In early 50's Smirnoff Vodka was trying to break into the American market. Sales were poor and it was languishing a long way behind its competitors, selling at number 19 in distilled liquors in the USA. The cold war was raging and vodka was seen as a Russian or communist drink. The company tried several advertising agencies and still sales were poor. Then a copywriter at one of the agencies sat down and looked for the unique selling point of Smirnoff vodka. He soon found it. You could have a drink of vodka and no one could smell it on your breath. He came up with two advertising lines, "Smirnoff Vodka... It takes your breath away," and "Smirnoff Vodka... it leaves you breathless." Smirnoff Vodka went from around 15 million dollars of sales in 1954 to over 100 million dollars of sales in 1956, with over 1000 million dollars of sales today. It is now in the top three best selling distilled liquors in the world.

Smirnoff knew the value of advertising and they had confidence in their product. They realised that they were not getting the sales the expected because their marketing material wasn't good enough. Once the promotional material was correct sales started to grown rapidly.

Advertising works - look at all the branded items you have. The reason you initially chose one brand over another brand is the advertising. If you liked the product you will probably stick with it until someone else’s advertising tempts you away.

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