John Emory Powers
| John Emory Powers | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1837 |
| Died | 1919 (aged 81–82) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Copywriter |
| Known for | Writing ads for Lord & Taylor and Wanamaker's |
John E. Powers (1837–1919) was a highly influential American copywriter. The world's first full-time copywriter, he worked for the department stores Lord & Taylor and Wanamaker's before becoming a freelancer in 1886. Regarded as the father of modern creative advertising, he was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 1954.
John Powers was born on a farm in Central New York in 1837. He initially worked as an insurance agent, and then traveled to England to sell the Wilcox and Gibbs sewing machines. Powers pioneered the use of many new marketing techniques, including full-page ads in the form of a story or play, free trial uses of a product and installment purchasing plan. His campaign created a demand for sewing machines in the Great Britain that Wilcox and Gibbs could not meet.
His son John O. Powers (1868–1937) was born in England. After some years, John E. Powers later came back to New York to work as a subscription agent for The Nation.
In the 1870s, Powers began writing ads for Lord & Taylor as a part-time job. His advertisements caught the attention of the department store owner John Wanamaker. Wanamaker hired him in May 1880, and brought him to Philadelphia to work for his store Grand Depot (later Wanamaker's). Powers wrote six ads a week for about nine months. After much experimentation with different styles, he settled on a style that featured colloquial English, short sentences and plain Roman type without italics instead of hyperbolic display styles. During Powers' tenure, the Wanamaker's revenues doubled from $4 million to $8 million. Powers did not get along well with other people, and Wanamaker described him as "the most impudent man" he had ever seen. Combined with Powers' insistence on being candid in the ads, this sometimes caused tension with his employers. Wanamaker's fired Powers in 1883, but hired him back in 1884. Two years later, he was fired for good.
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