“The Irresistible Offer” by  Mark Joyner is a book that contains a great advertising technique, and guidelines to put it to work.  It is about making an offer that would be almost almost irresistible for the buyer to avoid.  You would perhaps think that most big companies apply this technique on every sales campaign, but the truth is, most of them do not.  According to Joyner, the ones who have, achieved more sales, and more overall business success.  For this assignment I was shown four video ads, and told to choose which one best conforms to Joyner’s standards of an irresistible offer.

The “Irresistible Offer” has three components, A. A high ROI (return on investment) for the buyer.  B. A touchstone offer.  C. Believability.  If an ad contains these things, it is in pretty good shape.  It should answer the four big questions, one, what are you trying to sell? Two, What will it cost me? Three, what’s in it for me?  And four, Why should I trust you?  These are all questions that the buyer will ask, whether they silently ask themselves, or if they ask the seller directly, they will ask these questions.

M&M’s (1957)  I think this was a fairly good ad, it immediately revealed the strong touchstone, which was that the candies melt in your mouth, not in your hand which made it stand out from other competitors.  The ad demonstrated the buyer’s ROI and helped the buyer become mor inclined to purchase these candies.  The ad did not completely answer the 4 questions from above, but the commercial did make you want to pick up some M&M candies next time you are at the store.

Radio Shack TRS-80 computer, 1980  This ad was good, it answered the four questions, it had a strong touchstone, and it definitely demonstrated a high ROI for the buyer.  The ad gives you almost every detail you would need before making the purchase.  In my opinion this ad conforms to Joyner’s standards of an irresistible offer.

Commodore, 1987 (Australia)  This ad also did a great job of answering the for questions, and also demonstrating a high ROI, it also had a touchstone.  Yet, it didn’t seem irresistible, it lacked that unique touchstone that makes it really stand out from the competitors.

American Express (late 1960’s)  I am not the person who would carry a credit card, and use it excessively.  I hate debt, and in most cases credit cards lead to some level of debt be it high or low.  Somehow this commercial made me want to use American express, I think this commercial gave a great example of a high ROI, the way the commercial was laid out I think it gave the feeling of freedom and less worry.  This commercial had a strong touchstone, but it didn’t exactly answer the four questions clearly, however it had a way of pushing certain buttons.

Overall I think the “Radio Shack TRS-80 computer” was the closest to Joyner’s Irresistible Offer, it also answers Dr. North’s questions, “So what?” and “Who says?”  The ad demonstrates how it will profit you (So what?)  It also demonstrates people using this computer in everyday situations (who says?) Even though the people shown are most likely actors, it still allows the viewers to picture themselves using this product to make their lives better, and/or more efficient.