Copy of Ads in Print
The
most Important Copy Element is the Headline Idea
The ad copy may be a word-message,
or it may have pictures with a short message or a slogan. The words and
pictures should be complementary to each other.
A dramatic or provocative picture or
photograph can effectively create an
emotional or tragic scene, and thus become a good grabber of
the prospects’ attention.
After
the Headline Come the Sub-heads. Sub-heads further carry the idea and
help readers to have more knowledge of the product and services.
After
the Sub-head Comes the Body Copy. It systematically develops the
benefits and promise offered by the product, explains logically or emotionally,
product attributes, features and product values, and gives convincing arguments
in favor of, and evidence in support of, the claims made about the superiority
of the advertised product.
In the body copy, both emotional and
rational reasons are put forward to persuade consumers to buy a particular
brand. Emotional appeals are generally useful with consumer goods, while
rational appeal is more useful of industrial goods.
There are varying types of closing
an idea “call to action,” “buy now,” “visit today our dealer / stockist,”
“announcement of festival discount,” “send enquiries immediately to,” etc.
Long Copy versus Short Copy
In a long copy more details can be
presented to the reader.
However, readers may not often like,
or have the time to read, the lengthy body copy of an ad unless the headline is
so attractive and persuasive that they automatically begin to read it.
Ideally the length of the body copy
should be just enough to say all that has been promised in the headline.
Essentials of Good Advertising Copy
The main characteristics or essentials or attributes of a
good/effective advertising copy are as follows:
(1) Attracting Attention or Attention Value: An advertising copy must
attract the attention of the prospective customers as otherwise the effort and
the expense involved will go waste. In this connection various devices are,
therefore, used to attract and to hold the attention he prospective customers.
Differences in type, illustrations, use of our, novelties and display are some
of these.
Types properly selected can go a long way in focusing
attention. Reply coupons, slogans, attractive headlines and judicious use of
space can go a long way in attracting the attention of the prospects. A method
of attracting attention is to demonstrate in figures or pictures the utility
and beauty of goods which are advertised. Further, get-up and layout of the
copy should be pleasing and appealing. Colour is also adopted for attracting
the prospects. In this connection yellow, blue and black colours are generally
used.
(2) Interest Value: In order to induce
action, an advertising copy should arouse customers' interest. It is only after
interest arousal that prospective customer reads the copy and thinks over it.
According Littlefield, "A copy that ties in with the personal experience
of the consumer, that helps him with his problems, that shows him how to protect
or enhance his self-concept is interesting copy."
(3) Suggestive Value: The third main
characteristic of a good advertising copy is its suggestive value. For this purpose,
the advertising copy should include the merits and methods of use of product in
a suggestive way. For example, “My teeth are so white, because I daily use Macleans
tooth-paste." —Rekha. In this connection, slogans, res, phrases and
suggestions may be used for this purpose.
(4) Reception Value: It is not adequate if
the advertising copy is e attractive, interesting and suggestive as the effect
of an advertisement could be lost il people forget it. So, it is necessary to
design the layout of a copy in such a way that a permanent impression is made
on the public. It can be done either by (a) giving to the copy a permanent
touch of novelty of design, or by (h) constant repetition. If an advertisement
is repeated, it lingers in the public mind. People become familiar with the
commodity advertised by seeing it frequently in press, poster and other places.
Il a commodity becomes familiar, it can be sold without difficulty.
(5) Sentimental Value: Sales may depend upon
sentiment of buyers. In that event, the advertisement should appeal to
sentiment. In fact, the sentimental value is important. People patronize a
place where they find good and clean food and satisfactory services. In case,
Indians prefer indigenous goods to foreign ones, an Indian manufacturer must
not forget to say in his advertisement that his goods are such.
(6) Instinct Value: Human beings can be
guided by instincts. If an advertiser takes notice of instincts in preparing a
copy, he may achieve good results. The advertisement of food and drink should
appeal to self-preservation instincts. Banks, insurance companies, and similar
financial institutions succeed if they can tap hoarding and saving instincts.
It is held that hoarding and saving instincts are universal. Sporting goods,
rifles, guns, etc. may be advertised by appealing to hunting instincts of
individuals. Dealers in baby's dresses, toys and requisites get along quite well
by advertising through copies, which appeal to parental instincts. Parents have
sympathy and love for children. Curiosity is a strong instinct, so, advertisers
say that their goods satisfy curiosities and desires.
In preparing a copy, an advertiser will be guided by the
fact whether he wants to advertise the firm in general, or any particular
commodity of the firm. When the firm in general is given publicity, it is known
as institutional advertising.
(7) Educative and Creative Value: Educative and creative
values of an advertisement are great. When a new object or invention is to be
popularized the copy should be educative and informative. It should say about
the utilities of the advertised commodity. It should explain the usefulness of
the commodity. For example, the advertisement of a television should aim at
creating in people a want for the commodity. The educative and creative value
of an advertising copy is important particularly in the case of a commodity
which is meant to replace an existing commodity. For example, if people are
used to buying Fiat motor cars, and if some new company such as "Maruti'
wants to capture the market, the Maruti Company has to explain that its car is
far better than "Fiat Car' as it gives more average per liter of petrol,
has long life, is more comfortable, has latest design and lesser cost etc.
(8) Convincing Value: In order to be
effective and achieve the desired end, the advertising copy should have
convincing value. It should be backed by convincing arguments. For instance,
arguments in favour of the use of product should be given in a language which
is simple, convincing and relevant. For example, Colgate Dental Cream
advertisement says, “Stop bad breath with Colgate while you fight teeth decay
all day."
(9) Memorizing Value: A good advertising
copy is one which remains always evergreen in the mind of the customer. In this
connection, it should have memorizing of retention value. Repetition of
advertisement with slogan is an effective method of creating a memorizing value.
In this connection, pictures, photographs, trademarks and brand names have a
considerable amount of memorizing value. The advertiser must repeat the
trade-marks and brand-names from time to time. For example, ‘J. K. Products’,
‘Lal Imli’, ‘Lipton Tea', “Tata Steel, ‘Dalda Vanaspati', ‘Lux Toilet Soap',
Godrej Almirah, Bata Shoes etc. have become quite popular due to repeated
advertisements.
(10) Miscellaneous Characteristics: Besides the above, a
good advertising copy should be (i) Persuasive-A persuasive copy is sincere,
frank, simple, restrained, friendly and warm. Such a copy reflects an
advertiser's genuine concern for the consumption problems of consumers. (ii)
Language—To be effective, the advertising copy should contain language and
words which the target audience can easily understand and correctly interpret.
(iii) Conform to Rules—The advertising copy should always conform to rules so
as to be acceptable to advertising media and courts. (iv) Brief-Advertising
copy should be quite brief and to the point. It should not be longer than
necessary. (v) Clear-A clear copy is one which is easily and quickly read and
grasped. It should be clear, unambiguous and self-explanatory. (vi) . It is
Apt—The advertising copy is apt if it matches the needs and counts of the
prospects. (vii) Personal—The advertising copy should be personal. A personalized
copy is centered on the prospect. It is individualized appeal copy. The copy
should be written from 'prospect to the 'product' and not 'product' to the
prospect. (viii) Honest--An advertising good to be good should be honest, i.e.,
truthful. If the copy is dishonest, it is bound to shake the consumer
confidence.
Tips for Writing an Advertisement
For an advertisement to
be effective, it should be able to catch the readers’ attention, keep them
curious for more, and lead them to buy the advertised product. Writing
effective ads by following these short tips.
1. Use Short Sentences
Long sentences will not sell your ad, let
alone your product. People’s attention span tends to drift fast these days, so
don’t bore your readers with long sentences. Instead, be direct and to
the point.
2. Use Different
Sentence Structures
Do not be afraid to be creative in your
writing. Employ different sentence structures within your ad to keep your
readers interested. The more varied your presentation is, the
less boring your ad becomes. Eg. Amul
3. Keep Your Ad Short
You don’t have to cram all the
information you have into your ad. On the other hand, your ad should make your
readers curious and leave them wanting more. Short ads will accomplish
this for you.
4. Close with a
Statement That Calls Your Reader to Action
If the opening statement needs to catch
attention, the closing statement should call your readers to action. It should
be written creatively enough so that the readers will be interested to know
more about your product and buy it.
5. Re-Read and Rewrite as Necessary
After you have written your
ad, read it again. Proofread your writing and rewrite as necessary. The
proofreading stage is just as important as the writing stage because having
errors in your ad easily destroys your credibility. Most people ignore ads that
have grammatical errors. If you are not an expert in English proofreading and
editing, then you can employ or hire the help of English editing software.
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