U.S. School of Music: They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano campaign

Judson Knight

"Unquestionably the most beloved of all the mail-order ads," wrote Frank Rowsome, Jr., "was the memorable 'They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano but When I Started to Play!'" Rowsome clearly admired the ad, for he named his 1959 book on the history of advertising They Laughed When I Sat Down.

U.S. School of Music: They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano campaign

Judson Knight

Overview

"Unquestionably the most beloved of all the mail-order ads," wrote Frank Rowsome, Jr., "was the memorable 'They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano but When I Started to Play!'" Rowsome clearly admired the ad, for he named his 1959 book on the history of advertising They Laughed When I Sat Down.The ad campaign for the U.S. School of Music was, as Herschell Gordon wrote in 1997, a "touchstone"; Gordon was not surprised that "60 or 70 years later, advertisers...

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