In winter, when it is cold and dark, people are depressed. They want solutions. They want escape. Advertising works best in winter.
[Existing Mass Desire] ───> [The Copywriter's Bridge] ───> [Your Product] (Fear, Status, Health) (Channeling & Directing) (The Only Solution) breakthrough advertising by eugene schwartz
One of the most quoted passages in the book deals with the timing of advertising. Schwartz references T.S. Eliot's "April is the cruelest month" to discuss how advertising works against the current psychology. In winter, when it is cold and dark, people are depressed
Instead of forcing a consumer to want something new, your job is to identify a deeply felt, pre-existing internal tension. You then position your product as the natural vehicle to resolve that tension. For instance, a luxury watch brand does not create a desire for prestige; it channels the timeless human drive for status into a specific mechanical timepiece. Advertising works best in winter
If you run a Facebook ad for a SaaS product using feature-benefit copy, but your audience is at Level 4 (Problem Aware), you will lose money. You must match your copy to the awareness level.
This is where 90% of advertisers fail. These prospects know the result they want (e.g., “I want to make better investment decisions”), but they don't know a product exists that solves it. They are looking for a method .