John Caples

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (June 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

John Caples
John Caples, c. 1971
Born	(1900-05-11)May 11, 1900 New York City, US
Died	June 18, 1990(1990-06-18) (aged 90) Lenox Hill, New York City, US
Alma mater	Horace Mann School Columbia University United States Naval Academy
Occupation(s)	Engineer, advertiser
Spouse	Mary Bennett ​ (m. 1936)​

John Caples (May 11, 1900 – June 18, 1990) was an American advertiser, writer, copyeditor, and engineer.

Born in New York City, Caples was brought up by highly educated parents. He attended Horace Mann School for his elementary education, and went to Columbia University for his tertiary education. Because he fears public speaking which was an assignment for passing, Caples left for the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated with a degree in engineering. In the 1920s he started working in Ruthrauff & Ryan, and in 1925-26, he created the popular US School of Music advert entitled "They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano But When I Started to Play!". After his success, he was employed in 1927, by BBDO, an advertising agency, where he later became the vice president.

Caples wrote many books on advertising including Tested Advertising Methods (1932), Advertising for Immediate Sales (1936), and Making Ads Pay (1957). He also received many awards and recognition for his contributions to copywriting and advertising. He was inducted into the Copywriters Hall of Fame in 1973, and the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame in 1978.

John Caples was born on May 11, 1900, in New York City to parents from Manhattan. His father was a physician and famous general practitioner from Ohio while his mother, a college graduate of arts and literature, which she transferred the interest to Caples. His parents were highly educated that Caples learnt reading and writing at a very young age. He attended Horace Mann School in New York, and his tertiary education at Columbia University. He did not excel well academically.^[1]

Caples's first years at Columbia University were disrupted by the World War I. While studying, he subsequently was an apprentice. His professor decided that each student would give a speech in the class, but Caples, who wasn't good in speaking in public tried to avoid the assignment. Because he was called out first in the first day, and he replied he was unprepared and began skipping class. Caples eventually left Columbia University and enrolled into the Navy, which he serve for four years as an ordinary seaman. In 1924, Caples was admitted to the United States Naval Academy, where he began his education in engineering. Caples wrote for the college magazine the Annapolis Log, and later an associate editor.^[1] Despite being an engineer, Caples rather engaged in business and advertising.^[1][2] Towards the end of his senior year, when each senior was to speak publicly after the graduation dinner. Caples became scared but after distracting himself by drinking a bottle of gin, which he had smuggled. It was one of his classmates who told him how he completed the assignment. Caples became a student engineer working with the New York Telephone but got bored that he consulted a vocational guide counselor who after hearing his story, told him how unambitious he was. Caples later focused on advertising since he would become a good writer. Caples proceeded to Certain Teed, where he was an aide to the assistant advertising manager. After inquiring how adverts works, Caples resigned since he found out that adverts are run by outsiders. He accepted to work at Ruthrauff & Ryan.^[a] Caples started his career in 1925,^[4] with his first printed advertisement for the Arthur Murray Dance Studios.^[3] Caples created a mail-order advert for the US School of Music in 1926, with a headline entitled "They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano But When I Started to Play!", which became successful and was one of the 100 greatest advertisements of all time.^[5][6]

After the success, Caples sought for a new job. After many interviews, he was employed on April 8, 1927, by BBDO. At BBDO, he worked at small mail-order accounts including the Phoenix Mutual and Alexander Hamilton Institute. He also wrote his first article titled "Why Mail Order Advertisement Have More Punch", which was published in Advertising & Selling. By 1930 his other articles had gotten published in top trade magazines; those he compiled to write his first book Tested Advertising Methods. He was promoted to the position of the vice president at BBDO. Caples visited the New York Ad School, and in 1952, was invited by Bill Orchard to teach at Columbia University for a year. He accepted the request and soon finished. Caples, already conversant with advertising researches supervised advert researches for industries including the US Navy, Du Pont, General Electric, Lever Brothers, Goodrich, and US Steel. He continued working, teaching, and advertising. In 1972 Caples became a featured columnist for Direct Marketing.^[5]

Gordon Eugene White said Caples popularized the fundamental concept of testing, an accepted part of advertising.^[7] He was also a copywriter though was never in the Copy or research department while at BBDO.^[8] He started with the mail-order advertising just as a test because he works in a private advertising agency. Caples soon picked up, that he even taught other practitioners.^[6]

Caples married Mary Bennett in 1936, and the couple had three children. He passed away on June 18, 1990, at the age of 90.^[9]

Caples received many awards throughout his career. He won the annual award by the National Association of Direct Mail Writers, the Hundred Million Club Leadership Award. He was inducted into the Copywriters Hall of Fame in 1973,^[10] and the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame in 1977-1978.^[11]

Caples's contributions of over 50 years in advertising revolutionized and inspired modern advertising executives including David Ogilvy, who called him "an indomitable analyzer and teacher of advertising" and Phil Dusenberry.^[10]

Books and essays^[10]

• ——— (1936). Advertising for Immediate Sales. New York: Harper. ISBN 978-978-029-032-0.
• ——— (1957). Making Ads Pay: Timeless Tips for Successful Copywriting. New York: Dover. ISBN 1607965666
• ——— (1938). Advertising Ideas: A Practical Guide to Methods That Makes Advertisements Work. New York: McGraw-Hill.
• ——— (1984). A Dozen Ways to Develop Advertising Ideas (essay). London: Advertising Ages.
• ——— (1975). The Effects of Comparative Television Advertisements That Name Competing Brands. New York City: Ogilvy and Mather.
• ——— (1983). How to make your advertising make money. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-423608-7. OCLC 9394084.
• ———; Hahn, Fred E. (1998). Tested advertising methods (5 ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-095701-6. OCLC 60183673.