the product line he invented came to be known around the United States (and the world) as Tupperware. But that’s only half the story. If Earl Tupper were alive today, my guess is he’d like you to stop reading this right now. Because what I’m about to tell you, he wouldn’t want you to know. But even if you did, you’ll still hear about the person this story revolves around in a big way in the next two years or so (more about this in a minute.) Her name was Brownie Wise. She started as a sales representative for Stanley Products.  Stanley Products sold brushes, vacuums, pots, pans and cleaning products, etc.  However, they didn’t sell them through retail chains.  They did it through “home party selling” – having prospects invite friends and family into their homes and then demonstrating the various products to them. Brownie was good at it.   She soon became a manager. In 1948, after hearing about Tupperware from another Stanley star salesman, 18-year-old Gary McDonald, Brownie and McDonald decided to resign from Stanley and start selling Tupperware using the same home party selling methods. Both Wise and McDonald agreed, Tupperware was a great product, but it needed to be demonstrated to really appreciate the benefits it offered. In 1951, Brownie’s Tupperware order was late so she called up the Tupperware Plastics Company which was located in South Grafton, Massachusetts.  She asked to speak to Earl Tupper.  After talking about her order situation, she told Tupper he could improve his business if he stopped selling his product through retail channels and only sold his product through home parties.  Tupper was well aware of who Brownie was.  She and McDonald consistently sold more Tupperware products than his main retail channel the J.L Hudson Department store.   He agreed with Brownie’s recommendation. Tupperware Home Party Inc. was created with Brownie in charge. Brownie then convinced Tupper to buy one thousand acres in Florida which she soon transformed into a monument of salesmanship. Brownie’s business credo was “If we build the people, they’ll build the business.”  And that’s just what she did. In 1954, she held the first Tupperware Jubilee in Florida, motivating and inspiring Tupperware salespeople,...

Have you ever walked into a store, found something you wanted, looked at the price… And been flabbergasted when you found out how much money they were asking? It’s an experience that is commonly called “sticker shock.” And it’s the last thing you want your customers to experience. In his book How to Create Irresistible Offers, master copywriter Bob Bly lays out strategies to prevent sticker shock from occurring. Based on Bob’s ideas, I’ve put together 10 techniques to make sure you position the price of your product or service in the most appealing way possible… 1) The “Drop in the bucket” technique The idea is to show the reader that the amount they will pay is a drop in the bucket compared to the value they will receive. Bob uses this technique in the sales letter for his Copywriter’s Toolkit product.   Because many e-books are sold for between $9 and $29, he was concerned that his reader might think that $79 was a lot to pay for an e-book on freelance marketing. He does two things to combat that perception.  1) He points out that what he’s offering is not a standard e-book.  It’s actually a collection of forms, and; 2) He explains the value of the forms and how much money his readers will save. He starts by assigning a dollar value of $25,000 to the time he’s spent creating the forms.  (As a consultant, Bob charges $500 an hour.)  Right there, the value of his e-book immediately takes a big jump up in your mind.   He adds that if you’d like to duplicate these forms you’d have to pay a lawyer a minimum of $200 per hour. Here’s the actual copy Bob used:  (Note: In this version, Bob offers an additional $30 discount.) By the time Bob gets to the actual price, you’re no longer thinking this is going to cost between $9 and $29.  Your idea of its value has risen considerably. So when he reveals it’s only $79, you’re relieved that it’s so affordable.  And you’re even more grateful when you find out that you can buy it today for only $49. Here’s another example that follows the game formula Bob used in his sales letter to promote his E-Mail Swipe File program: How you can do it Before revealing the price of your product, focus on building up its perceived value. If possible, assign specific dollar amounts, so people understand the true value of everything they’ll receive for your asking purchase price. 2) Make apples to oranges comparison The idea here is that you don’t compare your product/service to a similar product/service.  You compare it to something that is related, but different. An...