An Ode to Joe

I figured only the man behind JS&A, “Products that think”, could ever sell my off-the-wall, hi-voltage, “negative” ionizer machine. After all, his unique 3 column advertorials were so effective at engagement and conversion that he ran a profitable business on watches and calculators with barely a 2:1 markup. I can't imagine his MER.

Selling Ice to Eskimos

I tried to reach him, almost in vein. Phone calls and letters didn't work. So I studied his ad format for weeks. Then I “put his head on my shoulders” and wrote what I thought he’d write. Now if only he was bold or adventurous enough to take on such a far-fetched product concept - getting people to pay for the free air they breathe. Imagine, asking the reader to pay $69 (almost $300 today) for a new-fangled fresh air machine, when they most likely assumed their indoor air was already clean.

It worked, and he invited me to his lakeside retreat somewhere in Wisconsin, with one hitch – he would pick me up at O'Hare airport and fly me in his single engine Cessna to a tiny, remote landing strip somewhere near his multi-acre?retreat. And then the marathon. We wrote and re-wrote late into the night for most of the weekend.

Fast forward, our Ad worked, not sure what the MER was but in less than a year our PI (per inquiry) “free” airline magazine and newspaper ads raked in close to $10M with a $69 negative ionizer (almost $300 in today’s dollar). This guy Joe, was quite good, very good!

His copywriting weekend seminars attracted ad agency CEOs,? corporate execs, burgeoning entrepreneurs and members of Congress, all with the promise of dramatically improving their agency’s ads, or letters to shareholders, or investor pitches, or campaign speeches. With dozens of pinball machines in his game room and a garage full of hi-horsepower snowmobiles for winter recreation, Sugar-land became the fertile playground to attract and spawn quite a few DR superstars, including Richard Thalheimer of Sharper Image. Who, btw made a big splash later with his Ionic Breeze, an upgrade of EnergAire (once we revealed a sizable market for clean, fresh air machines).

Cognitive Dissonance, or “Say what?!”

Joe's ad protocol, at least as I understood it; 1st, create a header with cognitive dissonance, a bit of mystery evoking that, “say what?” mental response. Psych studies have shown the greater the "nonsensical" statement, the greater an EEG brainwave signal called P100 ERP. For just milliseconds to a few seconds you got the subject's mental attention, or engagement. But you got to appeal to the rational left-brain fast. So Joe would create a sub-header that presented a prosaic, matter-of-fact description of simply - “what & how".

Next, a photo of the product was placed in the upper left corner beside the header & sub-header. He’d typically show the product in someone’s hand (usually his hand, with well groomed fingernails, of course). The 3 column print is best kept a bit folksy, no big impressive words. You’re telling a story, not selling, yet.

The image halfway down the middle column showed a pic revealing the secret to its magical benefits, the "secret sauce". In our ad it was the circuit board containing a breakthrough 20kv solid state Tesla coil power supply (no mean feat, btw). And, in the final paragraph he warned, “don’t step on your crank”. Took me a while to get that one down. Basically, he believed the further a person reads, the more likely they are to buy. But, before they pick up the phone or click buy on your website, the oft-suspicious left brain gate-keeper intervenes, not wanting you to look stupid for buying something that was merely appealing to your “irrational” emotional brain. So, no hype. Not even bad grammar. The last paragraph goes back to the theme of your sub-header, with features and benefits in simple, “7th grader” language. Finally the money back guarantee, quality assurances, no risk, supplies limited, etc. Then, "call now".

Joe then moved on from JS&A to launch the mega $100m BluBlocker “industry”. Again, a little mystery, a "tell me more.." hook in the name. And, his product had great legs, maintained with regular reinforcement via his scenic, outdoor Maui-based infomercials driving sales at retail.

Just a few years ago John Graziano, head of Max Media in Maui connected me with Joe via email. He was deep into anti-aging supplements, exercise and diet, and told me he figured he’d make it to 120. I mean here he was in his mid ‘70s, doing 23 chins a day. And, that’s all in one set, he proudly reminded me.

Cognitive Shock

It was just a few months ago that John, who ran quite a few of Joe’s successful BluBlocker infomercials, contacted me to say Joe had passed in March of 2022. And this was right after he told John that he planned to make it to 120, with "my great health.”

RIP Joe Sugarman, one of the great DR marketing masters of our times. And thank you for being such a patient mentor.