Advertising Management and Sales Promotion Unit 6

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Unit 6 Advertising Copy Design Strategy
Structure:
6.1 Introduction
Objectives
6.2 Copy Objectives
6.2.1 The Language of Advertising
6.3 Advertising Copy Types
6.3.1 The Copywriter
6.3.2 Advertising Style
Self Assessment Questions I
6.4 Copy Testing
6.4.1 Practical Tips for Writing Effective Copy
Self Assessment Questions II
6.5 Creativity in Advertising
6.5.1 Copy Elements
6.5.2 Print Media Requirements
Self Assessment Questions III
6.6 Summary
6.7 Terminal Questions
6.8 Answers to SAQs and TQs
6.1 Introduction
A person who shapes and sculpts the words in an adverting is called a
Copywriter. His role is highly important in advertising as it is he who
combines words and pictures in such a way as to work together to produce
a creative concept. Words are powerful tools in advertising. The person who
understands their beauty and power can indeed be a good copywriter. This
unit deals with advertising copy types and the importance of creativity in
advertising.
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Objectives:
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
Explain advertising style.
Comment on the language of advertising.
Explain the advertising copy types.
Explain why creativity is important in advertising.
6.2 Copy Objectives
6.2.1 The Language of Advertising
Words and pictures work together to produce a creative concept. However,
the idea behind a creative concept in advertising is usually expressed in
some attention-getting and memorable phrase. Finding these magic words
is the responsibility of copywriters who search for the right words to warm up
a mood or soften consumer resistance.
An example of a word-oriented creative concept comes from a long-running
NYNEX campaign in its YELLOW Pages. The Commercial uses a play on
words to illustrate some of the headings in its directory. One commercial in
the series included three train engineers with overall, caps, and bandannas
sitting in rocking chairs in a parlour and having tea to illustrate the Civil
Engineering category. A picture of a bull sleeping on its back illustrates the
category Bulldozing.
Although advertising is highly visual, there are five advertisements in which
words are crucial:
1. If the message is complicated, words can be more specific than visuals
and can be read over and over until the meaning is clear.
2. If the ad is for high-involvement product, meaning the customer spends
a lot of time considering it, then the more information the better, and that
means using words.
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3. Information that needs definition and explanation, like how a new
wireless phone works, is also better delivered through words.
4. If a message tries to convey abstract qualities, such as justice and
quality, words tend to communicate these concepts more easily than
pictures.
5. Finally, slogans and jingles help to lock in key phrases that cue a brand
image or remind consumers of brand features.
Words are powerful tools in advertising. The person who understands their
beauty and power, as well as how best to use them in situations like these is
the copywriter.
6.3 Advertising Copy Types
6.3.1 The Copywriter
A person who shapes and sculpts the words in an adverting is called a
Copywriter. Copy is the text of an ad or the words that people say in a
commercial. In most agencies, copywriters work in teams with Art Directors
who design the way the ad will look. Creative Directors manage the
creative process and oversee the work of the copywriter/art director team.
6.3.2 Advertising Style
In advertising, there is good writing and there is bad writing, just as there is
good and bad in every other area of expression. One characteristic of good
advertising writing is that it is succinct and single-minded, meaning it has a
clear focus and usually tries to concern only one selling point.
Advertising has to win its audience. For that reason, the copy should be as
simple as possible. Simple ads avoid being gimmicky or too cute; they dont
try hard or reach too far to make a point.
In an advertising copy, every word counts because both space and time are
expensive. Ineffective words such as interesting, very, in order to, buy now
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and save, introducing, nothing less than, etc. waste precious space.
Copywriters revise copy a hundred times to make it as concise as possible.
The tighter the copy, the easier it is to understand and the greater its impact.
Self Assessment Questions I
State whether the following statements are True or False:
1. Words such as interesting, very, in order to, buy now and save,
introducing, nothing less than, etc. help to save space.
2. In an advertising copy, every word counts because both space and time
are expensive.
3. A good advertising writing is succinct and single-minded.
6.4 Copy Testing
6.4.1 Practical Tips for Writing Effective Copy
Be succinct: Use short, familiar words, short sentences and short
paragraphs.
Be specific: Dont waste time on generalities. The more specific the
message, the more attention-getting and memorable it is.
Get personal: Directly address your audience whenever possible as
you and your rather than we or they.
Be conversational: Use the language of everyday conversation. The
copy should sound like two friends talking to one another, so dont shy
away from incomplete sentences, through fragments, and contractions.
Keep a single focus: Deliver a simple message. Dont shy away from
incomplete sentences, through fragments, and contractions.
Be original: To keep your copy forceful and persuasive, avoid stock
advertising phrases, strings of superlatives and brag-and-boast
statements, and clichs.
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Use variety: To add visual appeal in both print and TV ads, avoid long
blocks of copy in print ads. Instead, break the copy into short
paragraphs with subheads. In TV commercials, break up television
monologues with visual changes, as shots of the product, sound effects,
and dialogue. The writer puts these breaks in the script while the art
director designs what they will look like.
Tone of voice: To develop the right tone of voice, copywriters write to a
typical user. If they know someone who fits that description, then they
write to those persons as if they were in a conversation. If they dont,
then may go through a photo file, select a picture of the person they
think fits the description, and develop a profile of that personality.
Copywriters may even hang these pictures above their desks while
writing the copy.
Grammar: Copywriters also are attuned to the niceties of grammar,
syntax, and spelling, although sometimes they will play with a word or
phrase to create an effect, even if its grammatically incorrect.
An example comes from the elegant Apple Computer campaign by
TBWA Chiat/Day for the Macintosh that used the slogan Think
different. The campaign featured pictures of geniuses much as Albert
Einstein and Pablo Picasso. The copy should read Think differently to
be grammatically correct, which caused a bit of an uproar in Apples
school market. In response to the hundreds of letters from school
teachers and other offended citizens, Apple replied, differently, being
HOW to think. The companys reply added as a noun, Because
different is not a modifier but a thing. In other words, the message of
the tagline tells us WHAT TO THINK ABOUT rather than HOW to think.
Its a somewhat convoluted explanation but one that had to be made
because of the tremendous amount of criticism levelled at the ad.
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Adese: Formulaic advertising copy is one problem that is so well-known that
comedians parody it. This type of formula writing, called adese, violates all
the guidelines for writing effective copy that we described in the Practical
Tips for writing effective copy. Adese is stereotyped ad writing. It is full of
clichs, superlatives, stock phrase, and vague generalities. For example,
Can you hear yourself saying things like this to a friend? Now we offer the
quality that youve been waiting for-at a price you can afford, and Buy now
and save.
The parody ads used in the AWNY announcement used tongue-in-check
copy to call attention to the clichd copy that is sometimes directed to
women. For example, one ad about how to convince women to clean a toilet
had the following copy:
When showing a woman cleaning toilets, make sure she has a knock-down,
drop-dead, slamming body. This will ensure that other women believe that
toilet bowls curbing will give them a killer figure- thereby increasing their
overall value as a human being.
Adese is also brag-and-boast copy, which is we copy written from the
companys point of view with a pompous tone. Research has consistently
found that this is the weakest form of ad writing. An example would be:
Brought to you by [company/brand name,]. We are the technological leader
of the decade.
Consider a print ad by Buick for the Somerset, one its models. The ad starts
with the stock opening, Introducing Buick on the move. The body copy
includes superlatives and generalities such as, Nothing less than the
expression of a new philosophy, It strikes a new balance between luxury
and performance-a balance which has been put to the test.
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The problem with advertising is that it looks and sounds like it is clichd.
People are conditioned to screen out advertising. Messages that use this
predictable style are the ones that are the easiest to ignore.
Self Assessment Questions II
1. ________________ is a brag-and-boast copy.
2. To develop the right _______________ copywriters write to a typical
user.
6.5 Creativity in Advertising
Copywriting for Print
A print advertisement is created in two pieces: a copy sheet and a layout.
6.5.1 Copy Elements
The two categories of copy that print advertising uses are display copy and
body copy (or text). Display copy includes all elements that readers see in
their initial scanning. These elements - headlines, sub-heads, call-outs,
taglines, and slogans-usually are set in larger type size than body copy and
are designed to be read and to stop the viewers scanning. Body copy
includes the elements that are designed to be read and absorbed, such as
the text of the ad message and captions.
How to Write Headlines: Most experts on print advertising agree that the
headliner is the most important display element. The headline works with
the visual to get attention and communicate the creative concept. This Big
Idea usually comes across best through a theme (To Do List for the
Planet) and the underline (Find food that helps prevent osteoporosis)
makes the most direct connection with the visual.
The headline is a key element in print advertising. It conveys the main
message so that people get the point of the ad. It is important for another
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reason. People who are scanning may read nothing more, so advertisers
want to at least register a point with the consumer. The point has to be clear
from the headline or the combination of headline and visual. Researchers
estimate that only 20 percent of those who read the headline go on to read
the body copy.
Writers cover notepads with hundreds of headlines and spend days
worrying about the wording. They have to be catchy phrases, but they also
have to convey an idea and attract the light target audience. A Tobler
chocolate has won EFFIE awards for a number of years for its clever
headlines and visuals. For Toblers Chocolates Orange, the creative
concept showed the chocolate ball being smacked against something hard
and splitting into slices. The headlines were Whack and Unwrap. The next
year the headlines were Smashing Good Taste which speaks to the
candys British origins and to the quirky combination chocolate and orange
flavours. The headline and visual also tell consumers how to open the
orange into slices-by whacking or smashing.
Agencies will copy-test headlines to make sure they can be understood at a
glance and that they communicate exactly the right idea. Split-run tests (two
versions of the same ad) in direct mail have shown that changing the
wording of the headline while keeping all other elements constant can
double, triple, or quadruple consumer response. That is why the experts,
such as ad legend David Ogilvy, state that the headlines are the most
important element in the advertisement.
Ogilvy explained why headlines that work can last for so long when he said,
You arent advertising to a standing army; you are advertising to a moving
parade. His point is that an ad headline may wear out with the copywriter,
agency, or advertiser and still pull in readers because new people are
seeing it and, if the idea is timeless, responding to the pull of the message.
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Because headliners are so important, some general principles guide their
development and explain the particular functions they serve:
A good headline will attract only those who are prospects. There is no
sense in attracting people who are not in the market, by speaking to
their interests. An old advertising axiom is, Use a rifle, not a shotgun. In
other words, use the headline to tightly target the right audience.
The headline must work in combination with the visual to stop and grab
the readers attention. An advertisement by Range Rover shows a photo
of the car parked at the edge of a rock ledge in Monument Valley with
the headline. Lots of people use their Range Rovers just to run down to
the corner. These elements stop the reader.
The headlines must also identify the product and brand, and start the
sale. The selling premise should be evident in the headline. If you have
a strong sales point, lead with it and keep the headline single-focused.
The headline should lead readers into the body copy. For readers to
move to the body copy, they have to stop scanning and start
concentrating. The fact that the reader needs to change the perceptual
mode, the mind-set, is the reason why only 20 percent of scanners
become readers.
6.5.2 Print Media Requirements
There is variety of media in the print category - everything from newspapers
and magazines to outdoor boards and product literature. They all use the
same copy elements, such as headlines and body copy; however, how
these elements are used varies with the medium.
Newspapers: Newspaper advertising is one of few types of advertising that
is not considered intrusive. People consult the paper as much to see what is
on sale as to find out what is happening in City Hall. For this reason, the
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copy in newspaper advertisement does not have to work as hard as other
kinds of advertising to catch the attention of its audience.
In addition, because the editorial environment of a newspaper generally is
serious, newspaper ads dont have to compete as entertainment, as
television ads do. As a result, most newspaper advertising copy is
straightforward and informative. Local retail advertising announces what
merchandise is available, what is on sale, how much it costs, and where you
can get it. The writing is brief, usually just identifying the merchandise and
giving critical information about styles, size and prices.
Magazines: Magazines appear less frequently than newspapers and,
therefore, there is time for better quality ad production. That also means
more care is taken in the writing and testing of the ads strategy, copy, and
other elements. Consumers may clip and file advertising that ties in with the
magazines special interest as reference information. For this reason,
magazine ads often are more informative and carry longer copy than do
newspaper ads. Copywriters carefully craft the copy for both aesthetic and
functional impact to mirror the higher quality design and production values
that magazines offer. Copywriters also take care to craft clever phrasing for
the headliners. The body copy, as in the Nike womens campaign, may read
more like poetry.
Self Assessment Questions III
State whether the following statements are True or False:
1. The headline conveys the main message so that people get the point of
the ad.
2. The headline works with the visual to get attention and communicate the
creative concept.
3. Magazine ads are less informative and carry shorter copy than do
newspaper ads.
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6.6 Summary
In advertising, words and picture work together to produce a creative
concept. However, the idea behind a creative concept in advertising is
usually expressed in some attention-getting and memorable phrase. Words
are powerful tools in advertising. A person who shapes and sculpts the
words in an adverting is called a Copywriter. The person who understands
their beauty and power, as well as how best to use them in situations like
these is the copywriter.
One characteristic of good advertising writing is that it is succinct and single-
minded. In an advertising copy, every word counts because both space and
time are expensive. Copywriters are attuned to the niceties of grammar,
syntax, and spelling, although sometimes they will play with a word or
phrase to create an effect, even if its grammatically incorrect.
The two categories of copy that print advertising uses are display copy and
body copy. The headline is a key element in print advertising. The headline
conveys the main message so that people get the point of the ad.
6.7 Terminal Questions
1. Write short note on advertising style.
2. Comment on the language of advertising.
3. What is Adese? Explain.
4. What is the role of creativity in advertising? Explain.
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6.8 Answers to SAQs and TQs
SAQs I
1. False 2. True 3.True
SAQs II
1. Adese
2. Tone of voice
SAQs III
1. True 2. True 3. False
Answers to TQs:
1. Refer to 6.3
2. Refer to 6.2
3. Refer to 6.4
4. Refer to 6.5