Because You're Worth It

Stumbled upon this fascinating old New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell about the two women who came up with the seminal home hair coloring campaigns of the 1960s and 70s. Shirley Polykoff and Ilon Specht were two famous old-school copywriters from the days when there actually seemed to be a number of well-known female creatives*.
And, more importantly, when advertising seemed to matter more, when it seemed to reflect and interpret the national psyche on a more visceral level.
What's fascinating about the two campaigns discussed in the article: Clairol's "Only Her Hairdresser Knows For Sure" and L'Oreal's "Because I'm Worth It" is how quaint and naive they now seem, both strategically and tonally. Gladwell's a great writer though, and the article is well worth the 15 minutes or so it'll take you to get through it.

*Particularly noteworthy, given the recent death of the legendary Diane Rothschild.

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