The Thin Market’s impact on advertising

John Foust

Jan 1, 2026

If I were to ask if you are planning to buy a pair of shoes for yourself or someone in your family in the next year, you would probably say “yes.” But if I were to ask if you are planning to buy that pair of shoes this week, you’d probably say “no.” That means your chance of buying those shoes right now is one chance out of 52 weeks.

This phenomenon is called the Thin Market – something every advertiser should know. The Thin Market is one of the best arguments for running ads consistently.

For most products or services, there is a large market over an extended period of time and a small market on any given day. In other words, store owners must advertise yearround to reach all of their prospective customers. During each week they advertise, they reach only about 2% of their current prospects. In addition, we all know that an ad must be seen multiple times to stand a chance of being acted upon. Running one ad a year — or two or three or 10 — will not make much of an impact.

Marketing’s dried up lakebeds are filled with decision makers who advertised only “every now and then.” But what about businesspeople who resist advertising altogether?

Years ago, McGraw-Hill addressed that challenge with a print ad that still speaks truth that hits like a hammer. It featured a stern-looking man sitting in an office chair, staring straight ahead at the camera. It was an image of disdain and distrust: frowning expression, closed posture, feet flat on the floor, clasped hands, brown suit, tightly cinched bow tie. The background was stark white and the copy beside him appeared with each sentence on a separate line for emphasis: “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know your company. I don’t know your company’s product. I don’t know what your company stands for. I don’t know your company’s customers. I don’t know your company’s record. I don’t know your company’s reputation. Now — what was it you wanted to sell me?” At the bottom of the ad, McGraw-Hill reminded readers that “sales start before your salesman calls.”

The ad quickly became a classic and has been used for years in advertising classes and textbooks as an example of a perfect match of copy and photography. (If you’d like to see it, do a Google search for McGraw-Hill man in the chair ad.)

Although the ad makes no mention of the Thin Market, it teaches a lesson about advertising that is just as relevant today as it was years ago. To get the attention of the man in the chair, a business has to put their ads where he can see them. And to win his trust, the ads must be straightforward and honest.

While the man in the chair tells us to advertise, the Thin Market tells us to advertise consistently.

John Foust has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training DVDs to save time and get quick results from in-house training. Email for information: john@johnfoust.com