Herschell Gordon Lewis’s Best and Worst Catalog Copy of 2013

Sticking My Head into the Lion’s Mouth… This year’s choices: The best and worst catalog copy

Herschell-Gordon-Lewis-200Whew! This gets tougher every year.

Why? Because, as anyone reading this publication knows, not only has the surging dominance of online catalogs forced printed catalogs to adopt order stimulators such as free shipping, but recognition of immediate competition has forced every alert cataloger to emphasize benefits over uncooked product elements.

So no huge gap, separating “best” and “worst,” exists as it did half a generation ago. To the catalogs I criticize here, I apologize…but only for their unfortunate positioning. Except for this column—and probably despite this column—they probably can skirt their way into the arena of ongoing acceptance.

Keep in mind as you skim through this: We’re analyzing copy only. With that semi-explanation in place, let’s start the argument…

[Next Page: The Best of 2013]