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  • 16-FEB-2026 | Tom McElligott’s “Waited for him all day” Ad for Northwestern Bell

16-FEB-2026 | Tom McElligott’s “Waited for him all day” Ad for Northwestern Bell

The Vault from Copywork365

The swipe file is dead.

Literally, and maybe figuratively as well.

When I first started working on this project, I gave it the working title, Toolbox. The simple tagline was: the swipe file on roids.

But the more I worked on it, the more it became clear that this wasn’t just a box of tools. Calling it a swipe file wasn’t accurate, either. Roided up, or otherwise.

Because at its core, the swipe file is merely a collection of pictures or text. A pile, in other words.

This thing behaves more like a navigable map.

And no matter how much stuff you hoard into a swipe file, its contents are inert.

This, on the other hand, grows deeper over time. Its contents are living.

So, henceforth, this will be known as…

(This is just a placeholder, made with the help of AI.
So hit me up if you can make this more human & prettier!)

The Vault is an atomic copywriting database. As far as I know it’s the first of its kind, so that’s what I’m calling it.

It’s a database of world-class excerpts just like the ones we cover right here on the daily. Spanning ad copy, webpage copy, and literature.

Each excerpt is x-rayed and dissected to reveal what makes everything tick, how it works — on the most granular level. (Hence, atomic.)

It covers all the tools, techniques, and psychology we touch on here, but in their full depth. Making it easy to master these “devices” and then apply them to your own persuasive writing. You can even filter by author or brand to steal the secret sauce from your very favorite writers, copywriters, and brands.

Same as before, I’ve still got a forever deal for you.

If you join the waitlist below, you get exclusive lifetime access for an ultra-low flat fee when The Vault launches. (It’s looking like Q1 or Q2 of 2026.)

After all, a sweetheart deal is the least I can do to thank you for your support.

And as I’ve mentioned before, yes, I really do mean lifetime.

Even if the internet ceases to exist. I’ll toil day and night to make sure you receive a physical copy. With however many thousands of excerpts this accumulates over its lifetime.

Pinky promise.

Tom McElligott’s “Waited for him all day” Ad for Northwestern Bell

Nostalgia, a little sprinkle of guilt, and the need for human connection.

In 1941, you waited all day for him to come home from work.
Isn’t it worth $1.50 to spend 5 minutes with him again?

Remember the great times you had together? Staying in touch regularly with old friends and loved ones costs less than you think.

For example, for under $1.50 you can talk for a full five minutes on the telephone to New Orleans, New York, or Seattle, evenings after 5PM and anytime on weekends.

So go ahead, relive those old memories and plan for new ones.

On the telephone. 🏁

  • Hook: “you”, then the rhetorical question to set up the rest of the ad.

  • Great use of memory throughout. Similar to imagination — it gets your reader visually keyed in, and it’s super vivid.

  • Tell your reader what to do: “So go ahead…”

  • Punchline keeps it short and sweet. Complete ideas > complete sentences.