1. Part 4: Principles: Creativity and Breakthrough Advertising
Copywriting
Part 4: Principles: Creativity and Breakthrough Advertising
Chapter 13

2. Questions We’ll Answer
CHAPTER KEY POINTS
Questions We’ll Answer
What basic style of writing is used for advertising copy?
Which copy elements are essential to a print ad?
How can we characterize the message and tools of radio advertising?
What is the best way to summarize the major elements of television commercials?
How is Web advertising written?

3. Ads Where Words Are Crucial
COPYWRITING: THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING
Ads Where Words Are Crucial
If the message is complicated
In ads for high-involvement products
Information that needs definition and explanation
If a message tries to convey abstract qualities

4. COPYWRITING: THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING
The Copywriter
Copywriter
The person who shapes and sculpts the words in an ad.
Marketing, English, literature background.
They love words, have a sense of “voice” and tone, and are versatile.
Copy
The text of an ad.
Words people say in a radio or TV commercial.

5. Advertising Writing Style
COPYWRITING: THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING
Advertising Writing Style
Copy should be as simple as possible.
Write the way your target audience thinks and talks, using direct address.
Effective copy is succinct, single-minded, and tightly focused.

6. Writing Effective Copy
COPYWRITING: THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING
Writing Effective Copy
Be succinct
Be single-minded
Be specific
Get personal
Keep a single focus
Be conversational
Be original
Use variety
Use imaginative description

7. Advertising Writing Style
COPYWRITING: THE LANGUAGE OF ADVERTISING
Advertising Writing Style
Tone of Voice
Write to the target audience, as if in conversation with one person
Grammar
Sometimes use incorrect grammar for effect
Adese
Clichés, superlatives, stock phrases, and vague generalities that violate the guidelines for effective copy
Brag and boast copy—“we” focused and pompous

8. Two Categories of Copy Display copy Body copy COPYWRITING FOR PRINT
Elements readers see in their initial scanning
Headlines, subheads, call-outs, taglines, and slogans
Body copy
Elements that are designed to be read and absorbed
Text of the ad message, captions, call to action

9. How to Write Headlines COPYWRITING FOR PRINT
They convey the main message, get attention, and communicate the concept.
They must also:
Attract only prospects
Work with the visual to stop and grab readers’ attention
Identify product and brand; start the sale
Lead readers into body copy
Good headlines interrupt readers’ scanning and get their attention.

10. Two Categories of Headlines
COPYWRITING FOR PRINT
Two Categories of Headlines
Direct action (straightforward and informative)
Assertion
Command
How-to heads
News announcements
Indirect action (draw reader in, build brand image)
Puzzles
Associations
Also, “blind headlines”

11. How to Write Other Display Copy
COPYWRITING FOR PRINT
How to Write Other Display Copy
Captions
Second highest readership
Provide information
Subheads
Lead reader into copy
Larger than body copy
Taglines
Short, catchy, memorable
Complete or wrap-up creative idea
Slogans
Repeated from ad to ad
Reinforce brand identity

12. Techniques for Creating Slogans
COPYWRITING FOR PRINT
Techniques for Creating Slogans
Direct Address: “Have it your way; “Think small.”
A startling or unexpected phrase: the NYNEX campaign used, “If it’s out there, it’s in here,” which is an example of a twist on a common phrase that makes it unexpected.
Rhyme, rhythm, alliteration: uses repetition of sounds, as in the Wall Street Journal’s slogan–“The daily dairy of the American Dream.”
Parallel construction: uses repetition of the structure of a sentence or phrase; Morton Salt’s “When it rains, it pours.”
Cue for the product: Folgers’ “Good to the last drop;” John Deere’s “Nothing runs like a Deere,” Wheaties’ “Breakfast of Champions”
Music: “In the valley of the Jolly, ho-ho-ho, Green Giant.”
Combination (rhyme, rhythm, parallel): “It’s your land, lend a hand,” is the slogan for Take Pride in America.

13. How to Write Body Copy COPYWRITING FOR PRINT Body copy Writing styles
Maintain interest of reader
Persuasive heart of message
Sales message, argument, proof, explanation
Writing styles
Straightforward
Narrative
Dialogue
Explanation
Translation
Lead paragraph
First paragraph of body copy
Catches the reader’s attention
Closing paragraph
Last paragraph of body copy
Refers back to creative concept
Wraps up the Big Idea
Includes a “call to action”

14. How to Write Body Copy COPYWRITING FOR PRINT Body copy Writing Styles
Maintain interest of reader
Persuasive heart of message
Sales message, argument, proof, explanation
Writing Styles
Straightforward
Narrative
Dialogue
Explanation
Translation
Lead paragraph
First paragraph of body copy
Catches the reader’s attention
Closing paragraph
Last paragraph of body copy
Refers back to creative concept
Wraps up the Big Idea
Includes a “call to action”

15. Print Media Requirements
COPYWRITING FOR PRINT
Print Media Requirements
Newspapers
Less intrusive medium
Ads more straightforward and informative
Magazines
Better ad production
More informative, longer copy
Directories
Focus on service or store personality
Little space for explanation; keep it simple
Posters and outdoor advertising
Creative concept marries words and visual
Product literature
Detailed copy about a product, company, or event more informative with longer copy

16. Writing for Radio Short: 10, 15, 30, or 60 seconds
HOW TO WRITE RADIO COPY
Writing for Radio
Short: 10, 15, 30, or 60 seconds
Simple enough for consumers to grasp; intriguing enough to prevent switching
Creativity is key to breaking through clutter
Theater of the mind

17. Tools for Radio Copywriting
HOW TO WRITE RADIO COPY
Tools for Radio Copywriting
Voice
Announcer or character
Music
Creates a mood, establishes a setting
Jingles are catchy, “hummable”
Sound effects (sfx)
“libraries,” CDs, online

18. Guidelines for Writing Radio
HOW TO WRITE RADIO COPY
Guidelines for Writing Radio
Keep it personal
Speak to listener’s interests
Wake up the inattentive
Make it memorable
Include call to action
Create image transfer

19. Planning Radio: Scripts
HOW TO WRITE RADIO COPY
Planning Radio: Scripts
The script contains the words, dialogue, lyrics, sound effects, instructions, and descriptions to help the producer create the commercial as the copywriter imagined.
Sources of audio are on the left.
Words, dialogue, description of sound effects and music are on the right.

20. Writing for Television
HOW TO WRITE TELEVISION COPY
Writing for Television
Moving images makes TV more engaging than print.
The challenge is to fuse the images with the words to tell a story.
In great television commercials, words and pictures work together seamlessly to deliver the creative concept through sight, sound, and motion.

21. Tools of TV Copywriting
HOW TO WRITE TELEVISION COPY
Tools of TV Copywriting
Video
A key frame summarizes the main idea
Audio
Music, voices, sound effects
Voice-over
Off camera
Other TV Tools
Setting, casting, costumer, props
Talent
Announcers, spokespersons, character types or celebrities

22. Planning the TV Commercial
HOW TO WRITE TELEVISION COPY
Planning the TV Commercial
Copywriters plan
:10, :15, :20, :30, :60
Number of scenes; shots in each scene
Key visual: the image that sticks in the mind
Where/how to shoot
How much product info?
Pace: fast or slow?
Level of controversy and intrusiveness

23. Planning the TV Commercial
HOW TO WRITE TELEVISION COPY
Planning the TV Commercial
What’s the Big Idea?
What’s the benefit and who benefits?
How can you turn that benefit into a visual element?
How can you gain the viewer’s interest in the first three seconds?
How can you focus on a key visual?
Is the commercial single-minded?
Observe rules of good editing
Is the product identified and shown in close-up at the end?

24. Scripts, Storyboards, Photoboards
HOW TO WRITE TELEVISION COPY
Scripts, Storyboards, Photoboards
Script
The written version of the commercial
Prepared by the copywriter
Storyboard
The visual plan or layout of the commercial
Prepared by the art director
Photoboard
Uses photos instead of art for images

25. Web Writing Basics WRITING FOR THE WEB
More interactive than any other mass medium— more like two-way communication
The copywriter’s challenge: to attract people to the site and manage dialogue-based communication.
The advertiser’s challenge: to understand the user’s situation and design messages that fit the user’s needs.
To write great copy for the Web, copywriters must think of it as an interactive medium and open up opportunities for interaction with the consumer.

26. Banner Ads WRITING FOR THE WEB
Ways copywriters make ads stand out amidst the clutter and grab attention.
Offering a deal like a discount or a freebie
Using an involvement device like a challenge or contest
Changing the offer frequently, even daily
Keeping the writing succinct for surfers short attention
Focusing surfers’ attention by asking questions or offering knowledge they can use
Use the ad to solicit information and opinions
Banner ads can remind or invite viewers to click.
The product or brand should be immediately clear.

27. WRITING FOR THE WEB
Web Ads
They create awareness and interest in a product and build a brand image.
Good copywriting works well in any medium, including the Internet.
Other Web ad formats include games, pop-up windows, daughter windows, and side frames.

28. Global Copywriting Challenges
COPYWRITING IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
Global Copywriting Challenges
Language affects the creation of the advertising.
Standardizing copy by translating for a foreign market is dangerous.
Solution—use bilingual copywriters
Use back translation (from the foreign language back into the domestic one)

29. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.  
Publishing as Prentice Hall