So here is the story that I mentioned in my last post, The Best Content Marketing Story Ad Ever. Granted, the images aren’t here, but the story itself is what had the impact on me.

The writing brings everything together. It draws the readers in, makes them a part of the story, if only as a voyeur, and builds from the early stages with an idea that even if the lifestyle is out of reach, shows us clearly that we are all the same, at the core. And what great writing would be complete without the clincher line?

So without further ado, here is the Ralph Lauren Story ad from Vanity Fair Magazine in 1985.

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Reflections on a Marriage

There has not been an indulgence we have not enjoyed. Everything she could have wanted, our marriage has given her. We have lived as others only dream of living.

Her days were spending riding – the gardens were her treasure – our dinners and parties were such that no one ever refused.

In short, life was glorious and I could not imagine being happier, or consider for a moment that she was not living every second in total bliss.

And yet, this very morning she said to me, haltingly,

“We must speak tonight after the guests depart.”

I could not move, could not reply, my sensibilities in a disarray of fear and dread. How could I have been so blind, so sure of myself and her love for me? My world would collapse without her. Why had she sought another? Why was she unhappy?

What could I do to change her mind, to bring her love back to me and our life together.

The day was long. Minutes became hours, hours became longer than forever. At last, the guests were gone, the champagne sipped, the dancing a memory, and the conversation and laughter an echo.

We stood facing each other, my fears at their peak, as she said to me,

“Darling, my loved one, my life, I want to go to law school.”