However, he transferred to the United States Naval Academy, earning a degree in engineering, after deciding to avoid a public speaking requirement at Columbia.

During 1925-1926, he created the well-known U.S. School of Music advertisement titled "They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano But When I Started to Play!"

His father was a physician from Ohio, and his mother had a college background in arts and literature, which influenced Caples.

One of his professors assigned students to give a speech in class, but Caples, uncomfortable with public speaking, attempted to avoid the task.

[a] Caples began his advertising career in 1925,[4] creating his first printed ad for Arthur Murray Dance Studios.

[3] In 1926, he created a mail-order advertisement for the U.S. School of Music with the headline, "They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano But When I Started to Play!"

At BBDO, he worked on small mail-order accounts, including Phoenix Mutual and the Alexander Hamilton Institute.

Caples also visited the New York Ad School and, in 1952, accepted an invitation from Bill Orchard to teach at Columbia University for a year.

Caples, who was well-versed in advertising research, supervised projects for various industries, including the U.S. Navy, DuPont, General Electric, Lever Brothers, Goodrich, and U.S. Steel.

[6] Gordon Eugene White stated that Caples popularized the fundamental concept of testing, which became an integral part of advertising.