UX Sheffield: A monthly event in Sheffield, where we invite speakers from around the country to come and talk about their experiences in research and design projects. The (M)admen of the 50s were the first User Experience designers: and we should revisit what many have forgotten to improve the experiences of today. by Jon Dodd from Bunnyfoot

1. WELCOME TO UX SHEFFIELD
Wednesday 28th January 2015

2. User Experienceconsultant
atBunnyfoot
@itsjamiewales
FACT: Once savedavery lostElvisCostellofrom missing agig inSheffield.
He’s alsoaJames Bluntfan…
JAMIE WALES
jamie@bunnyfoot.com

3. Senior Interaction Designer
atBunnyfoot
@jwingy
FACT: Once lostasmallchildfor2hours inashow cavewhenworking as
atourguide
JONNY WING
jonny@bunnyfoot.com

4. “A bi-monthly event where we invite
speakers to come and talk about their
experiences in UX research and design
projects”
ABOUT UX SHEFFIELD

5. 6.15pm : Get a drink and take a seat!
6.45pm : Jon Dodd – The (m)admen of the 50s were the
first user experience designers…
7.30pm : Open mic
8pm: Drinks in the main bar
EVENING SCHEDULE

6. Tonight's sponsor

7. WANT TO HELP?

9. WERE THE FIRST UX DESIGNERS
THE (M)ADMEN OF THE 50S
28th Jan 2015
Jon Dodd

10. 10
INTRODUCTIONS: ME
Dr Jon Dodd
 Escaped academic: Dphil. ‘visual and computational
neuroscience’
 Co-founder, Bunnyfoot 1999
 Overall lead for UCD, customer experience, training
 Project director, lead consultant, consultant and designer on wide
variety of software, web and communication projects e.g. Virgin,
Dyson, Microsoft, Prudential bank, Tesco, Royal Bank of Scotland,
UK Met Office, IsBank, Boden, M&S, Cotswold Outdoors…
 Recently took part in the clipper round the world yacht race
 Frustrated author
DR JON DODD
CEO and Co-Founder
Bunnyfoot

11. 11
INTRODUCTIONS: YOU?

12. 12
WHY THE (M)ADMEN OF THE 50’S (& 60’S)?
I discovered them many years ago working
for the advertising industry
Interested in ‘universal principles’ since
starting Bunnyfoot 15 years ago
Now more than ever, advertising and
product design (the experience) merging

13. UX EARLY INSPIRATIONS?

14. THE ORIGINAL (M)ADMAN

15. 15
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF SELLING THE AGA COOKER (1935)
“ the perfect AGA salesman combines the tenacity of the bulldog with
the manners of the spaniel – if you have any charm ooze it”

19. An embodiment of his ‘Magic Lantern’ a slide deck everyone starting at
O&M had to watch slide and film presentations
Those not enthusiastically in agreement were ‘invited to leave’

22. 22
Let’s hear a bit from the man himself

23. “You know it to the dollar”

24. 24
11 principles on ‘How to build great campaigns’
How much of this is relevant now? Think briefly after each
LETS TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT
PART OF THE MAGIC LANTERN

25. 25
#1
WHAT YOU SAY IS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN HOW YOU
SAY IT

26. “Molly my dear, I
would have bought
that new brand of
toilet soap – if only
they hadn’t set the
body copy in ten
point Garamond”
Mythical 50s housewife

27. “When I write an ad I don’t want you to tell me it’s
‘creative’, I want you to find it so persuasive that
you buy the product – or buy it more often”

28. 28
#1
WHAT YOU SAY IS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN HOW YOU
SAY IT
Content rather than form
Informed by research – NEVER rely on guesswork
Used a lot of split testing to establish the core promise
What you provide (info, service, capability) is more
important than how you provide it. Go for tangible
value, real utility, and great content + use research!
The first conversion rate optimiser? (with Dr Gallop)

29. 29
#2
UNLESS YOUR CAMPAIGN IS
BUILD AROUND A GREAT IDEA,
IT WILL FLOP
Determined to blaze new trails (=effort)
…it isn’t every client who can recognise a truly great
idea when they see it
Usability nowadays is a basic requirement
Standard copycat approach is likely lacking (see #11)
Focus on real function and need (see #1)

30. 30
#3
GIVE THE FACTS
The consumer isn’t a moron – she’s your wife – do not
insult her intelligence with a mere slogan and a few
vapid adjectives. She wants all the information you can
give her
Competing brands often alike – pre-empt the truth…

31. “we must take
a look at that
damn clock”
Rolls-Royce engineer

32. 32
#3
GIVE THE FACTS
The consumer isn’t a moron – she’s your wife – do not
insult her intelligence with a mere slogan and a few
vapid adjectives. She wants all the information you can
give her
Competing brands often alike – pre-empt the truth…
Give them the facts – do not patronise – do not hide detail
Customer benefit (info and experience) is key (see #1)
‘Native advertising’, ‘Content marketing’

33. 33
#4
YOU CANNOT BORE PEOPLE
INTO BUYING
Massive competition for attention (1500 ads/day in 1963)
Ear splitting barrage - your voice must be unique
# 1 again
Craft and attention to detail matter
Focus and deep understanding

34. 34
#5
BE WELL MANNERED, BUT
DON’T CLOWN
Easier to sell with a friendly handshake (rather than rude)
People don’t buy from clowns
Charm
Charm (friendly), matched tone of voice (mirror)
Little details (copy, motion, imagery)
Don’t let frippery get in the way of function (see #1)

35. 35
#6
MAKE YOUR ADVERTISING
CONTEMPORARY
Difficult for a 51 year old to tune into young married
couples just starting out
Most of our copywriters are young…
Be up to date
Optimise and iterate
Ongoing improvements
Be lean(er) and more responsive to change
Avoid you own assumptions you are not the customer

36. 36
#7
COMMITTEES CAN CRITICISE
ADVERTISEMENTS, BUT THEY
CANNOT CREATE THEM
Best when written by a single solitary person
…not look like minutes of a committee meeting
Lean and agile focus on small teams
Avoid HiPPO effect through evidence based design
Avoid committees, and dilution, focus through UCD

37. 37
#8
IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO
WRITE A GOOD ADVERTISEMENT,
REPEAT IT UNTIL IT STOPS PULLING
Don’t discard just because sponsors get sick of seeing
them
You are not advertising to a standing army
Don’t add features for the sake of it
Keep constant (maybe improve) what people love
Consistency is a basic tenet of interaction

38. 38
#9
NEVER WRITE AN ADVERTISEMENT
WHICH YOU WOULDN’T WANT YOUR
OWN FAMILY TO READ
If you tell lies about a product you will be found out
Truthfulness for long term +ve customer experience
Especially today you will be found out
Own and respond to any deficiencies

39. 39
#10
THE IMAGE AND THE BRAND
Every advertisement should be thought of as a
contribution to the complex symbol that is the brand
image
Cannot be all things to all people
Sustain over a period of years
UX is a long term aim and not a snapshot
Consistency of brand (positioning is key)
Focus on primary not all things to all people

40. 40
#11
DON’T BE A COPY CAT
Nobody has ever built a brand by copying someone
else’s advertising
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery but it is the
mark of an inferior person
Tempting to use existing components, libraries etc.
Focus on the core user problem, ideate the problem
Start on paper – don’t risk dogma through electronic copying

41. 41
OGILVY ON RESEARCH
…he was BIG into research
…but often dumfounded by how crap it was
He earned his stripes working with Dr Gallup’s ‘audience
research institute’ before he set up his own agency

42. 42
“Do your
homework”

43. 43
“Consumers
don’t think how
they feel. They
don’t say what
they think and
they don’t do
what they say”

44. 44
“A blind pig
can sometimes
find truffles,
but it helps to
know they are
found in oak
forests”

45. 45
9 THINGS HE DIDN’T LIKEABOUT ‘CONTEMPORARY’ RESEARCH
1. Take too long to answer a few simple questions: “they
are natural slowpokes”
2. Cannot agree on methodology
3. Are too interested in sociology and economics, not
advertising [Note for UX now this might be …are too
interested in traffic not behaviour]
4. Have little or no system for retrieving research which
has already been conducted [tactical not strategic]
5. Are too faddish; some techniques are useful, but still go
out of fashion [probably the opposite now: focus gp]

46. 46
9 THINGS HE DIDN’T LIKEABOUT ‘CONTEMPORARY’ RESEARCH
6. Use graphs that are incomprehensible to laymen
[shudder at piecharts now!]
7. Refuse to undertake projects which they consider
imperfect, even when the project would produce
actionable results. Quoting Winston Churchill;
“PERFECTIONISM is spelled PARALYSIS”
8. Lack initiative i.e. only do what they are asked for
9. Use pretentious jargon [ethnography? Contextual
inquiry?]

47. 47
NOT JUST OVERALL PRINCIPLES –
HE WAS INTO DETAIL TOO
On layout for print

48. 48
WITHOUT SOPHISTICATED EYETRACKING: OGILVY OBSERVED:
People scan and skim first and read second
and they only read IF their scan turns up
something worthwhile

49. 49
SO DIRECTED:
“Readers look first at the illustration, then at
the headline, then at the copy.
So put these elements in that order:
illustration at the top, headline under the
illustration, copy under the headline.
If you put the headline above the illustration,
you are asking people to scan in an order
which does not fit their habit”

50. 50

52. 52
LAYOUT RULES: CORE COMPONENTS IN THIS ORDER
The picture, which should have
“story appeal” + caption
The headline, which should tie into
the “story appeal” of the picture
The body copy, which must be
placed in the right relationship to
both the picture and the headline
as to anticipate the reader’s visual
preferences and enhance
readability.

53. 53

54. 54
ON HEADLINES:
1. The headline is the ticket on the meat – use it to flag down your prospects:
 If you are selling a remedy for bladder weakness use ‘BLADDER WEAKNESS’
in the headline
 If you are selling to mothers use ‘MOTHERS’ in the headline
 Don’t use anything to exclude audiences (e.g. slant towards female if
selling to both man and women)
2. Every headline should appeal to the reader’s self interest
 It should promise a benefit e.g. How women over 35 can look younger…
3. Always try to inject news
 The two most powerful words are FREE and NEW – you can seldom use free
but almost always use new – if you try hard enough

55. 55
ON HEADLINES:
4. Use these words (don’t turn your nose up a cliché if it works):
 How to, Suddenly, Now, Announcing, Introducing, It’s here, Just arrived,
Important development, Improvement, Amazing, Sensational, Remarkable,
Revolutionary, Startling, Miracle, Magic, Offer, Quick, Easy, Wanted,
Challenge, Advice to, The truth about, Compare, Bargain, Hurry, Last
chance
 Strengthen with emotion: Darling, Love, Fear, Proud, Friend & Baby
5. Always include the brand name in the headline
 5 times as many people read the headline as the body copy
6. Include your selling promise – this requires long headlines
 Headlines of 10 or more words sell more (found through research)

56. 56
ON HEADLINES:
7. End your headline with a lure to read on
 Arouse their curiosity
 Make more likely to read body copy
8. Tricky headlines – puns, literary allusions and other obscurities are a SIN
 It must telegraph what you want to say
 Don’t play games with the reader
9. Avoid blind headlines
 Make sure they mean something when read out of context

57. 57
IMPLICATIONS?
HEADLINES -> UX?
Substitute headlines for calls to action?
Display and search advertising
Email subjects
Landing pages
Instructional text
Create flow

58. 58
ON COPY:ALSO SEVERALOTHER (M)ADMEN
Claude Hopkins
Raymond Rubicam
George Cecil
James Webb Young
John Caples

59. 59
ON BODY COPY:
1. Get straight to the point
 Avoid analogies e.g. ‘just as xxxx, so too yyyy (they don’t work)
2. Avoid superlatives, generalisations and platitudes
 Be specific and factual
 Be enthusiastic, friendly, memorable – don’t be a bore
 Tell the truth but tell it fascinatingly
 Length depends on product
 Do not be afraid of long copy
 Cited: readership dropped off up to 50 words then not again until 500

60. 60
A STORY TOLD BY VICTOR SCHWAB (FAMOUS COPYWRITER)
George Dyer (copywriter) arguing with client (Max Hart) about long
copy:
Dyer: I’ll bet you $10 I can write a newspaper page full of solid type
and you will read every word of it
Hart: scoffed
Dyer: I don’t even have to write it, I’ll only tell you the headline:
This page is all about Max Hart

61. 61
ON BODY COPY:
3. Always include testimonials
 Increases believability
 Outsells the puffery of an anonymous copywriter
 Celebrities work well if honestly written
4. Give useful advice
 Rather than dealing entirely with product
5. Keep it simple
 Fine writing/purple prose is a disadvantage
6. Avoid bombast
 When a company boasts about its integrity or a woman about her virtue –
avoid the former and cultivate the latter
7. Write in colloquial (everyday) language
 Natural language

62. “I once used OBSOLETE in a headline only
to discover 43% of housewives had no idea
what it meant”

63. “In another headline, I used the word
INEFFABLE only to discover that I didn’t
know what it meant myself”

64. 64
ON BODY COPY:
8. Resist the temptation to write the kind of copy that wins awards
 Most of the campaigns that win awards don’t sell
9. Resist the temptation to entertain
 Give the facts and sell

65. “If it doesn’t sell it isn’t creative”

66. 66
AND HE GETS EVEN MORE SPECIFIC… ON LONG COPY…
1. A display subhead of 2 or 3 lines above the copy will heighten your reader’s
appetite for the feast to come
2. Start body copy with a large initial letter = 13% more readership
3. Keep opening paragraph down to a maximum of 11 words
4. Insert first Crosshead after 2 or 3 inches – pepper throughout
 Make some of them interrogarative to excite curiosity for the following copy
5. Use columns 40 characters wide
6. 9pt is absolute minimum character size [in print]
7. Serif type is easier to read than sans-serif [in print]
8. Do not square up paragraphs – the widows increase readership – except at
the end of columns where it invites them to quit

67. 67
AND HE GETS EVEN MORE SPECIFIC… ON LONG COPY…
9. Break up monotony of long copy by setting key paragraphs in bold
10. Insert illustrations from time to time
11. Help readers into your paragraphs with arrows, bullets, margin marks…
12. Number large numbers of unrelated facts
13. NEVER set copy in reverse – it’s harder to read
14. If you use leading between paragraphs you increase readership by 12%
15. Use lower case – not all caps
16. Use a single type face in titles/headlines etc.

68. 68
ON ILLUSTRATIONS / PICTURES …
1. The subject is more important than the technique
 You don’t have to be a genius to click the shutter
2. Arouse curiosity – use story appeal

69. 69

70. 70

71. 71
ON ILLUSTRATIONS / PICTURES …
3. Photographs sell more than drawings
 Photo = reality, drawing = fantasy – which is less believable
4. Before and after photos fascinate people
5. …so does a challenge ‘which one has….’
6. If in doubt which picture to use split test
 KLM photograph: aircraft or destination? (destination 2x as effective!)
7. People are generally interested in people they can relate to (m:m, f;f)
 In dream research there is a 1.7 ratio towards the same sex of characters
 Don’t choose models yourself you probably have different taste
8. Use baby photos to attract women
9. Don’t show enlarged close-up of faces – they repel readers
10. Focus on one person – crowd scenes don’t pull

72. 72
ON ILLUSTRATIONS / PICTURES …
11. Test layouts where they will appear [in context]
12. Avoid stereotyped pictures like grinning housewife pointing at fridge
13. Don’t make ads look like ads – if they look like editorial 50% more people will
read
14. People read captions more than copy – always have a caption (make it a
mini ad)
15. Never deface a picture by putting a headline over it
16. If the layout contains a coupon put it top and centre

73. 73
I COULD GO ON… HE DOES
And it’s all worth reading:
Posters, TV, miracles of research, selling food, foreign
travel, direct mail, business to business…
…as well as advice on running a business, rising to the
top, being a good client, getting clients, life in general…

74. “ask what their commission
is, and if it is the normal 15%
add 1% to make it 16% - it
will double their profit, the
1% won’t kill you and you
will get better service”
On being a good client
/finding a good agency

75. “We don’t make
love until we are
married”
On showing
speculative creative
campaigns

76. 76
ON A GENERALAPPROACH TO LIFE

77. 77
CONCLUSION
Read the classics
Don’t reinvent the wheel (or think you are)
…but update and question… and avoid the
sexism!
Perform scrupulous research
Pay your agency more than they ask for 

78. 78
YOUR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS

79. 79
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THANK YOU!
Jon@bunnyfoot.com
@jonbunnyfoot

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