Case Record
By Dr. Crane

CASE K-257: Cora Crane, age
unmentionable, .is my very attractive
wife.

She recently went shopping to
get me a new fountain pen, for
my old-faithful standby of the
past 15 years finally gave out. She
had given it to me for my birthday.
It was the best fountain pen
I have ever had, too, with a broad
type of point that never scratched
the paper.

In fact, all five of our children
would keep- borrowing it when
I was at home, so they could "do
their homework with my pen.
But the barrel cracked, so I
needed a new one. Mrs.'- .-Crane
tested 'one .of these new concoctions
that is supposed to write
for years without re-filling.
But when she tried it out, she
found that-the flow 'of . ink1 was
very uneven. - It would show light
and then -dark before many^ syllables
had been .written.
Sales Points for Pens
A lifetime guarantee and lavish
sales arguments still don't offset
the simple old fashioned sales
argument that a pen should give
a steady flow .of ink.
So she tested, another highly
advertised brand'with ' a' 'hidden
point that barely 'projects from
the barrel. The ink. did . flow
smoothly but the point is too obscured
to suit''me, -though I'have
since received the pen as the only
half-way adequate one that she
could find. .-.-•
Now I am aware of another
serious >flaw, with' it. - -The ink
chamber will hold only 7 drops of
ink Yet her own small fountain
pen holds 20 drops, so you can
imagine how irate I will become
on numerous occasions at finding
my pen dry.' '
Horse Sense .in Advertising:
"Why do manufacturers desert
successful . products of the past
that were well nigh perfect, to
foist less efficient merchandise' on
the public?" you may well wonder.
There are several reasons to explain
their odd behavior. They
think that the average American
is crazy about "newness", so if
they add some new wrinkle to
their product, even if, they meanwhile
omit one of the fundamental
sales points of-the past, they can
still temDt him to'buy.
And since they wish to get new
patents on an old product, they
thus streamline the old article, and
then keep their rivals away from
it. for another span of years via
the patent office.
But the average American is a
pretty shrewd hombre, if you give
him a chance. He wants .fundamental
efficiency before he craves
doo-dads on his merchandise.
Jack Homer Complex
Many manufacturers, however,
are victims of the "Little Jack
Horner" complex. They are so
eager to preen their feathers ove_r
being different from all competitors
in some-ingredient or'refinement,
of the product, that they for
get why people originally wanted
their general type of goods.
They thus worship their own
ego too much and are so desirous
of boasting about an "exclusive"
feature which their merchandise
possesses, that they choke out
some of its fundamental sales appeal
with their furbelows.
As a heavy user of a fountain
pen in signing my mail, I don't
care about fancy frills and the
current highly advertised bunkum
sales points. I want a pen that
holds plenty of ink, plus a point
that projects so I can see whether
the pen is backwards or forward.
As a psychological tip to advertisers,
try to emphasize the sales
points which we..consumers like,
instead of the bizarre doo-dads
which the manufacturer becomes
so enamoured of, and you'll do
more business.
(Copyright by The Hopkins
Syndicate, Inc.)