Institute of Children's Literature - Direct Mail

The Institute of Children's Literature asked Mal to write some direct mail packages for them in 1976, and while two were moderately successful, none measured up to expectations. Nevertheless, the Institute---never having beaten their original ad---asked him to write three new ads to test in Parade. Harry Redler was the designer.
     The best of the three pulled 28.3% more inquiries in the three-step conversion series, 45.7% more qualifying tests, but only 3.8% more enrollments. Retested in Family Weekly against the same old control, it pulled 31.7% more coupons, 32.7% more tests, and 28.6 more sign-ups.
     After switching headlines, Mal's ad beat the original control by a cumulative total of 66.1% more inquiries, 73.9% more tests, and 59.9% more enrollments. Substantially identical versions of that ad copy were also run in direct mail, statement stuffers/package inserts, FSIs, take-ones, and other media for 25 years, making it one of the most durable pieces of copy in direct mail history.
     The "Growing Up" mailing, personalized with a byline (thereby making the recipient an "instant author,"), has been the control, with frequent tweakings, since 1994. Download PDFs