Tag Archives: sales ads

Paul Steven Stone’s Greatest Hits, #2 in a series

The ad that launched a thousand trucks! (Well, maybe 500)

This is where it all began. Before we transformed W.B. Mason’s trucks into circus trucks. Before W.B. Mason’s Low Price Assurance Detectives (L.P.A.D.) ever flashed a single badge during a cold call. Before an unsuspecting world had time to figure out what the hell we were doing. Before all that—this ad jumped onto the stage, and into the newspapers, virtually transforming a mild-mannered, quiet, almost anonymous office furniture and supplies dealer into a marketing and advertising animal.

Mason-prizefighter

If you hear a calliope playing in your mind, it’s because this ad signaled that the circus (in the form of the W.B. Mason sales leviathan) was coming to town. W. B. Mason had a fleet of 3 (count ’em 3!) trucks when we first launched their advertising and branding campaign, today they have around 500. Back then they had only a single location in Brockton, today their trucks travel roads up and down the East and West coasts, and across many of the major markets in-between. “Who But!” says it all!

Fighter 2

With all the W.B. Mason half page newspaper ads we had the original artwork created in full color, then transferred into black and white. This Mason ad was the granddaddy of the “Who But W.B. Mason!” campaign. Needless to say, it was a show-stopper, and totally unique in the newspaper environment.

The black and white version above is how the ad actually looked (with some allowance made for my lousy photography) in the newspapers. Needless to say, there was nothing else like it in the entire paper, and probably nothing else that proved so irresistibly engaging to the unwary newspaper reader.

To view my #1 Greatest Hits advertisement, click here. To read my story about creating “Who But W.B. Mason!, click here. To view the tribute paid to me by W.B. Mason for my 26 years of brand-building and advertising prowess, click here.  Or, if you’re interested, you can visit my web site to see many other examples of my work. To speak with me about building your company’s brand, selling more of your services, or just moving more traffic into your store, contact me at 857-389-2158 or at PaulStevenStone@gmail.com.