Creating print advertising
Some examples of great print advertising and the thoughts of some great copywriters. Print advertising changes superficially. We go through fashions borders, typography, colour type, etc. Techniques change, but I dont think the enduring principles of good communication will change that much. Because its about human behaviour and reaction.
David Abbot, Abbot Mead & Vickers
Challenges
The challenges in print advertising today are what theyve always been. Namely: Create advertising that works and is memorable. Which means it has to be relevant, refreshing, interesting, single-minded, engaging, clutter-breaking, meaningful to the consumer and must sell the product. But how do you go about it?
1.
Look for an idea.
The first thing you have to do is come up with an idea. People are hard to shock with execution. You tend to remember execution for a short while. You tend to remember ideas for a long time.
Gary Goldsmith, Lowe
2. Find a unique feature in the brand. The feature could be in the brand name, packaging, shape, design, or price. It could be a little detail in the production or history of the product. For this you must learn as much of the product as possible.
3. Try to use humour or emotions. Of course, you could also use shock or surprise or any other way to touch the audience.
Humour makes friends.
- John Salmon, Collett Dickenson Pearce
4. Should you be rational? Anyone who thinks you need a rational benefit is ignoring 90% of the human brain, which is irrational. There is no rational benefit to Coke and Pepsi.
Neil French
5. Avoid the obvious.
Find out what everybody is doing in the category and do the opposite. Research said that all beer must be light coloured these days, so we decided to make ours black. It must be light in alcohol, so we made ours 12% alcohol. The ads must have photographs of girls, so we decided not to have any photographs of girls. They must have status symbols, so we said, no status symbols. They must have crowds of blokes having a jolly good time in a pub. We said well have none of that either. Every rule we could find about beer advertising, we decided to break.
Neil French on XO beer.
6. Keep a twist in the headline or in the visual. If the idea in the ad is being carried by the headline, it means the headline will contain a twist, a shock factor. Therefore the accompanying visual must play a subservient or straight role. And vice versa.
Jim Aitchison, The Ball Partnership
7. Be simple. Be fresh.
People are bombarded with imagery. So keep it simple, like a billboard. And you will win.
- Dean Hanson, Fallon McElligott
Dont be different just to be different. Be simple. Be visual.
- Luke Sullivan, Fallon McElligott
8. Art Direction
Never let it get in the way of an idea. I often produce about a hundred layouts over a few days. When I arrive at one that feels right, I scrutinize the layout over and over again, then I improve it.
Alexandra Taylor, Saatchi & Saatchi
9. Copy
If you want to be a well-paid copywriter, please your client. If you want to be an award-winning copywriter, please yourself. If you want to be a great copywriter, please your reader.
- Steve Hayden, Ogilvy
Technology
When I started out in advertising, art direction was awash with rules. Nowadays it seems anything goes. This freedom (to which we all owe Apple Macintosh a big hug) has brought fantastic results.
Dave Dye, Leagas Delaney
Thank you.
