Module 3 Great Advertising What Is It & How Is It Created?

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1 Module 3 Great Advertising What Is It & How Is It Created? In this module, we ll cover the nine building blocks of all great advertisements: An attention-grabbing headline A visually arresting image A sub-headline that expands on the headline Succinct body copy that s fluid and informative A relevant and targeted offer A clear call to action Evidence/Proof of Claim Easy identification of the product and client name A memorable tagline

2 Great Advertising: What is it and how is it created? In order to understand why an advertisement is outstanding, we need to understand the basic building blocks of an ad. Once we know what those building blocks are, we can manipulate and massage them to create exceptional building blocks. Then we refine each of those blocks and weave them seamlessly throughout the ad to create a great story. After all, great storytelling is the basis of all great advertising. As you flicked through the Ad Pack, you ll have seen some of the world s greatest advertisements. You may have liked some of them, you may have been appalled by some of them. What s important to realize is that irrespective of your personal opinion, these ads have worked (created sales) and that is all that matters in the competitive world of advertising. The purpose of this module is to look at the nine fundamental building blocks of great advertising. We will look at each one of these building blocks in detail and identify what function it plays within the context of the ad. We will then take it a step further and look at how those components can be shaped and crafted so that the combination of these fundamental building blocks become an ad that is greater than the sum of its parts. The nine basic building blocks of any advertisement are: 1. An attention-grabbing headline 2. A visually arresting image 3. A subheadline that expands on the headline 4. Succinct body copy that s fluid and informative 5. A relevant and targeted offer 6. A clear Call To Action 7. Evidence / Proof of Claim 8. Easy identification of the product and client name 9. A memorable tag line 1

3 Let s look at each one in detail: 1. Attention-grabbing headline and 2. Visually arresting image Headlines are the ad for the ad. They must have stopping power or the reader will move on and ignore it. It is one of THE most important components in any ad. Here s the theory behind the power of the headline: If the headline is strong, it will buy you 3 seconds of the reader s time. If the subhead is strong, it will buy you 30 seconds of the reader s time. If the body copy is strong, it will buy you maybe 3 minutes of the reader s time. By this time, the ad has been read and digested. Mission accomplished. Without a great headline, no-one will bother to read the sub head or the body copy which means that the ad does not get read at all. How do headlines and images work together? Headlines and images should inform each other. What does that mean? It means that the headline should not describe the image, and that the image should not describe the headline. It s also known in the trade as having a bent headline or a bent image. You can have one bent component the headline or the image but you can t have both. Here s a quick checklist to see if a bent headline or image has been used: Step 1: Cover the headline of the ad so that only the image is showing. Looking at it in isolation, does the rest of the ad make sense or does it need an explanation? 2

4 If the ad makes sense and can stand alone without any further explanation, it means the headline is redundant. Neither the headline or the image is bent. Step 2: Cover the image of the ad so that only the headline is showing. Looking at it in isolation, does the headline make sense or does it need explanation? If it makes sense and can stand alone without any further explanation, it means the image is redundant. In this Porsche ad, the headline is bent and the image is straight. We don t want the image to repeat the headline s message or the headline to describe what the image represents. That s not clever advertising. It s basic and often leads to didactic and boring advertising. If the idea in the ad is being carried by the headline, it means the headline will contain a twist, a trick, a turn, a shock factor; it will be bent. Therefore the accompanying visual must play a 3

5 subservient or straight role, as the Porsche does in this ad. The words in this ad are very straightforward but the image is bent. Conversely, if the idea in the ad is being carried by some creative twist in the picture, the picture will be bent. Therefore, the headline must be absolutely straight no puns, no wordplays, no embellishments. The words could even be taken from the product statement in the brief. For example, following is an example of an ad with a straight headline and a bent image. For further information on the brief, see the module The Creative Brief. 4

6 As you can see, the words in this ad are very straightforward but the image is bent. As a copywriter, you must think about the words and images as a total concept. Although your responsibility is to write the words, ads do consist of words and images so you need to keep in mind what images will accompany your words. If a copywriter only thinks about the copy, he will never write a straight line because, in isolation, it won t appear clever enough. However, in conjunction with the right picture, it might just be a brilliant ad. What you don t want to do is make the picture do what the words are doing and the words do what the picture is doing. So when you sit down to write your ad, the question you need to address is: Will I have a bent headline with a straight picture? Or will I have a straight headline and a bent picture? You ve got to decide which is leading, which is taking you forward, and if it s the picture, then almost certainly what you want is a very simple headline. Or if it s the other way around, you ll want a very simple picture and an intriguing headline. What we re looking for is juxtaposition. To demonstrate this principle, the following pages feature ads that have: 1. Bent headlines with straight images 2. Bent images with straight headlines 5

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14 Bent image with a straight headline: The following pages feature ads that have a bent image and a straight headline. 13

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21 3. A sub headline (or sub head) that expands on the headline Sub heads are like the lead paragraphs in a tabloid newspaper story they alert the reader to what s about to come. The reader will often make their judgement to continue reading based on this element. If the reader has been captivated by the headline / image, they will move down towards the sub head, if the copywriter has included one. It s not imperative but if the writer has used long copy, it s wise to include some sub headlines to break up the text (to give the reader a break from reading the copy) as well as to indicate what the next paragraph is about. If you were to scan a long copy ad that had numerous sub headlines, you should be able to read just the sub heads and get a very clear understanding of what the ad is about and its key benefits. Here are some ads with clear sub headlines that expand on the headlines: 20

22 Could this classic ad from decades ago be the forerunner and inspiration for the string of successful ads John Bevins wrote for BT in the 1990s? Check the Ad Pack for these BT ads and see if you can see any similarities between this ad and those written for BT. 21

23 This is one of the most famous ads of all time, written by David Ogilvy, the doyen of direct marketing. 22

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25 4. Succinct body copy that s fluid and benefit-driven The body copy is the main body of text in any advertisement. The role of the body copy is to outline the features and benefits of the product. This is where the sales pitch takes place. The ultimate objective of body copy is to get the reader to finish reading the advertisement so that they can be greeted with The Offer and Call To Action. There has been a tendency to shy away from writing long body copy in recent years. This has stemmed from the belief that nobody reads long copy any more. Many would disagree with this philosophy and would counter-argue that nobody reads long copy anymore because the copy is not worth reading. Body copy doesn t need to be short to be good. It just needs to say what it needs to say and then stop. Here are some examples of ads that demonstrate this principle: 24

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33 5. A relevant and targeted offer: If your reader has come this far and has finished reading the ad, the ad has been a great success. But there s one more thing a hard-working ad has to do and that s to get the reader to take action. If the reader is not compelled to take action at this stage, they will switch off, turn the page, click out or throw it in the bin. This is exactly what we don t want so we have to give the consumer a very good reason to take action. If we want people to do something, we need to offer them something to help motivate them to stay engaged. A relevant and targeted offer, also known as The Offer, is one of the most important factors in getting a reader to take action. The Offer could be one of many things: 50% off this week only Buy one get one free Free upgrade if you book today Free trial or sample Free measure and quote Free delivery There are hundreds of different offers you can make. See the module on How to Create Compelling Offers for further reference. The key to selecting the right offer is to ensure that it s 1) timely, 2) relevant and 3) targeted to its audience. For example, there s no point offering tourists free membership to a frequent buyers club if they re not going to be in the area to take advantage of The Offer. It has to be relevant to the target audience or else The Offer will just be ignored. Here are some examples of excellent offers that are targeted and relevant: 32

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41 6. A clear Call To Action: The Call to Action is related to The Offer. You need to tell the reader exactly what you want them to do. Never assume that they know what to do, because they don t. Be obvious when it comes to telling the reader what you want them to do. For example: Click here to enrol Fill out this form, cut it out and send to Tick this box if you would like to receive Ring us now to book an appointment Never assume the readers knows what to do. You need to spell it out to them in very clear terms. 40

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45 7. Evidence of Claim / Proof of Claim When people read ads, they are trying to filter out what s true, what s relevant to them, what s interesting and what s worth reading. This processing happens in the blink of an eye and is not based on any rational or cognitive motive. We are so bombarded with images and messages every day that our brain is constantly filtering out information that is not vital to our well being at that very moment, so it s not a conscious process that we can even control. In very simplistic terms, when we see an ad, our brain takes a quick scan of it. The brain then asks the following questions: Who cares? So what? Says who? Why do I need to know? If you, as the copywriter, can t answer those questions within the ad, your reader will disengage because the ad has not sufficiently convinced the reader that it is worthy of their attention. We have to give people a reason to believe; some form of logic to back up the emotional claim. If you are going to make a claim about a product, you need to back it up with evidence or proof that what you say is true or the reader will subconsciously ask Says who? and will switch off if an appropriate answer is not provided. This is why testimonials are so powerful and should be used at any opportunity. For example, Pal dog food has used this tag line for many years: Top Breeders Recommend Pal. 44

46 Here are some examples of how Evidence / Proof of Claim are used for well-known brands: Rob the Dentist endorses Oral B. Lleyton Hewitt and Tiger Woods endorse Nike. Anthony La Paglia endorses American Express. Gwyneth Paltrow endorses Estee Lauder. (See below for an example) 45

47 The following TV Commercial (TVC) provides a visual demonstration of how the product works and provides ample evidence that the Proof of Claim is true. 46

48 8. Easy identification of the product or client name Don t bury the client name or the product name in the ad, unless it s part of the creative concept. On the other hand, don t feature it in the headline, unless it s part of the creative concept. You need to be certain the reader can easily identify who the client is and what s being advertised. Look at all the ads listed in the Ad Pack. It is immediately apparent who the client is, and what they are selling. 9. Memorable tagline This is also known as the slogo, the slogan, or the strapline. Famous taglines are: Which Bank? (Commonwealth Bank) Zoom Zoom Zoom (Mazda) Just Do It (Nike) Don t Leave Home Without It (American Express) Oh What A Feeling! (Toyota) Just Say The Word (Optus) Just Be Happy (Target) Most companies will decide on a tag line and stick with it for many, many years. It s an important component of the brand because it sums up everything the company stands for. Once decided upon, the tag should not be changed repeatedly or it will confuse the reader about what the product and the brand represent. 47

49 In summary Let s recap and look at the nine basic building blocks of any advertisement: 1. An attention-grabbing headline 2. A visually arresting image 3. A sub headline that expands on the headline 4. Succinct body copy that s fluid and benefit-driven 5. A relevant and targeted offer 6. A clear Call To Action 7. Evidence / Proof of Claim 8. Easy identification of the product and client name 9. A memorable tagline Note: A great ad doesn t have to incorporate all of these nine elements in order to be successful. In some cases, all that s needed is a great headline and image. But if you are seeking a response from the reader, as opposed to just creating awareness that a product exists, then you ll need to incorporate more building blocks, such as an Offer, a Call To Action and/or Proof of Claim, into the ad. Here s a great ad that includes at least seven of the nine building blocks. 48

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51 From now on, start looking for these building blocks in all the advertising that you see. If you like an ad, run a checklist over it and see how many of the building blocks are incorporated into the ad. Conversely, keep an eye out for advertising that you don t like or doesn t appeal to you. How many of the essential building blocks does it have? Probably very few, which is why the ad is less than appealing. 50

52 Assignment for Module 3: Great Advertising Task: Identifying the building blocks of an advertisement Find four ads in the Ad Pack that you like. The four ads I have chosen are: a) b) c) d) Answer the following questions for each ad: 1. Does it have an attention grabbing headline or a visually arresting image? 2. Is the headline bent or straight? 51

53 3. Is the image bent or straight? 4. Does it include an Offer? If so, what is it? 5. Does it have a clear Call to Action? If so, what is it? 52