A rare find…
“Sound the ALARM Ping! goes the alarm signal in the lawyer’s mind, Stop! It says, there was something on this quite recently, But, where? It needn’t have been a case. An order, perhaps? Or some promise by a Minister? Anyhow, there was something. And the wise man turns to CURRENT LAW to check up. It… Continue reading
“Sound the ALARM
Ping! goes the alarm signal in the lawyer’s mind, Stop! It says, there was something on this quite recently,
But, where?
It needn’t have been a case.
An order, perhaps?
Or some promise by a Minister?
Anyhow, there was something.
And the wise man turns to CURRENT LAW to check up. It takes him only a moment to find what he is looking for or to make sure that it was a false alarm.
You get further, faster with CURRENT LAW.
Write for full particulars.
Sweet and Maxwell LTD”(the layout and text of this poem has been copied exactly as published)
This poem was found in ‘Where to look for your law’ a 1957 edition published by Sweet and Maxwell, a copy of which was found in our recent warehouse clearance.
As an avid marketer and follower of the series Mad-men, which follows a 1960’s advertising agency in all its glory, I can’t help but think has marketing changed that much over the years?
I am not sure it has. The ‘Current Law’ advert has all the traditional advertising ingredients; enticing headline, the formulaic consumer problem, add in a dash of fear and a sprinkle of wit and sign off with a solid call to action ‘Write for particulars’!
What has changed is people’s perception of marketing and the vast array of delivery mechanisms available to us today. The lightning speed at which technology has developed over the last decade has advanced our communications and opened the door to some incredibly sophisticated methods of speaking to our customers.
As a result of this advertisers and marketers alike can overcomplicate the job at hand, trying desperately to be smarter in their prose than their counterparts. What is so endearing about the ‘Current Law’ advert is the simplicity of the approach: clarity of thought. What do I as a Lawyer think…what do I as a Lawyer then do…Bingo there’s an advert in there somewhere!
If there was an award for vintage adverts this one would get my vote.
The new ICLR adverts are currently displayed at Chancery Lane and Temple stations, look out for them and post me your thoughts.