Johnny Cochran’s “Circus Secret” That Won Him the Greatest Murder Trial in History
If you were to walk up and ask any American over 30 years to name the most famous and well-known lawyer in American history, without question, over 95% of them would say the late great Johnny Cochran.
Cochran, if you don’t remember, was O. J. Simpson’s lead attorney in his 1995 murder trial, aka the “trial of the century,” where he was accused of murdering his wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
He’s remembered most for the “if the glove don’t fit, you must acquit!” closing line he delivered on the last day of the trial.
But that line was just the rhetorical “cherry” on top of a massive ice cream sundae of superb direct marketing.
Indeed, from the very moment he joined the defense team, two things were clear in his mind:
- The O. J. Simpson trial was going to be the most famous trial in American history.
- To win a not guilty verdict, he had to convert the trial into what P. T. Barnum (of the famous century-lasting Barnum & Bailey circus) once called “The Greatest Show on Earth.”
So, Cochran immediately took center-stage in the biggest crime drama of the 20th century and gave it all the necessary ingredients for the audience: drama, sex, murder, race, corruption, celebrity, drugs, money, conspiracy — the whole shebang.
Because that’s what people tuned in for!
And if you go back and watch the court footage on YouTube (or the spectacular six-part documentary “O. J.: Made in America”), you can see exactly how Cochran absolutely owned the room and played to the TV cameras every moment of the televised trial, press conferences, and media interviews.
And, in doing so, he ran circles around the boring and incompetent prosecution who stuck to an outdated “just the facts, ma’am” kind of case, which caused the jurors and viewers to fall asleep.
Meanwhile, Cochran heightened the stakes and the drama every chance he could.
He and the other defense lawyers created wild and incredible stories about how the LA Police Department wasn’t just incompetent, they were complicit in a “coverup” to frame O. J. Simpson!
And how the police DNA evidence team had purposely mishandled the blood evidence at the murder scene to manipulate the case! (Even though it was just bureaucratic stupidity.)
And, most famously and effectively, how he turned the bloody murder glove into a dramatic demonstration (possibly the most effective tool in all direct response marketing) that claimed to show everyone watching that he couldn’t have been the murder because the glove was too small. (Even though OJ purposely had his hand swell up beforehand to keep it from fitting.)
And much, much more.
It was so overwhelming that not only was OJ completely acquitted but the jury reached the not guilty verdict in just a few hours!
Now, you can question the morality of the defense team’s strategy and tactics.
But, at the end of the day, a defense attorney’s job in court is to get their client the best verdict possible, come hell or high water!
Lesson: You can easily replicate these Cochranite principles in your own sales copy, understanding that people are hooked by a story and by placing your call-to-action as its fulfillment, you are giving immense satisfaction to your prospect.
Creating more dramatic action in your copy and marketing consistently will thrill your prospect and make you and your product radically more exciting than the competition, which will dramatically increase your sales or donations.
There’s a reason why no one pays attention to the dry subjects in school but will enthusiastically watch a gripping, dramatic, emotion-laden story on the subject.
It’s because drama, action, and story are what we crave and how we get excited. There needs to be much more excitement in your copy!
David Lowenthal is an independent direct response fundraising serving libertarian and other freedom-loving nonprofits.
This chapter is part of his book 32 Jackpot Marketing Secrets from History’s Greatest and Craziest Persuaders! If you would like to discover more marketing secrets from some of history’s most successful entrepreneurs, copywriters, politicians, negotiators, lawyers, talk show hosts, actor/directors, political activists, and much more, you can download a copy of his FREE ebook, 32 Jackpot Marketing Secrets from History’s Greatest and Craziest Persuaders!, by signing up here.
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