![\"\"](\"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/BluBlockersAd-225x300.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In the late 1980s, Joe Sugarman was selling BluBlocker glare-blocking sunglasses through his catalogs. He expanded the offer to television, selling over 20 million pairs.<\/p>\n
There is plenty to study in both the TV spots and the print advertising. The demonstrations. The product story. Sugarman\u2019s personality. The oversized claims. The spectacle.<\/p>\n
But underneath all of that is something else doing a tremendous amount of selling work:<\/p>\n
Objection handling.<\/strong><\/p>\n The print ad is especially useful because you can watch Sugarman move through the prospect\u2019s resistance almost step by step. The page opens with a huge product photograph, the headline \u201cVision Breakthrough!\u201d and a caption that simply says, \u201cThey look like sunglasses.\u201d From there, the copy moves through disbelief, explanation, comparison with ordinary sunglasses, product details, alternative models, a guarantee, and finally the mechanics of ordering.<\/p>\n Sugarman doesn\u2019t merely collect a bunch of objections and dump the answers into an FAQ at the bottom of the ad.<\/p>\n He seems to ask a more useful question:<\/p>\n What is the prospect likely to think next?<\/p>\n And then he answers that.<\/p>\n The result is an ad built around the reader\u2019s internal conversation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That is probably one of the first thoughts a reader has. After all, there is a giant picture of the product taking up much of the page. And BluBlockers look, well, like sunglasses.<\/p>\n Sugarman doesn\u2019t fight the obvious. Underneath the enormous photograph appears the wonderfully ordinary caption:<\/p>\n \u201cThey look like sunglasses.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n It is a smart little piece of copy because it establishes a contrast that drives much of the advertisement.<\/p>\n Their appearance is ordinary, but the promised experience is not.<\/p>\n So Sugarman concedes the point immediately: yes, they look like sunglasses.<\/p>\n Quick lesson: Sometimes the prospect is thinking something obvious about your product. Rather than pretending the thought isn\u2019t there, say it yourself.<\/p>\n Doing so can make the next claim easier to hear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now Sugarman has a bigger problem. The ad isn\u2019t merely promising protection from bright sunlight; it presents the glasses as creating a noticeable difference in how things look, and that immediately raises skepticism.<\/p>\n Sugarman knows it, so the opening doesn\u2019t pretend the reader is already convinced. He tells the reader that he is about to relate something that may sound unbelievable and essentially says: if you don\u2019t believe me, keep reading and I\u2019ll make it worth your while.<\/p>\n That is very different from simply declaring:<\/p>\n “These are amazing sunglasses and you should believe everything I am about to tell you.”<\/em><\/p>\n Instead, Sugarman accommodates disbelief and then brings another person into the story. Len, a friend, recommends a pair of sunglasses he owns, which begins the demonstration narrative.<\/p>\n Sugarman puts them on and reports the difference. Now the reader is not merely staring at an unsupported advertising claim but following the story of someone encountering the same claim and being surprised by the result.<\/p>\n This is an important distinction. Sugarman doesn\u2019t demand belief before telling the story; he makes disbelief part of the story.<\/p>\n That is useful whenever you are selling something whose promise risks sounding exaggerated. You do not always have to suppress skepticism, because sometimes you can recruit it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If the reader grants Sugarman even a little curiosity, the next objection almost creates itself: How?<\/p>\n A surprising effect demands an explanation, so Sugarman shifts from reported experience to mechanism<\/strong>. He discusses filtering blue and ultraviolet light and connects that filtering to what the wearer supposedly experiences through the lenses.<\/p>\n From a copywriting standpoint, notice the order. He does not open the advertisement with a technical lecture; he starts with the effect, moves into the story, and only then supplies the explanation.<\/p>\n That gives us a useful sequence:<\/p>\n Experience first. Mechanism second.<\/strong><\/p>\n A technical explanation becomes much more interesting once the reader wants an explanation, yet marketers often reverse this. They become so fascinated with how their product works that they lead with the mechanism before the prospect has any reason to care.<\/p>\n Sugarman first creates the mystery: Why did things suddenly look different? Only then does he explain what is supposedly producing the effect.<\/p>\n The mechanism satisfies curiosity that the copy itself has created.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now we reach one of the most interesting pieces of objection handling in the entire ad. Sugarman is not competing only with other sunglasses companies; he is competing with the pair already sitting in the prospect\u2019s car, desk drawer, purse, or pocket.<\/p>\n That means the objection is not necessarily:<\/p>\n Which sunglasses should I buy?<\/p>\n It may be:<\/p>\n “Why should I buy sunglasses at all? I already own some.”<\/em><\/p>\n Sugarman has to destabilize the existing solution, and that is where the section headed \u201cSunglass Danger\u201d comes in. Instead of merely arguing that BluBlockers are better, he reframes ordinary sunglasses.<\/p>\n Something the prospect previously regarded as perfectly adequate is now presented as potentially incomplete or even problematic. That is a much stronger competitive move than saying:<\/p>\n “Our sunglasses are 23 percent better than your sunglasses.”<\/em><\/p>\n Sugarman changes the standard by which the category is being judged, and the prospect\u2019s old pair is suddenly on trial.<\/p>\n This principle travels well beyond sunglasses. If your customer already has a solution, your job may not be to demonstrate that your product works; your first job may be to show why the existing solution is not solving the whole problem.<\/p>\n Until you do that, \u201cBut I already have one\u201d<\/em> remains a devastating objection.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even if the prospect accepts the general argument, another distinction remains. A mechanism can be credible without a particular product being credible.<\/p>\n A reader might think: Fine, maybe special filtering lenses can make a difference, but are these BluBlockers actually well made?<\/em><\/p>\n Sugarman answers by getting more specific. He talks about the lens material, coating, frame, hinge, construction, and comfort.<\/p>\n These aren’t the sexiest portions of the advertisement, but that may be exactly why they matter. Big promises generate excitement, while specific details make the object feel real.<\/p>\n A prospect can mentally inspect a frame, a hinge, a lens material, or a construction feature in a way he cannot inspect a sweeping promise. This gives us another useful principle:<\/p>\n Big claims create desire. Small specifics often create credibility.<\/p>\n The two perform different jobs, and good sales copy needs both.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once the main product has been established, Sugarman begins addressing more practical objections. What if the reader wears prescription glasses, the main model is more than he wants to spend, or he simply wants something different?<\/p>\n The ad introduces additional models, including a clip-on version and a lower-priced plastic version, but the order is worth noticing. Sugarman does not begin with a menu or immediately bury the reader under choices.<\/p>\n He first sells the central idea of BluBlockers, and then he introduces variations to remove individual barriers.<\/p>\n That is an important lesson for anyone selling a product with multiple tiers, versions, packages, or configurations:<\/p>\n Sell the concept before you sell the configuration.<\/p>\n Otherwise, you risk asking someone to choose among versions of a product he has not yet decided he wants.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At some point, copy runs into a wall. Sugarman can explain the lenses, tell stories, describe the construction, and compare BluBlockers with conventional sunglasses, but the reader can always reply:<\/p>\n “That all sounds interesting, but I won\u2019t know whether I see the difference until I actually wear them.”<\/em><\/p>\n And the reader is right. This objection cannot be completely eliminated through another paragraph, so Sugarman changes tactics and turns the purchase into an experiment.<\/p>\n Get the BluBlockers, compare them with your old sunglasses, and see whether you notice the dramatic difference. If you don\u2019t, the ad offers a 30-day return opportunity.<\/p>\n Notice what has happened. Sugarman stops trying to make certainty a prerequisite for purchase and instead reduces the cost of uncertainty.<\/p>\n That is one of the most powerful functions of a guarantee. It is not merely a reassuring line near the order button; it can answer an objection that copy alone cannot resolve.<\/p>\n The prospect thinks, I don\u2019t know whether this will work for me.<\/p>\n The seller responds, Then don\u2019t decide from the ad. Try it.<\/p>\n When belief cannot be manufactured in advance, the offer can sometimes make belief unnecessary.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The final objection barely sounds like an objection because it is really friction. The prospect has moved from skepticism toward action but still needs practical answers: Which model? What does it cost? Who is it for? How do I order? What number do I call?<\/em><\/p>\n Sugarman closes with the models, prices, ordering instructions, and a recap of the kinds of people who might use the glasses. At this point the nature of the copy changes, because there is less need for another dramatic argument and more need for a clear path.<\/p>\n Persuasion gradually gives way to logistics, and that matters because plenty of sales are lost after the customer is essentially convinced. Confusion is still resistance, inconvenience is still resistance, and uncertainty about what to do next is still resistance.<\/p>\n Good objection handling does not stop when the prospect says, \u201cI want it.\u201d It continues until the prospect can actually buy it.<\/p>\n RW<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the late 1980s, Joe Sugarman was selling BluBlocker glare-blocking sunglasses through his catalogs. He expanded the offer to television, selling over 20 million pairs. There is plenty to study in both the TV spots and the print advertising. The demonstrations. The product story. Sugarman\u2019s personality. The oversized claims. The spectacle. But underneath all of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buying-psychology","category-copywriting"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":572,"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566\/revisions\/572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/richardwinser.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Objection 1: \u201cWell, These Look Like Sunglasses.\u201d<\/h2>\n
Objection 2: \u201cYour Dramatic Vision Claim Sounds Doubtful.\u201d<\/h2>\n
Objection 3: \u201cOkay, But How Could Sunglasses Possibly Do That?\u201d<\/h2>\n
Objection 4: \u201cMy Old Sunglasses Are Probably Good Enough.\u201d<\/h2>\n
Objection 5: \u201cBut Are These Particular Glasses Any Good?\u201d<\/h2>\n
Objection 6: \u201cBut That Version May Not Be Right for Me.\u201d<\/h2>\n
Objection 7: \u201cBut I Still Can\u2019t Know From an Advertisement.\u201d<\/h2>\n
Objection 8: \u201cOkay. I\u2019m Interested. What Do I Do?\u201d<\/h2>\n