Copywriting: The Language of Advertising

1
Chapter 13

• Copywriting The Language of Advertising
• Four types of ads in which words are crucial
• If the message is complicated
• If the ad is for a high-involvement product
• Information that needs definition and explanation
• If a message tries to convey abstract qualities
• Copywriter
• The person who shapes and sculpts the words in an
  ad

2
Advertising Writing Style

• Copy should be as simple as possible
• Should have a clear focus and try to convey only
  one selling point
• Every word counts space and time are expensive

• Practical Tips
• Be succinct
• Be specific
• Get personal
• Keep a single focus
• Be controversial
• Be original
• Use variety
• Use imaginative description

3
Advertising Writing Style

• Tone of voice
• To develop the right tone of voice, copywriters
  write to the target audience as if they were in a
  conversation
• Grammar
• Copywriters must know the rules of grammar,
  syntax, and spelling, though they will play with
  a word or phrase to create an effect
  (intensionally incorrect)
• Adese
• Formulaic advertising copy
• Brag-and-boast copy

4
Copywriting for Print

• Headline
• Key element in print ads that conveys the main
  message
• Overlines and Underlines
• Lead into or follow thought of a headline
• Display copy
• Elements readers see in their initial scanning
• Body copy
• Elements that are designed to be read and
  absorbed
• Subheads
• Sectional headlines used to break up a large
  block of copy

5
Copywriting for Print

• Captions
• Have the second-highest readership and serve an
  information function
• Call-Outs
• Floating text with arrows or lines pointing to
  reference
• Taglines
• Short, catchy phrases used to complete an ad
• Slogans
• Motto for a campaignprovide continuity
  memorability
• Call to Action
• Response information

6
How to Write Headlines

• A good headline will attract those who are
  prospects
• The headline must work in combination with the
  visual to stop and grab the readers attention

• The headline must identify the product / brand,
  and start the sale
• The headline should lead readers into the body
  copy
• Works with the visual to get attention and
  communicate creative concept

7
How to Write Copy

• Slogan Techniques
• Direct address
• A startling or unexpected phrase
• Rhyme, rhythm, alliteration
• Parallel construction
• Cue for the product
• Music

8
Print Media Requirements

• All media in the print category all use the same
  copy elements
• The way these elements are used varies with the
  objective for using the medium

• Newspapers
• Copy does not have to work as hard to catch
  audiences attention
• Straightforward and informative
• Writing is brief

9
Print Media Requirements

• Magazines
• Better quality ad production
• Ads can be more informative and carry longer copy

• Directories
• Use a headline that focuses on the service or
  stores personality
• Little space for explanations

10
Print Media Requirements

• Posters and Outdoor
• Primarily visual
• Words try to catch the consumers attention and
  lock in ideas
• An effective poster marries words with visuals

• Product Literature
• Also called collateral
• Used in support of an ad campaign
• Typically a heavy copy format

11
How to Write Radio Copy

• Must be simple enough for consumers to grasp, but
  intriguing enough to prevent them from switching
  the station
• Ability of the listener to remember facts is
  difficult
• Theater of the mind
• The story is visualized in the listeners
  imagination

12
How to Write Radio Copy

• Include, voice, music, sound effects
• Radio Guidelines
• Keep it personal
• Speak to listeners interests
• Wake up the inattentive
• Make it memorable
• Include call to action
• Create image transfer

13
How to Write Television Copy

• Moving action makes television so much more
  engaging than print
• The challenge is to fuse the images with the
  words to present a creative concept and a story
• Storytelling is one way copywriters can present
  action in a television commercial more powerfully
  than in other media

14
Tools of Television Copywriting

• Video
• Audio
• Voice-over
• Other TV Tools
• The copywriter must describe all of these in the
  TV script

• Talent
• Announcers
• Spokespersons
• Character types
• Celebrities

15
Planning the TV Commercial

• Whats the Big Idea
• Whats the benefit
• How can you turn that benefit into a visual
  element
• Gain the viewers interest
• Focus on a key visual
• Be single minded
• Observe rules of good editing
• Try to show the product