85% of all advertising is invisible, because it is so badly
done.
14% of all advertising is extremely poor — either
unattractive, stupid, patronising, demeaning. (Ironically, that’s
better than being invisible, because at least it might get your attention.)
The remaining 1% is terrific advertising.
And we are supposed to know what we are doing!
It scares the bloody life out of me to be honest. The amount of money
that is wasted every day is just frightening…
The above figures are not percentages to be proud of, are they? Just imagine
the same odds in other professions:
- 99% of the expertise of airline pilots was badly done or
poor – more planes would crash than arrive at their destinations safely
- 99% of all plumbers work was badly done or poor – we
would return to find our properties under water
- 99% of all shoes were badly done or poor – there would
be a lot of crippled people in the world.
Here’s my humble attempt at trying to make things better.
Let’s go to first base and try to understand how the process works…
There are four main reasons why people will notice and respond
to your advertising and marketing messages…
Incidentally, these are not mutually exclusive, but promotions
tend to work best when all four of these factors are at work simultaneously -
the advertisement has relevance for you personally, it’s unusual and different
and you seem to keep on seeing it.
Let’s look at one of these elements in a little more
detail:
Relevance & Attraction
Just imagine you are walking down a busy high street, with
hundreds of people around. Every single one of them is unnoticed by you.
You haven’t made a conscious decision to ignore them.
It’s just the way it is.
You won’t remember the great majority of them 30 seconds
- let alone 30 minutes or 30 days later.
A few of the people you pass, only a small minority, will
have an effect on you.
You notice them and perhaps you might remember them for a
little while, or even longer. In very rare cases, that memory might last
weeks - even months.
Why is it you notice some and not others? Well, there
could be a number of reasons:
- People who are unusual because of their looks
- People who are funny
- People who are aggressive
- People who are dressed very individually
- People who draw attention to themselves because of what they
are doing.
It could be, of course, that you only notice them because
something about them has a particular relevance for you, personally, perhaps reminding
you of someone you know or resembling someone famous.
Having said all that, there is a prime occasion when you will
pick out a face in the crowd…
…when it is a particular face you are looking for.
How many times have you been looking for someone in a crowd
and you can’t spot that person no matter how hard you look? You seem
to see everyone else but them…
What is happening in reality is your eyes are quickly scanning
all the faces in the crowd until your brain makes the connection it is looking
for.
The exact same thing happens with people’s reactions
to advertisements and promotional material.
As I said last month, every day we are exposed to thousands
of advertisements but almost all of them pass unnoticed. Why?
Simple. Kid’s stuff.
An advertisement will not stimulate sales if it is not read.
An advertisement will not be read if the relevance or attraction
to the reader is not clearly stated in the headline.
An advertisement will not be read if the first line of copy
does not attract the reader to read the second line of copy and the third and
fourth and so on.
In addition, an advertisement will not be read if it is not
seen. And, it will not be seen unless it ‘demands’ attention.
Daniel Starch knew this when he wrote, all those years ago…
“The attention-value of an advertisement is approximately
twice as important as the actual convincingness of the test itself.”
The great George Lois had a wonderfully simplistic view:
“Advertising isn’t brain surgery. People live
and think in broad strokes. Ask some guy in a mall about cars. He’ll
tell you Volvos are safe, Porsches are fast, and Jeeps are rugged.
Boom. Where’s the rocket science here? There
isn’t any.
You want people who feel X about your product to feel Y.
That’s about it. We’re talking one adjective here. Most
of the time, we’re talking about going into the customer’s brain and
tacking one adjective onto a client’s brand.
That’s all. De Walt tools are tough. Apple
Computers are easy to use”.
Steven Spielberg is probably the greatest film director that
has ever lived. He said many years ago that he preferred movie ideas that
could be summed up in a sentence.
“Lost alien befriends lonely boy to get home.”
Really it’s all about keeping it simple. If you
feel you have three important things to say to your audience, don’t say
it in one ad. You will confuse your audience and a confused audience will
not buy.
You need three ads. You might not like to hear that,
but it’s true.
If you don’t believe me, test it. Then you will…
Okay, now to some of the stuff I promised you in Part One
last month:
The 10 Elements That Are Essential For A Successful
Ad
Remember. All the elements of an ad are primarily designed
to do one thing. To get the reader to read the first line of the copy.
Here are the 10…
- Headline
- Headline Sub Head
- Picture (or illustration)
- Caption under picture
- Copy
- Copy Sub Heads (larger ads only)
- Offer/Price
- Response Coupon/details/website
- Logo
- Overall layout (must create an attractive buying environment)
30 Headlines You Can Use Yourself
I currently have 445 proven headlines for ads that I have
written, collected, begged, borrowed or stolen over the years. I add around
25-30 new ones a year.
Here are a few you can use right now…(obviously they
will have to be tailored to your product or service…)
- A Surprising New Discovery...
- Discover How To...
- Could This Be...?
- At Last...It’s Here…
- Take Advantage Of...
- Make The Most Of...
- Reserve Your...
- Act Fast And You'll Also Get...
- Nothing Else Compares To...
- Our Lowest Price Ever...
- If You're Worried About...
- An Exclusive Invitation
- There's Nothing Quite Like...
- Starts Working Instantly...
- A Breakthrough Formula...
- At last!
- Announcing...
- A Very Special Offer For Lovers Of…
- It's Never Been Easier To...
- You Simply Won’t Believe How Good It Is…
- FREE
- Exclusive
- How To Improve Your...
- How To...
- Here's A Quick Way To...
- Yours Free - A New...
- The Secrets Of XXX Revealed FREE!
- Anyone Can Learn How To XXX With XXX
- Read This BEFORE You XXX
- There Are Nine Reasons Why You Should XXX...And Here They
Are…
And finally, some gems to share…
Four Of The Most Successful Ads Ever Created
“Cash If You Die, Cash If You Don’t”
People don’t buy insurance, they buy fear. The
writer recognised this and included the word “die” in the headline.
It had never been done before. This was groundbreaking and hugely successful.
Previous to the appearance of this ad, life insurance was only sold by brokers.
It was, I understand, tested against a more traditional ad and won hands down.
You see many variations of this ad appearing from time to time.
“The Man In The Hathaway Shirt”
One of David Ogilvy’s most famous ads. It catapulted
a small brand into the big league. Notice the eye patch, which stops you
in your tracks. The layout is classic.
“At 60 Miles An Hour The Loudest Noise In This New
Rolls Royce Comes From The Electric Clock”
Arguably David’s finest work. The great man got
the line from a mechanic in the factory after spending days and days trying to
understand the benefits of the product before writing about it. Something
we should all learn from. Sold motor cars in huge numbers…
“Have Viagra”
This is how to do it. Straight to the point. No
baggage. Unfortunately the author is dead now, due to the pulling power
of the ad. It delivered more pleasure, word for word, than any ad ever written.
Keep the faith
See you next month
Andy
About the Author
Andy Owen is Managing Director of Andy Owen & Associates,
a leading International Strategic Marketing Consultancy specialising in all aspects
of contemporary direct marketing. The company has offices in UK, Middle East &
North Africa, with Associate Offices in Europe & The USA.
The company's corporate website is www.andyowen.co.uk
The specialist copy division has its own site at www.copywritingthatsells.com
As well as his International speaking engagements, Andy runs
in-house copywriting and direct marketing sessions and workshops for companies
and organisations all over the world. If you feel your company could benefit from
one of these, please contact Andy for details.
If you would like further information on any aspect of copywriting
for direct marketing, please contact Andy direct at andyowen@aol.com
or mailto:copydeskUK@aol.com%20
Don’t forget to check out Andy’s superb new DVD
on Copywriting called “How To Write Copy That Really Sells.”
To find out more and see excerpts from the DVD, visit http://www.andyowen.co.uk/buyonline.htm
