Stefan's Pick
Stefan's All-Time Controls
The ads Stefan returns to again and again when teaching breakdown craft. These aren't just winners — they're textbooks. Each one demonstrates a principle worth internalizing.
10 entries
"Every copywriter I've coached who truly cracked six figures had studied at least three of these in depth — not skimmed, studied. Read them slow. Ask why every single line is there."
hooks U.S. School of Music / John Caples
Behind the ScenesWritten by 22-year-old John Caples in 1926. It became the most-imitated headline in advertising history and launched his 50-year career at BBDO.
opens Wall Street Journal / Martin Conroy
On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college.
This 1975 WSJ control ran for 28 years — the longest-running direct mail letter in history. The genius: two men with identical starts, one succeeds wildly. The reader's brain immediately asks 'why?' — and the answer is the offer.
full ads Gary Halbert / Coat of Arms
The Gary Halbert 'Coat of Arms' Letter — The Most Mailed Direct Mail Piece in History
Pattern StatsThe Coat of Arms letter mailed approximately 600 million pieces over its lifetime — widely considered the most mailed direct mail letter in history. Gary Halbert wrote it in 1971 at age 31. The concept was simple: everyone wants to know their family history.
full ads Dollar Shave Club / Michael Dubin
Dollar Shave Club: 'Our Blades Are F***ing Great' — The $1 Billion Launch Video Deconstructed
Michael Dubin violated every B2B investor pitch rule — no slides, no market size slide, no traction metrics. He showed the product working, made you laugh, and ended with the price. The video cost $4,500 and drove 12,000 orders in 48 hours.
full ads Stansberry Research / Porter Stansberry
The 'End of America' Advertorial That Generated $100M+ for Stansberry Research
hooks BioFit / Chrissie Miller
How A Broke 40-Year-Old Burned 47 Pounds In 11 Weeks — Without Changing What He Eats For Dinner
The headline buries the dream in the qualifier — 47 pounds in 11 weeks is the number, but ‘without changing what he eats for dinner’ is the mechanism. Most copywriters write the dream. Gary Halbert wrote the reason you can believe it.
full ads Athletic Greens / AG1
AG1: How Athletic Greens Built a $1.2B Brand on One SKU and One Landing Page
Pattern StatsAG1 reached a $1.2B valuation with a single product at ~$80/month. Most DTC playbooks push SKU expansion — AG1 proved the opposite: fewer products means all media spend, influencer relationships, and brand equity compound on one conversion event.
hooks Dale Carnegie / Simon & Schuster
How To Win Friends And Influence People
full ads Purple / Harmon Brothers
Purple Mattress: 'Raw Egg Test' — The $600M Ad That Proved Product Claims With Physics
hooks Sherwin Cody School of English
Do You Make These Mistakes In English?
Pattern Stats'Do You Make These Mistakes in English?' ran as a Sherwin Cody School ad from 1919 to 1959 — 40 consecutive years. It's cited in every major copywriting book as the definitive example of a self-qualifying hook that targets shame without accusation.