Percentage Power

In touting their clients' products, more and more advertising men are saying it with percentages. Ads for Polident Powder claim that it gives 45% more false teeth cleanings than a tablet. An ad for Instant Maxwell House Coffee emphasizes that 45% of those tested in a recent survey preferred its taste. Promotions for Anacin tablets note that their Special Fortified Formula contains 100% more of a powerful pain reliever (by which the company means aspirin) than the other leading extra-strength tablet (Excedrin). A study of women's magazines found that the use of percentages in ads has risen 75% since 1968.

Percentages in ads are not new; Ivory Soap's "99 and 44/100 percent pure" slogan was first floated in 1882. The big use of the old numbers game right now is a result of the hard tussle for the consumer's dollar in a period of economic slack. Numbers lend an impression of credibility and precision that helps the buyer justify his purchase. Figures also have a strong appeal for financial men, who make or approve corporate buying decisions. Thus IBM ads promise that its equipment will cut reproduction costs by 35%.

But the percentage craze is growing wilder. According to its latest ads, Score makes hair "juicy" and "actually 12% plumper." The account people at Wells, Rich, Greene, the agency that dreamed up the ad, insist that this figure was established in microscopic measurement tests. Similarly, Crisco Oil claims that it splatters 35% less than other oils. To determine this percentage, Procter & Gamble research men say they repeatedly collected the splatter of eight frying oils on aluminum foil and measured the weight of the sheets.

Not every agency chief is enamored of percentages. Says Chester Gore, president of the agency that bears his name:

"Research has taken over the world, and the numbers don't always stand up. We're befuddled by the geniuses hitting us with numbers." In retaliation, Gore has created a spoofing commercial for Bolla Wines: "Our independent survey reveals that Bolla is preferred by over 87% of the people . . . who are members of the Bolla family."

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