Copywriting – Read this only if you're a fan of TV's Mad Men:

“If a man has done his best, what else is there?”  George S. Patton

If you don’t watch Mad Men, then you should.  It’s a show about a New York City ad agency, that takes place during the 1960’s.  And not only is the scenery true to life, but many of the pop culture topics are, as well.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago, the agency hired a new copywriter — a guy named Michael Ginsberg.  Although a brilliant copywriter, Ginsburg seems to be a little socially “off” in some ways.

It’s my opinion — and only time will tell here — Ginsberg’s character is based on a brilliant and famous New York City copywriter and publisher of that time, Ralph Ginzburg.

Ralph Ginzburg was a terrific marketer and also published a number of magazines — some of which ultimately got him in trouble with the law.

In the early 1960’s, he published Eros Magazine – a quarterly, which contained information about love and sex.

However, Eros only made it to the fourth issue because Ginzburg was then charged, and ultimately convicted for, violating federal obscenity laws, and for distributing obscene print matter, via the US Mail.

He wound up spending 8 months in jail for this.

Starting in 1964, he then published another magazine, called “fact,” which was a humorous and sarcastic magazine, designed to poke fun of existing pop culture at the time.

Fact was around for almost four years, and if you look around on ebay and on amazon, you can  find copies of fact magazine for sale at very reasonable prices.

Then, starting in January 1968, Ginzburg published “Avant Garde,” which was like a more toned down version of Eros.

Ginzburg also authored a number of books — each one somewhat unconventional in it’s own way — before he died in 2006.

It’s going to be interesting to see if my thoughts on this are confirmed, and how the Michael Ginbserg character plays out on the show.

Here’s an ad for a magazine called Moneysworth, which Ginzburg may have published:

Ralph GInzburg's ad for Moneysworth

Click on this ad to see the larger version

I tried searching for information on Moneysworth, but was unable to find any.  Perhaps this was a project that didn’t get to see daylight?

If you know, post your comments below.

If you know someone who watches Mad Men, pass this along to them — they’ll find this interesting, I assure you.

Now go sell something, Craig Garber

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About the Author

Craig GarberAuthor of "How To Make Maximum Money With Minimum Customers, " and publisher of Seductive Selling - an offline marketing newsletter currently read in 15 countries, world-wide. In a nutshell, I do two things: 1. I show you how to attract a reliable, steady stream of pre-qualified leads who are ready to do business with you NOW... 2. And I increase your net profits and cash-flow, by increasing your customer, client, or patient value -- often, dramatically. How do I do this? By developing, and helping you implement, unique, personalized lead generation and marketing strategies... using compelling sales messages that push your customers emotional buy-buttons. I've worked with over 300 clients in more than 104 different industries, since March of 2000, and I really enjoy what I do. I'm a stable, reliable, happily married family guy with three kids who loves life and always follows through on my commitments and promises. I love to listen to music, workout, read, travel with my family, take pictures, and go bass fishing. I always say "Yes," when it comes to good cigars, good books, and good coffee :-)

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