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23-AUG-2025 | Xerox’s “Crumple up this ad” Ad

Author

Dan Bogachek
August 23, 2025

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Xerox’s “Crumple up this ad” Ad

Crumple up this ad.

Then take it to your local Xerox office.

Tell a sales representative that if the Xerox 5400 copier is so terrific, let’s see if the ball of paper in your hand will go through its document feeder.

Chuckle to yourself as he smooths out the ad and carries it to the 5400. After all, you’ve never seen a document handler that could handle a problem like this.

Then he may pause to tell you how the 5400 can automatically copy on two sides of a sheet of paper. He may even point out its uncanny self-diagnostic systems and lightning-fast automatic bi-directional sorter.

But you both know why you’re there.

At last, he slides the crumpled page towards the document handler and pushes the button. And… and… and…

Sorry. But what happens next is between you and your local Xerox representative. So pay him a visit, soon.

And find out if the original goes in.

And if it does, how the copy comes out. 🏁 

A challenge and then a mystery.
I wonder how many people actually went through with this.

  • The hook should “push” your reader. We don’t insult, or present a paradox — we issue a challenge with a command hook.

  • Written in “you” language.

  • Momentum bridging: note how many sentences start with “but”, “so”, “and”, etc… It’s an easy way to make your copy sound conversational.

  • Similar to the Hershey ad we covered recently — the cliffhanger is intentional. The punchline happens in real life, when your curiosity gets the best of you 😉.