Four Words

Frances did.

Frances lived in Philadelphia where she was relatively unique. You she was a female ad agency copywriter ..at a time when women were only typically hired to write ads for products aimed at other women.

it was nearing the end of World War 2 and Frances applied for the job at the ad agency … and only got it because they had just lost their only other female copywriter … Frances stood out kind of like a diamond in the rough amongst all the other copywriters as they tried forever to come up with amazing persuasive copy for their clients.

One client was a major challenge … the client’s sales had tumbled since the depression … few people were buying its expensive item … as, at the time, wives were more interested in their husbands buying a washing machine or other appliances that they could readily use rather than wasting money on a simple bauble. It was a tough sell.

One night, Frances finished working on an ad … it was very late and she was very tired … it was due first thing the next morning … and she suddenly realized she’d forgotten to come up with a slogan … she scrawled just four words down … and went to sleep … the next morning she showed people the slogan at the office … they thought it was okay but some didn’t like the grammar … the client loved it .. and used it .. sales exploded as attitudes changed.

Today, over 60 years later the client, DeBeers, sells billions of dollars of its product every year … and it’s hard to imagine any bride not expecting one .. and the slogan a never married Frances came up with? 4 simple words that are still used in the company ads today and, according to industry trade publication Ad Week, it is the greatest slogan of the 20th century … “A Diamond is Forever”

A Diamond