AD COPY
BY- SURAJ S S
WHAT IS COPY ?
• The words , sentences , lead voices and visuals or pictures ( moving /
still ) , on newsprint , audio tapes or video tapes constitute copy.
• Copy is the creamy core of an advertisement and people attribute to it
the magic capacity for influencing the buyers. Much of the success of
an advertisement or commercial depends on the copy.
• Copy creation occupies a major part of an advertising agency’s work.
All other jobs – client serving , media buying etc. – lead to or revolve
around creative work in the agency.
Creativity is essential for copywriting.
• COPY CREATIVITY = imagination + power of expression
+ fulfillment of the client’s goals.
COPY CREATION IN THREE STEPS :
There are three important steps in copy creation :
I. Copy thinking
II. Copy structure
III. Copy style
1. Copy thinking :
Lack of thinking affects the effectiveness of the copy. Ask the following:
what’s my product or service?
Do I have enough information about the manufacturing process?
What are the ingredients that go into the making of the product?
What are the reasons that promoted the company to offer a particular
service now?
What benefits does the product give the buyer?
Demographic & psychographic data – occupation , social status & lifestyle
( buying habits) – copy created reflects the special tastes & interests –
adjust the copy to the needs , desires , buying habits , income of the target
audience ( anti – freeze radiator fluid or snow tyres ).
THE COPY WRITER DOES A BALANCING ACT :
• Advertiser – ad agency ( copywriter ) – customer.
• Select questions that are most suitable and applicable to products they
handle:
Will the buyer feel more self-important by owning the product or
subscribing to the service advertised ?
Will the product make the customer happier ?
Will it make the customer feel more comfortable ?
Will it make the customer richer ?
Will it reduce the customer’s drudgery and help save labor ?
Copy creators have to analyze the various probable reasons for customer
satisfaction and concentrate on the most important among them –
• Efficiency combined with self-esteem; &
• Economy of the product / service.
Most advertisements are built around :
Central selling idea :
• The indiscriminate use of psychological needs may not yield the desired results.
• Customers may be turned off and copy creators must avoid the pitfall.
Visualization :
• Visualization concerns ideas; it is ideation,
• Where as layout is blueprint on how the visualized ideas can be presented
2. COPY STRUCTURE :
Words have to be shaped and re-shaped, simplified, sequenced; and sentences must
comprise of the right diction, syntax and grammatical construction.
HEADLINE :
it is always good to put all these ( sub – headlines and the text ) together – in the
same time-frame.
INTEGRATED AND UNIFIED STRUCTURE WITH INTERNAL
CONNECTIONS :
head line connected with the sub – heads &
Both connected with the text and picture, slogan.
TEXT :
Good copy - planned, step-by-step, brick-by-brick, layer-by-layer, construction of a
tower of ideas that reaches the desired goal & the goal is to make a product or
service acceptable to the buyers & users.
INGREDIENTS OF COPY STRUCTURE :
All advertising copies may not contain all
These six factors :
Print media ads
Audio visual media – infomercial.
3. COPY STYLE :
Copy writer should be a talented writer capable of gathering facts through hard
research wherever necessary and presenting the facts in a attractive, realistic &
credible manner.
One can become an expert in this art (copy style) only through many attempts and
even failures.
An individual has to accept critical remarks from senior colleagues and outside
experts – the client’s executives ( patience & pleasant manner ).
Aldous Huxley’s – copy writing is an art that cannot be conquered easily; it is much
more difficult than most types of creative composition.( write & re-write )
It is worthwhile to examine some of the basic differences between the two types of
creative writing ( mix up – literary & copywriting).
BELIEVABILITY/ CREDIBILITY :
In advertising, the nature of copywriting is different :
READABILITY :
Readability depends not only on simple, direct and appropriate words but on human
interest ( more people will be interested in articles of daily use).
A personal touch – simple and familiar words, short sentences & an uncomplicated,
straight sentence structure will make the copy style easy, effective and elegant.
Use the appropriate jargon for technical instruments.( glass like – vitreous ,
porcelain – glazed pottery ).
Using more concrete words than too many abstract words reduces the artificiality of
copy style ( it tastes like Neel mangoes – consumer gets a more vivid idea about
taste ) & there by makes a copy more effective, appealing, realistic & convincing ( a
cup of coffee / a pot of tea )
READABILITY : CONTINUES……
Avoid exaggerations and overstatements ( occasionally – violated ).
Avoid cliches ( stereotyped phrases – overworked & overused ).
Do not alter well-known idiomatic expressions – ‘ to make both ends meet’ or ‘ to paint the
lily’ ( try saying, ‘to make both our ends meet’ or ‘painting the rose’ or ‘ decorating the
lily’)
Beware of denotative as well as connotative meanings ( denotative – surface / dictionary
meanings ; connotative – indirect & deeper meanings)
Words change their meanings according to the context & climate
(words – approximations of the real nature , shape or size of objects).
Once a while, use short sentences. Most of the time, use sentences which are of average
length.
The copy should be concise & as well as precise.
Reducing / increasing number of words . ( certain limit ).
Some of Coke ads : ( 1929 – 1977 )
1929 1940 1952
1953 1964 1977
ENGLISH :
An experienced copywriter, june valladares, says - Copywriters and aspiring ones
should have at least three qualities: A good command of the language, imagination
& curiosity.
It is essential that the copy is conceived, written or scripted in one regional language
and then translated into other Indian languages (to get more realistic and culturally
relevant copy – regional language media).
Advertising copywriters must certainly have exposure to the linguistic history of
India , at least in a general manner.
Another matter of great importance is the cultural relevance of the copy .
Conclusion :
Copy creation must be done with full awareness of the linguistic
and cultural variety of India. Cultural consanguinity, emotional
integration and basic linguistic similarities prevailing in different
regions of India will help produce more culturally relevant copy.
Certain expressions, puns, irony, sarcasm, peculiar to one
language are better not translated into another language.
