TheArt of

Copywriting

Presented by –

Priyam Gupta Nazneen

Wahab Manali

Thombre Khushboo

Gandhi Ayushi Jain

Monisha .I

“The cat sat on the mat”

is not a story.

“The cat sat on the dog’s mat,”

now that’s a story.

(Gerry Miller, creative director, Dentsu)

Advertising is both art and science.

CREATIVE DEPARTMENTCOPYWRITERS

ART DIRECTORS

Creation stage encompasses of :

Idea generation Copywriting Illustrating Layout

The Creative Process

Fact finding :• Problem finding

• Preparation

Idea finding :• Idea production• Idea development

Keil’’s six myths of creative people :

1. Creative people are sophisticated and wordly. They are cultured, well read, and snobbish.

2. Creative people are more intelligent than others.3. Creative people are disorganized4. Creative people are witty and seldom boring.5. Creative people are more involved with liquor and

drugs than others are.6. Drugs and alcohol stimulates creative thinking.

COPY WRITING

Stages of Advertising development

STAGES

COPYWRITING

PRINT BROADCAST

ILLUSTRATION LAYOUT

JOHN CAPLES, member of advertising hall of fame . Caples states that: “ best ads are written from the heart.” “write

down every idea that comes to your head, every selling phrase every key word. Write down the good and wild ideas.

Don’t try to edit your ideas at the start. Don’t put a brake on your imagination”

Advertisement created by Caples (US school of Music)

Checklist of important guidelines for copywriting given by john caples

1. Cash in on your personal experience.2. Organize your experience.3. Write from the heart.4. Learn from the experience of others5. Talk with the manufacturer6. Study the product7. Review previous advertising for the product8. Study competitors ads9. Study testimonials from customers10. Solve the prospects problem11. Put your subconscious mind to work12. Ring the changes on a successful idea

Use of successful idea Example : retirement annuity

Principles

1. General copy principles2. Print copy principles3. Television copy principles4. Radio copy principles5. Outdoor copy principles6. Retail copy principles7. Business to business ads8. Advertising on the internet

General copy principles

No specific rules for good copy.

Effective copy:o is simpleo one or two key ideaso idea unique to the brando ads should flow naturally and smoothly from beginning to

end

Do’s for good copy

Use facts and figures Frequently mention the brand name and key

benefit Conclude the ad by linking back to the

beginning. Keep the format simple, uncluttered and

straightforward Message should always be true to the product

DON’Ts for good copy

Too much information

Too many scene changes

Scenes not well integrated

complicated language

Print copy principles.

Key element: HEAD LINE (eg: FREE)

Headline and visual should complement each other to tell the story.

BODY COPY: detailed and specific (support the headline , readable and interesting)

Use of subheads and captions

make your little one happy, this birthday

Extra recall information: both picture and word

Message of ads should be memorable

ICY VODKA

Television copy principles

Advantage of visual nature - use of demonstration, pack close-up and like.

Message contained in picture is important. High recall score if contain more frequent visual

representation of brand name, package, and key product attributes.

High persuasion score(no. of shot goes up, recall, persuasion goes down)

Camera angle: bigger picture-favorable ad

Radio copy principles Write copy to create picture in the minds eye of

listener. Use of human voice, sound effect, humor, music. Mention brand name and key selling benefit early

and often. Short words and short sentences

Outdoor copy principles

Copy and visual: short, simple, strong and obvious. More recalls if have fewer words. On right hand sides of highways

Retail copy principles

Must contain specifics about the merchandise being offered(exact size, colours, prices)

Business to business ads

Should be informative, offer specifics, serious but not boring.

Case histories: (how advertised brand helped someone else in similar situations.

Long copy ads are good, but should focus on single benefit and should have single dramatic image.

Coupon or phone no.

Advertising on the internet Advertisements on internet and worldwideweb Another avenue of electronic commerce Homepages to be accesed by web browsers,

ILLUSTRATING• Illustrating involves generation of pictures.•Involves decisions as to what “identification marks” to include.•These fall into one of the three categories:1. Company or trade name 2. Brand name3. Trademarks

1.Company or trade name:eg

DEL MONTE LEVI STRAUSS

Trademarks,service marks and certification marks like “Good Housekeeping” seal

of approval must also be considered for inclusion in

the visual materials.

USING A CARICATURE OR IDENTIFYING SYMBOL

The Green Giant

Pillsbury doughboy

Mr.Peanut

CHARACTERISTICS OF A TRADEMARK:• it is brief•Easy to remember•Easily readable•Easily speakable•Easily adapted to any media•Suitable for export•Subtle•Has no pleasant connotations•Lends to pictorialization

CRUCIAL DECISIONS OF PRINT ADVERTISING

• Visual content• Color• Artwork• Identification mark

Crucial descisions of TV advertising

More emphasis is laid on action and the dynamics of each scene

How one scene will blend with the next. How video materials will serve to enhance and

reinforce the audio message Which will be mainly attention getters Which will carry the copy points etc. E.g.: American Express

LAYOUT•The layout activity involves bringing all the pieces together before the advertising is sent out for production.

•It involves descision as to how the various components of headline, illustration,copy,and identification marks are to be arranged and positioned on the page.

•The size of the advertisement will obviously have an effect on this descision.

•The layout activity will differ in case of print and broadcast

FORMS OF LAYOUT

UNFINISHED PRELIMINARY COMPREHENSIVE

UNFINISHED

• Very rough and does not have much drawing detail.

• Used to quickly see the effect of variations in the placement and size of the headline,main illustration etc. to find the most appealing layout.

PRELIMINARY

• A full size rough layout or visual layout is prepared.

• Here,the headline will be roughed in,and there will be more detailed illustration.

COMPREHENSIVE

• These require a lot of art time and can be expensive; the pictures may be sketched ,the lettering done carefully

BALANCE CONTRAST

PROPORTION GAZE-MOTION

UNITY

5 COSIDERAIONS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHIL DEVELOPING PRINT LAYOUT

1. BALANCE: The arrangement of elements to achieve a pleasing distribution or visual impression.

2. CONTRAST: Using different sizes,shapes densities, ad colors to enhance attention value and readability.

3. PROPORTION: The relation of objects to the background in which they appear and to each other.

4. GAZE-MOTION: The headline,illustration,copy and identification marks in that order will usually provide the most logical sequence for gaze-motion.

5. UNITY: The qualities of balance , contrast, proportion, and gaze-motion should be combined to develop unity of thought,appearance and design in the layout.

EG :COUPON

Unity is best achieved by : keeping the layout simple (use of “white space”) keeping the layout unclutterd to ease the reader’s task in comprehending the

advertisement.

STEPHEN BAKER-DRAWS DITINCTION BETWEEN “ARRANGING ELEMENTS ON A PAGE” AND

“VISUALIZING AN IDEA”

THE FORMER IS A DESIGNER’S (OR LAYOUT MAN’S ) FEAT,HIS INNATE SENSE

OF COMPOSITION,BALANCE,COLOR IS BROUGHT FULLY INTO PLAY. ON THE

OTHER HAND,PRESENTING THE CLEAREST VIASUAL INTERPRETATION REQUIRES A

STRONG DESIRE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE AUDIENCE, A FLAIR FOR THE

DRAMATIC,THE ABILITY TO THINK IN PICTORAIL TERMS(USUALLY REFERRED TO AS “VISUAL SENSE”) AND,PROBABLY,MOST SIGNIFICANT,A FIRM ADVERTISING OF THE

ADVERTISERS GOAL

CLASSIFICATION OF PRINT AD LAYOUT STYLES

1) PICTURE WINDOW(ALSO CALLED AYER #1)2) MONDRIAN/GRID3) TYPE SPECIMEN4) COPY-HEAVY5) FRAME6) SILHOUETTE7) MULTIPANEL8) CIRCUS9) REBUS

PICTURE WINDOW MONDRAIN/GRID

TYPE-SPECIMEN COPY-HEAVY

FRAMESILHOUETTE

MULTIPANEL CIRCUS

FORMS OF LAYOUT OF A TELEVISION COMMERCIAL

PRIMITIVE COMPREHENSIVE

TYPES OF TELEVISION COMMERCIALS1) STORY LINE2) PROBLEM3) CHRONOLOGY4) SPECIAL EFFECTS5) TESTIMONIAL6) SATIRE7) SPOKESPERSON8) DEMONSTRATION9) SUSPENSE10) SLICE-OF-SLICE11) ANALOGY12) FANTASY13) PERSONALITY

In testimonials ,spokesperson and demonstration commercials the credibility of the source and/or the mode of presentation are likely to be most importantstructures In storyline , problem solution, chronology and analogy structures, focus would tend to center more o n the type of argument(for eg : one-versus two sided or refutation)or the order of argument(primacy-recency , stating a conclusion) dimensions

Orientation

TESTIMONIAL PERSONALITYSPOKESPERSON SLICE-OF-LIFESTORY-LINE FANTASYDEMONSTRATION SPECIAL EFFECTSPROBLEM SOLUTION SATIRECHRONOLOGY SUSPENSEANALOGY

FACTUAL ORIENTATION

EMOTIONAL ORIENTATION

TV ADS

INFORMATIONAL TRANSFORMATIONAL

HENRY LASKEY,ELLEN DAY,MELVIN CRASK

INFORMATIONAL

COMPARITIVE

PREEMPTIVE

GENERIC/PRODUCT

CLASS

USING HYPERBOL

E

UNIQUE SELLINGPOINT

TRANSFORMATIONAL

COMMUNICATING USER

IMAGE

USE OCCASIO

N

USING BRAND IMAGE

GENERIC

STYLES OF CREATIVE GIANTS OF ADVERTISING……

David Ogilvy: The Brand Image

Concerned with developing and retaining a prestige image.

It pays to protect favorable image in the long run.Every advertisement should contribute in enhancing

the brand image.Bargain Basement image of the brand lowers the

esteem of the product.

Personality of the brand is particularly important if brands are similar eg beer, detergents, cigarettes.

The manufacturer who dedicates his advertising to building the most sharply defined personality for his brand will get the largest share of the market at the highest profit.

Ogilvy’s most well known campaign is the use of prestigious individuals to convey the desired image for the product.

He actually used clients to represent their own product:

Commander Whitehead for Schweppes TonicHelena Rubinstein for her line of cosmetics

Ogilvy used to obtain testimonials from celebrities. He used Queen Elizabeth and Winston Churchill in

“Come to Britain” advertisements. Also a campaign for the Reader’s Digest featured

many national figures explaining that they relied on such a magazine because of their busy schedule.

Ogilvy puts forth eleven commandments for creating advertising campaigns:

1. What you say is more important than how you say it.

2. Unless your campaign is built around a great idea, it will flop.

3. Give the facts.4. Make advertisements that people want to read.5. Be well mannered, but don’t clown.6. Make your advertising contemporary.

7. Committees can criticize advertisements, but they cannot write them.

8. If you are lucky enough to write a good advertisement, repeat it until it stops pulling.

9. Never write an advertisement which you don’t want your own family to read.

10. Don’t be a copy cat.11. The image and the brand comprises of the total

brand personality.

William Bernbach: Execution

In Bernbach style, the execution dominates. Execution can become content, it can be just as important as what you say.

There are certain execution characteristics that can be identified:

1. Bernbach did not talk down to an audience. An audience is respected.

2. The approach is clean and direct. You must be as simple, and as swift and as penetrating as possible.

3. Advertisement should stand out from others. Nobody is going to see the ad if it is not said with freshness, originality and imagination.

4. Humor sells and can be used to gain attention.

THE UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

Each product develops its own USP and uses whatever repetition is necessary to communicate the USP to the audience.

The concept was given by Rosser Reeves.

Rosser believed when a good USP is found, the development of the actual advertisement becomes relatively an easy process.

THREE GUIDELINES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF USP

First, the proposition needs to involve a specific product benefit.

Second, it must be unique, one that competitors are not using.

Third, it must sell. It therefore must be important enough to influence the decision process.

Reeves approach towards usp

Reeves relied heavily on product research to support specific claims(elaborate experiments) E.g. Ted Bates and Colgate

Once an effective USP is found, it should be retained over a long duration.

Such a philosophy requires vigorous defending, especially when a client gets tired of a campaign.

Criticism of reeves approach

The approach was undoubtedly successful. However, the approach is highly controversial.

The style and its repetition was objectionable to the audience.

The use of USP was troublesome in political campaigns.

LEO BURNETTThe Common Touch

BURNETT’S APPROACH

According to Burnett “not only is great copy deceptively simple- but so are great ideas.

The best copywriters have the ability to put known and believable things into new relationships.