Here's Carl: Computer Language's Comedy King
Humor Helps Mag's Launch, But Not Everyone's Laughing

by Jack Feuer

as published in "Adweek"

Trying to get advertisers to read "what we want them to read."

SAN FRANCISCO - The ad is headlined: "Buy an Ad. Get a Cat." It shows one feline looking at another being Federal Expressed into the air. "We're standing by ready to punch holes in boxes." says the copy.

That's just one of a collection of oddball promotions from 27-year-old Carl Landau, publisher of Computer Language. With his partner, 24-year-old editor Craig LaGrow, the two are giving Dr Dobb's Journal - the Bible for professional computer programmers - a run for its money. In fact, the two ex-employees of Dr. Dobb's, say their year-old publication has been running in the black since its third issue.

"So much junk mail comes across the desk of potential advertisers that it's hard to catch their attention." Landau says. "We figured if we gave our promotions a little thought, we'd get them to read what we want them to read."

Indeed. To launch the fledgling publication, Landau sent out a "ransom note" complete with cut-and-paste letters, warning: "Read this or we'll crash your disk. We don't want to get rough, so just go along with our instructions... Remember, no funny stuff." The letter was enclosed in a hand-written envelope from "Lenny the Weasel."

Is this any way to reach technical programmers? Absolutely, Landau says. "Other people think of programmers as nerds with no sense of humor, but they're the wildest bunch of people I've ever met. So you can take unconventional approaches to reach them."

Still, not all programmers accept Landau's looniness. After the cat ad, for example, he admits "We got some calls from animal lovers. But, I mean, after all, they are my cats. And I am trying to get rid of them."

CL's dynamic due claims Computer Language has a circulation of about 40,000. But Laird Foshay, president of Dr. Dobb's Journal (published by M&T Publishing in Palo Alto), says that number should be taken with several grains of salt: "Like a lot of computer magazines, CL's circulation isn't verified, and needs a lot of examination." (Dr Dobb's, which is an audited publication, has a 35,000 paid circulation.)

"CL has made an earnest effort to repeat the Dr. Dobb's phenomenon," he adds, "but it's still in the formative stages. They don't have the same depth of understanding of the subject matter."

Actually, CL doesn't want to be Dr Dobb's, LaGrow says. "We are not a hacker's magazine, which is how I divide myself from Dr Dobb's." CL's August issue does include highly technical how-to stories, but also has interviews with successful programmers. Dr Dobb's August issue, by contrast, is very technical, highly complex programming data.

Either way, it's clear Computer Language has made an impact. Even Foshay admits "everywhere I go, I hear Computer Language, Computer Language."

But not everything is coming up roses. At press time, Landau still hadn't found a home for his cats.