188 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE M.'VRCH, 1917 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



Effective National Advertising 



Mr. H. Bartlett Miller, in the January 

 number, page 36, has an article on the above 

 subject, in which he says : " I have come to 

 the conclusion that Ave are not clown to 

 bedrock in the essentials of advertising as 

 taught by modern schools devoted to this 

 subject." Advertising is a gamble, not an 

 art nor a science. It is largely guesswork, 

 for no man alive may know what results 

 he will get from an advertisement until it 

 is tried. Mr. Bartlett then attempts to 

 lelucjiVlate, but gives the reader nothing 

 new until he jumps on to my pet, the little 

 " Eat Honey " sticker, nearly breaking my 

 heart by saying, '' It is good in its way in 

 lieu of nothing at all." Fie! However, I 

 do not need to defend the little thing, as 

 I am informed that millions of them are 

 being sold. A further remark of his, 

 " That honey aids digestion does not appeal 

 * * * *, " leads me to say that I am not to 

 blame for " aids digestion — Nature's own 

 sweet," " Angel's food," and the other words 

 added to eat honey, so I dodge one brick. 



Mr. Miller is not satisfied with getting up 

 an advertisement which, I think, violates 

 the very first essential of good work — 

 namely, truthfulness. After declaring that 

 a ***** * ^g g(-|(j another fact that the 

 reader never knew before, and cannot con- 

 tradict. Being a fact, the whole world 

 must come to recognize it if we tell them 



sufficiently often." That is naive, is it not? 

 Why, bless you, Mr. Miller, that is about all 

 there is to advertising. 



However, Mr. Miller's advertisement is 

 open to serious criticism, aside from its un- 

 truthfulness. In the first place, it is much 

 too long for a catch-eye poster. According 

 to my ideas of advertising, it would be far 

 better if he stop at the first period, when 

 it would read: '' You cannot live (as) long 

 as you should unless you eat more honey." 

 Why attack sugar, when everybody eats it, 

 always has eaten it, and always will eat it? 

 Why not hold up something we know is 

 more or less injurious — the various corn- 

 syrup abominations? But, after all, why 

 abuse any of them? You only weaken 

 your own advertisement. 



The first pai-t of his advertisement will 

 not stand examination, as nobody will pay 

 a bit of attention to the statement, for they 

 instinctively feel that it is lacking. Were 

 it true, it would have been known ages ago, 

 and honey would not have been begging a 

 place on our tables. In the next place, the 

 reason given : " Sugar wears the system 

 out. Honey builds it up," is totally untrue, 

 and the statement will bring down ridicule 

 on our advertising. 



I have always entertained serious doubts 

 as to the utility of calling attention to 

 honey as a remedial agent, and have a 

 lingering suspicion that it is not well to 



CouHnued on page 225. 



Bees in Australia in a frenzy of delight over artificial pollen. — From \V. J. Barnes, East Melbourne, Australia. 



