Unit – 3: Advertising Appeals, Advertisement Copy and Layout

Q. What is an advertising appeal? Explain the principles of effective advertising appeals.   2017, 2019

Q. What is an advertising appeal and how will you classify them?       2018

Q. What is Advertisement Copy? What are the basic elements of an advertising copy? Give guidelines for the presentation of headlines in a copy.      2019, 2020

Q. What is meant by advertisement copy? Explain the different classifications of copy in brief.   2015

Q. Define creative advertising. Discuss in brief the different creative aspects of advertising.   2015, 2022

Q. Explain how creative advertising affects consumer behaviour.    2022

Q. Write a brief note on art of copy writing.

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The creative part of advertising involves the process of selecting and presenting the messages. The business of conceiving. Writing, designing and producing these messages is called “advertising creativity” and the key wordsmith is called a copywriter or copy chief or copy supervisor. The success of advertising depends to a great extent on the quality of the message or copy of advertisement rather than the money spent on advertising.

The conventional theory of advertising includes the concept of AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action). Most of the advertisers believe that the message in advertisement copy must attract the attention and interest of the consumer if buying is to result. But they forget that only good advertisement copy or good message can attract the attention and interest of the receiver until and unless the much advertise product attributes have a strong impact on consumers. The consumers come to know the existence of the product only through the advertisement. Advertising tries to persuade the consumers that they need the product. But if the product attributes fail to satisfy the need of buyers, good creativity will not pay.

Creativity is an art. An artist, writer, poet, novelists, play writer takes well known ideas, words and phrases and relates them in a fresh, often brilliant manner while preparing an advertising copy. They combine the product attributes and the ideas, words and phrases in such a manner that persuades the consumers to buy the product. This combination really represents and art or a creativity. A child can draw a smiling picture of a woman, but it does not carry a creative message of some worth.

In the words of Alfred Polite –“Advertising creativity has to follow rules which are guided by a well-defined purpose, by an analysis of thoughts supplied by imagination, by a selection of the useful ones which meet the purpose.

Activities covered in Creative Design Process

Although there is no one set form for designing the process. There are various variables that are typically parts of the creative design process. These activities are:

(1) Advertising objectives: The main objective of advertising is to aid the selling process through communication with existing and prospective customers. Most advertisements inform and persuade. Some are designed to establish attitudes and buying behaviours of the patterns. Still others strive to reinforce or to change existing shopping habits brand images and usage patterns. The advertisement copy must achieve the advertising communication objectives. Now, it is the responsibility of the creative specialists to translate the information available to them into an advertisement or a basic theme for an advertising campaign that will achieve the advertiser’s objective.

(2) Information to creative People: The second task of the creative people, after getting the advertising objectives, is to product for collecting the various information relating to the product and the marketing mix. Creative design people prepare for the design task by examining the information on the product which is to be offered in the advertising. This makes for the integration of advertising messages with the other components of the marketing mix. Such types of information may be gathered in meetings between the creative personnel and the marketing managers for the product.

(3) Target Audience- The next step in the creative process is to make the copywriter available description of the demographic and psychographic make-up of the specific target audience for whom the ad is being created vis-à-vis the product. Quantitative data such as age, sex, marital status, occupation, income, education, place of residence, must be supplemented by information on consumer attitudes (related to advertised product, and its competitors as well as to the types of creative claims being considered for the message on relevant media, shopping and buying habits and on product usages. Thus any information that describes target audience is useful.

(4) Copy and Layout Design: The next task before the creative personnel is to turn to the creative task which is the design of the copy and layout. Creative personnel, including, artists, art directors, and copy writers, must design an approach to the communication of the messages that carry pre-determined advertising objectives. Part of the process involves writing copy, the verbal text of the advertisement. The copy then must be integrated with illustrations into an overall design for the advertisement‟s layout. The design of the copy and the layout is an art that requires special skills..

(5) Credibility or Back-up Claim_ whatever message is designed, it must be a cluster of truth. Truth is essential in advertising. The truth is not truth until people believe in it. They cannot believe in it if they do not know what we are saying if they do not listen to us; they cannot listen to us unless we are interesting and finally we cannot be interesting if we say facts in a fresh, original and imaginative way. In order to establish credibility for our promises, we need to support it with facts and with satisfactions. So, truth is essential in advertising and must be supported with facts.

(6) Copy Layout Tests- The role of creativity in advertising is very important and should not be underestimated. An important aid to the creative design task is the use of copy layout tests to assess and compare alternatives. After the copy layout is released, samples can be drawn from target audiences to test its effectiveness in specific conditions. Then respondents are asked to give their opinion on the various aspects of the ad including how well it can be seen or read or heard under specific conditions, how quickly and easily the message can be understood, how interesting an ad is liked, how believable it is or how it will influence audience behaviour.

(7) Allocation to Creative Task- The next important task to creativity is the allocation of funds towards this task. Since there is little in the way of modeling effort to help in this decision, the allocation task is usually done judgmentally.

(8) Creative Strategy and Tactics- Finally every copy strategy must describe the mood and tone of all the forthcoming ad or commercial; cheerful, dramatic, business like and whatever. All types of written materials, such as art work, layout and script must be used as components of printed or broadcast advertisements.

Thus, creativity in advertising is the most important part of the advertising programme. It is an art and should be provided sufficient funds in order to achieve the business and marketing objectives.

Creative advertising can affect consumer behavior in a number of ways:

1. Increased attention and interest: Creative advertising is more likely to capture the attention of the viewer or listener, which can increase the chances that the ad will be noticed and remembered. This is especially important in today’s crowded media landscape, where consumers are bombarded with advertising messages from many different sources.

2. Greater impact: Creative advertising can be more memorable and have a greater impact on the consumer, which can lead to increased brand awareness and consideration. For example, an ad with a unique or humorous twist is more likely to be shared and talked about, which can increase the reach of the ad and the overall impact on the consumer.

3. Increased persuasion: By using creative approaches, businesses can more effectively persuade consumers to take a desired action, such as making a purchase or visiting a website. For example, an ad that tells a compelling story or uses emotive language can be more effective at convincing the consumer to take action.

4. Increased emotional response: Creative advertising can tap into the emotions of the consumer, which can make the ad more impactful and persuasive. For example, an ad that evokes feelings of nostalgia or nostalgia can be more effective at resonating with the viewer and influencing their behavior.

5. Increased differentiation: Creative advertising can help businesses to differentiate their products or services from those of their competitors. This can be particularly important in markets where there are many similar products or services available. By creating an ad that stands out from the rest, businesses can increase the chances that their product or service will be chosen by the consumer.

6. Increased loyalty: By creating an emotional connection with the consumer through creative advertising, businesses can increase customer loyalty. This is because the ad will be more memorable and meaningful to the consumer, which can lead to increased brand loyalty and repeat business.

7. Increased recall: Creative advertising is more likely to be remembered by the consumer, which can lead to increased recall of the brand or product later on. This is especially important when it comes to decision-making, as consumers are more likely to choose a brand or product that they are familiar with and have positive associations with.

There are many different creative aspects of advertising that businesses can use to capture the attention and interest of their target audience. Some common creative elements include:

1. Headlines: The headline is the first thing that a viewer will see in an ad, so it is important to make it attention-grabbing and memorable. A strong headline can set the tone for the rest of the ad and encourage the viewer to keep reading.

2. Visuals: The visual element of an ad is crucial for capturing the attention of the viewer. This can include images, graphics, and other design elements that are eye-catching and relevant to the product or service being advertised.

3. Copy: The copy, or written content, of an ad is an important part of the creative process. The copy should be engaging and informative, and should effectively communicate the key benefits of the product or service being advertised.

4. Tone: The tone of an ad can greatly impact its effectiveness. The tone should be appropriate for the product or service being advertised and should resonate with the target audience. For example, an ad for a luxury car might use a more sophisticated tone, while an ad for a children’s toy might use a more playful tone.

5. Format: The format of an ad can also be a creative aspect, as it can impact the way that the ad is perceived by the viewer. For example, an ad that uses animation or interactive elements may be more engaging than a static ad.

6. Emotional appeal: Advertising that appeals to the emotions of the viewer can be more effective at influencing their behavior. This can include ads that use humor, nostalgia, or other emotive elements to connect with the viewer.

7. Storytelling: Advertisements that tell a compelling story can be more memorable and engaging than those that simply present a list of product features or benefits. A well-told story can help to create an emotional connection with the viewer and can make the ad more relatable and persuasive.

8. Music: The use of music in advertising can be a powerful creative element, as it can set the tone for the ad and enhance the overall message. Music can also be used to appeal to specific demographics or to create a particular mood or atmosphere.

9. Celebrity endorsements: The use of celebrities in advertising can be a creative way to capture the attention of the viewer and to add credibility to the product or service being advertised. Celebrity endorsements can be particularly effective when the celebrity has a strong connection to the target audience.

10. Interactive elements: Ads that include interactive elements, such as quizzes, games, or social media integrations, can be more engaging and memorable than traditional ads. These types of ads can encourage the viewer to interact with the ad and can create a more immersive advertising experience.

An advertising appeal is the device by which specific consumer response is solicited in the advertisement. It is the basic use of service or satisfaction which the product can render and which the advertisement is to present. An appeal in an advertisement, is an earnest request or plea to prospects. Every advertise aims to appeal to the prospects whether he succeeds or not in achieving his goals. In that sense, every piece of advertisement is an appeal – telling the story of his with reasons as to why a prospect should prefer his products to those of his competitors.

Classifications of appeals

Prof. William, M. Weilbacher of New York University classifies these advertising appeals into three clear categories:

1. Product/service related appeals,

2. Consumer related appeals, and

3. Non-consumer or non-product related appeals. Let us try to have a clear cut idea as to each of these appeals with the help of day-to-day examples.

1. Product/Service Related Appeals: A product/service related appeal focuses on the product/service and characteristics; it describes some feature or aspects of a product. Consumer benefit is of secondary importance. The appeal is specific to a particular product or a service and not to the category as a whole. There are six such advertising appeals.

a) Feature appeal: The advertisement that use a product/service feature appeal describes the product/service and its dominant features. Various assertions are made about its capabilities. It makes not comparisons with competitors, does not feature price, tells nothing about the product/service and does not cite the popularity of the product/service as a reason for its excellence. In any event, it emphasizes the product/service features.

b) Competitive advantage appeal: Such an appeal makes an explicit reference to competitive product/services, very often by name, and the product/service advantage depends upon the performance that is superior to competitors on some particular criteria.

c)       Price appeal: This kind of appeal makes a direct offer of products/services at a particular price or at a reduced price. The outstanding mark of price appeal is that it constitutes the most important component of advertising message. This is a very common way-out followed in case of retail advertising.

d)      News appeal: The key aspect of news appeal is that news about the product dominates the advertising. This news is about the improvement or the modifications brought about to make it more satisfying to the consumers. Many a times such appeals tell that the product is entirely new.

e)      Popularity appeal: A product/service popularity appeal asserts that the product/service is widely used, that it is a popular brand, or that it is ‘number one’ in the category. Whatever the exact form of appeal, its thrust is that the reader or the viewer of the advertisement should use the product because of its widespread acceptability or popularity.

f)       Generality appeal: A final type appeal is the generic appeal. In such an advertising, a product/service category is promoted in general so that the individual makes or brands are not singled out. Such an advertisement may be sponsored by a dominant producer in the field or by the association for the industry representing all such producers in common.

2. Consumer Related Appeals: Consumer related appeals describe the product/service in terms of overt consumer benefits. The primary emphasis is on what a product/service will do for the consumer than what a product/service is. In many advertisements, the difference between the product related and consumer related appeals is not very much clear. In the product related appeal, the product is described in its own terms and the main thrust centres on the product than the consumer use or satisfaction. There are five such consumer related appeals.

a)      Service appeal: The advertisements that offer a consumer service, instruct the consumer as to how the product or service may be used to his or her advantage. Consumer service appeals either tell the consumer what to do with product or explain the various ways in which the product may be used. Ingredient products often use service appeals in advertising. Many food products are used solely as ingredients in the preparation of food recipes. Advertising for such products often provides new recipes of resumed interest to the homemaker, that include, incidentally the use of the particular ingredient product sponsoring the advertisement.

b)      Saving appeal: Consumer savings through the use appeals offer the consumer an opportunity to save money or reduce expense through the use of product or service. The product price is not emphasized; how expensive or inexpensive is the product is not the issue. The point is that regardless of what the product/service costs, its use will result in the reduction of some other consumer expense.

c)       Self-enhancement appeal: The appeal of this kind suggest that use of a particular product/service will enhance or improve some inherent quality of the user. Use makes him or her some way more attractive or more involving or more beautiful. Advertisement for cosmetics, clothing and products, that may be conspicuously consumed frequently use such self-enhancement appeals. Advertisement of this classification suggest that the products deliver value not because of their utilitarian features or benefits, but rather because of their ability to add a personal dimension the user that he/she had not used previously.

d)      Fear appeal: Fear appeals are used in advertising to portray a threatening situation that can be resolved through product or service use. The advertising shows some sort of fear provoking circumstances such as the possibility of physical danger or economic loss and then suggests that the advertised product or service will remove the basis of fear, if the product is purchased or used.

e)      Product-trial appeal: When this appeal is used, the advertiser offers free sample, a price reduction, or some other purchase incentive to encourage consumer use or trial. The purpose of this advertising is to facilitate consumer use of the sponsoring product or service, and the appeal is based on the premise that extra sales will ultimately be generated because of such product trial.

3. Non-Consumer/Non-Product Relate Appeals: These are the appeals based either upon the good work of companies or non-profit organizations or upon some of generalized corporate or organizational activity for which public support is desired. There are two such appeals.

a)      Corporate-citizenship appeal: Advertisement based on corporate citizenship appeals seek to portray a company or a corporation in some sort of favourable light or to present its side of a controversial issue. Such an advertising always has a distinct purpose. The company wants to present description of its responsible good works to the public so as to foster favourable public attitudes and actions in support of the company. Institutional advertising makes use of this appeal to the greatest extent.

b)      Investor-solicitation appeal: These appeals are to the investment community. The purpose of such appeals is to suggest to the potential investor that the company is well managed, profitable and makes a wide range of well known products. Such advertisement proceeds on the assumption that well known companies with good reputation are likely to be at least as attractive to the investors as those companies that they have never heard and know nothing about.

Essentials/Principles of Advertising Appeals

An advertising appeal – sincere request or a plea to prospects-to serve the purposes of advertising, must have certain requirements which can be called as the tenets or the essentials. There are at least six such essentials to be fulfilled by an effective appeal.

1.       It is communicable: An advertising appeal is communicable, the prospect must understand the message to be conveyed by the advertiser. On several occasions, it so happens that we mean something but say something else. There is a gap between what we say and we mean. A scientifically communicated appeal is the same as what prospect perceives as intended by the advertiser.

2.       It has a good theme: Substance of an advertisement constitutes its theme. A piece of advertisement can communicate effectively if it has anything worth communicable. It should be noted that mere words may not serve the purpose for they may not be backed by meaning. Every good advertisement appeals, because it has a theme – a story – rather interesting story at its command. A good appeal is backed by good theme.

3.       It is interesting creating: The prospects evince interest in the advertisement only if it is appealing to their mind and it is appealing provided it stirs his imagination and makes him to show his interest. The prospects interest depends on the way the appeal is made. An appeal should speak of the features and benefits of the product in a novel way.

4.       It is believable: The theme so presented must be believable. Incredible and fantastic claims made can only produce negative results. Such an attempt will only frighten and caution them. A matter which is intended to be believed, if doubted will fail to persuade the prospects. Therefore, it can be said that every advertisement is a story but not a fiction, because fiction is a story engineered but a story is real and is factual narration.

5.       It is complete: A good appeal is complete but not superfluous. In order to make an appeal very effective, the advertisement must tell everything about the product, producer and the dealer to make the prospect to commit for purchase. At the same time. It should not burden the prospect with unnecessary information. Such a superfluous information is likely to blunt the process of decision-making – much against the interests of the advertiser.

6.       It is true: The appeal made must be true. While giving the features, merits or benefits, there should not be the attempt of mispresenting or exaggerating the facts. Over-stretched or over-polished appeals are likely to create doubts in the minds of prospects. Truth, here implies – what product is, what it does – without attacking the competitive products. Truth also means her commercial honesty.

An advertising copy is the means by which the advertiser’s ideas are given expression to in a message to readers.  Regardless of its length and brevity copy refers to all the reading matters of an advertisement, including the headline, sub- headlines, text or body, and the name of the firm or the standard initials of the advertiser.  As we have seen that advertising has so many immediate purposes but its ultimate goal is to stimulate sales.  As a reader turns the pages of a magazine or newspaper, he notices so many advertisements but a great variation in copy.  Some copy may be so sticking that the reader takes immediate action and rush to the nearest dealer to purchase it while there may be some other copy or copies that he does not like or it does not click to his mind. The first copy conforms to the requisites of a good copy.  A copywriter must take pains in making up a sound advertisement copy containing its various components i.e. headlines, subhead lines, illustrations etc.

The following are the main components/elements of an advertisement copy:

1. Background: The background for the advertisements should be somewhat catchy and colourful. The arrangement of background differs from medium to medium and advertisement to advertisement. In short, background should be suitable for the contents of the advertisement.

2. Border: It is defined as the frame of the advertisement. Border is employed to impart the reading atmosphere. The border may be light or heavy, obvious, plain or fanciful. The border may also contain a logo.

3. Caption: It refers to the subtitle. But in most of the advertisement it is converted into heading or sub-heading.

4. Coupon: Coupon is that part of the advertisement which is intended for the convenience of the prospective customer in communicating with the advertiser. The coupon must contain the name and full postal address of the firm followed by the offer. The offer should be brief and clear. There should be space for name and address of the prospective customer. The usual shape of the coupon is triangular or rectangular.

 5. Decoration: Advertisement decoration is the ornament of the advertisement. This is done to emphasis the advertisement message.

6. Heading: The heading or headline is defined as the title of the advertisement. The words in the heading should be short.

7. Illustration: Illustrations are the part of layout that pictures the basic theme of the advertisement. It has the power to capture the attention of the reader. The advertisements become richer by the use of illustrations.

8. Mascot: It is known as the trade character or trade figure. It is an illustration of either a real or an imaginary figure or personality given in the advertisement.

9. Name Plate (logo): The name plate or name block is the signature of the advertiser. It represents the personality of the company and its product.

10. Price: It is another part of layout. The price of the product should be featured clearly. The price is usually taken in the concluding lines of the copy.

11. Product: It refers to the representation of the product offered for sale. A very popular practice is to show the product in use with illustrations.

12. Slogan: Slogan is a sales argument. The arrangement of slogan in the layout is determined by the importance of its relation to the advertising message.

13. Space: Space refers to the entire space left in the space hired by the advertiser. This depends on the design of the copy.

14. Subheading: It is a secondary heading. It is given to support the heading or to pick out the various selling points given in the text.

15. Text: Text or body of the advertisement refers to the general reading matter. It is the subject matter of the copy. It should be neither too wide nor too narrow.

16. Trade mark: It is a word or design by which a product is defined. If the trade, marks are registered it can be included in the layout.

Classification of Advertisement Copy

 1. Descriptive Copy: This type of copy describes the pertinent and relevant characteristics features of the product. It is very simple and of non- technical nature.  It does not have any specialty which can attract the attention of the target consumers or may compel them to read it. It is very much similar to a press account or news item simply giving relevant information to the public without any stylish touch.

2. Scientific Copy: Such types of copies are technical in nature and generally used by drugs and pharmaceutical firms elaborating the propositions of properties and constituents of the product.  It provides full information about the product and the producer.  This type of copy is usually meant for professional or for those who are really interested in such types of information.

 3. Institutional Copy: Institutional advertisement copy aims at selling the name of the advertiser or the institution that is producing or selling the products or services.   The main objective of such type of advertisements is to create, maintain or increase the goodwill of the product or of brand or of the department or of the selling house as a whole, Institutional copy invites the target consumers to the selling outlet. Such a copy seeks to build goodwill through publicizing the policies, customer services, Conveniences and general features of superiority of the store over the rivals.  

 4. Topical Copy: Herein and attempts is made to appeal to the general public by linking the theme of the copy with some current event but it should not look absurd.  It commands a good deal of interest because of that sensational event which lives in the minds of the public.   

 5. Reason why Copy: This type of advertisement copy offers the readers reasons why they should buy the advertised goods.  It narrates the positive points of difference from other brands of the same product category in an endeavour to convince the reader from product’s qualitative aspect.  It directs its appeal to the intellect or judgment rather than to emotions or senses.  It substantiates the superiority of the merchandise with the tests performance. 

6. Human Interest Copy: It makes its appeal to the emotions and the senses rather than to the intellect and judgment.  Sympathy fear, bonus, curiosity and other emotional appeals like appeals to the senses of sight hearing touch taste, and smell are used in such type of copy. Human interest copy presents the product in relation to people instead of confirming to facts about product.  As emotions are many and always new it may be made more exciting an artful than reason why copy.  It affords a refreshing change.  Human interest copy can take various forms:

(a) Humorous Copy: It exploits the sense of humor of the people.  It turns the reader laughter.  All examples and statements in such copy are fully to make the reader smile.

(b) Fear Copy: It appeals to the sense of fear and arouses the interest of people to save their lives, properties and other belongings.   Such copy of advertisement should be drawn carefully so that it may not carry an unpleasant association of reader’s minds with the advertiser’s product of business Lifer Insurance Corporation General Insurance Companies and Bank generally use this type of copy.

(c) Story Copy: In such a copy a story is narrated me a very interesting manner to create manner to create an impression in the minds of the people about the product. Its ability to create interest depends upon dramatic impact it produces.  Experience of customers can also be narrated in the story.

(d) Predicament Copy: It is often used to advantage when it shows an article of merchandise in a case that provides a dramatic explanation of its advantages. Predicament copy usually overlaps the other three kinds of human interest copies

7. Colloquial copy or Conversational Copy: The colloquial copy presents the message in the way of conversation.  It uses an informal language and conversation takes place in terms of ‘I’ and ‘You’ with personal reference to reader and the advertiser.  In such copy the style is one of a personal talk or one of an eyewitness account.  

8. Personality Copy: This copy attempts to encase the opinion of personality – real or imaginary – about the product.  Usually the personality is real.  The photograph of the personality (a person specialized to concerned field) is given with the text of the copy with a view to convince the readers through the moral influence of his name.  Invariably, such copy shows a certificate or a testimonial of such influential person.

9. Prestige Copy: This pattern is usually for in institutional advertising which aims at creating an atmosphere about the product or the firm and may not directly advise the product for sale.  Such a copy is occasionally used and is very much similar to the personality copy in impression which also strives to enhance the prestige of the advertising firm indirectly by visualizing the name of the eminent personality.  

10. Educational Copy: The copy is designed to educate the general public about the attributes of the product. Usually introductory appeal is made in this style when the product is introduced in the market for the first time; it is the duty of every producer or advertiser to tell everything relevant about the product to the public in such a manner that it may get a warm welcome among customers. Such an advertisement copy depicts the specialties to the product category. 

11. Suggestive Copy: A suggestive copy tries to suggest or convey the message to the readers directly or indirectly to pursue them to purchase the product.  It is useful where the reader is confused about the quality of a product brand and is not in a position to take a decision about the purchase of the product.   

12. Expository Copy: Just opposite of suggestive copy it expository copy.  It does not conceal anything about the product but exposes.  The message is quite clear and it needs no inference, no taxing on mind, no thinking, Even a cursory glance rakes it quite easy to remembers or to pick – up.  

 13. Questioning copy: Questioning copy as the term suggests it incorporate a series of questions expected to be answered by them readers.  The advertiser puts no narration, statement or reason of its own in order to pursue the readers to buy the product. The question arouses the curiosity in the minds of the readers and makes them think of it.  

 Thus there are various types of copies of advertisement on the basis of their style of presentation.  

The important of a good advertisement copy can hardly be overemphasized.  All the planning, research and expense would go waste if proper care is not taken in drafting an advertisement copy that will achieve the purpose of advertising.  The psychological aims of an advertisement are that the public must be made to (i) look, (ii) like, (iii) learn and (iv) buy.  In other words a scientifically drafted copy should (a) attract primary initial attention, (b) hold attention in an interesting way, awaken and stimulate interest, (c) bring about an association of impression which will have permanence or memory value, (d) convince persuade, and induce to purchase the product, and (e) suggest and lead to specific response to encourage the decision to buy. The person who drafts and prepares the copy, must be thoroughly acquainted with the mental process and be imaginative enough to think of words and patterns which may produce at desired effect on prospects i.e., it must creates an urge in the minds of prospects to go for the product advertised. A good copy of advertisement should possess the following characteristics or qualities or values:

1. Focus on dominant element: Good layouts have a starting point. It is called dominant element. This element is the most important part of the advertisement. It may be the headline, the illustration, the body copy, etc. The copywriter has to decide which part is the dominant part. Normally, there is only one dominant element in the ad. The dominant element must be large. It must have a bright colour. It must look better than the other parts of the ad. The consumer must get attracted towards the dominant part of the ad.

2. Unity of all ad parts: The advertisement consists of many parts. All parts of the ad have a relation with each other. All these parts must have one objective. The objective must be to inform the consumer about the product and to persuade them to purchase the product. So, all parts of the ad must work together. They must not work against each other. There must be unity among all the parts of the ad. If unity is maintained, then the combined effect will also be good. We can have unity by keeping proper space between words and lines. We can also use the same style of printing.

3. Good use of contrast: Contrast means to use opposite colours, like black and white, etc. Contrasted ads stand out because they appear different. For e.g. If all the ads in a magazine are in colour and if one ad is in black and white. Then the black and white ad will stand out in contrast. We can also use contrast for different parts of the ad. So that each part of ad stand out in contrast. We can also use contrast for a dominant part of the ad.

4. Right balance of elements: The advertisement must have a right balance. Balance means the relationship between right-hand side and left-hand side of the ad.

There are two types of balance:

Formal balance: Here, the words and pictures on the right side are equal to the words and images on the left-hand side of the ad. So, the right-hand side and the left side matches each other in size, shape and colour. They are placed exactly on the opposite side of each other. Such a balance is called a formal balance.

Informal balance: Here, each part of the ad is placed on the page at random. There is no balance between right-hand side and left-hand side. But, as a whole the ad looks balanced. Informal balance is quite difficult to achieve. It requires more imagination and a high level of creative skill. It looks better than the formal balance.

5. Maintain proportion of space: The advertisement must maintain proportion. The entire space must get divided among the different parts of the ad. The division must not be equal. If all the parts have same space, then the ad will not look good. More space must be provided to the dominant (important) part of the ad. Less space must be given to the less important parts.

6. Follow the eye movement: The advertisement must be prepared to cover the movement of the eye. The movement of the eye is from left to right. A person first looks up then he looks down. So, the advertising idea must move from left to right and from top to bottom. The advertiser can control the eye movement by using the following points:

a) Gaze movement: According to research, a person’s eyes will follow other eyes. That is, if many people are looking in one direction, then a new person will also look in that direction. Such behaviour is natural. So the readers will also follow the gaze of the people, animals and birds appearing or presented in the ad.

b) Size: Generally, large size parts attract people. So the main part of the ad must also be large.

c) Pointing devices such as hands, fingers, arrows, etc., are used to attract the attention of the reader.

d) Cartoons and comic pictures are also used to grab the attention of the readers.

7. Simple and uncomplicated layout: The layout must be simple. It must have very few elements in it. The lesser the elements, the stronger will be the impact (impression). Too many parts of the ad will make it useless. So the ad must have many empty spaces. It must not look very crowded and complicated.

8. Ease of readability: The reader must be able to read the advertisement easily and quickly. The words in the ad must not be small sized. Avoid using capital letters for full paragraphs. Only significant words or sentences must be written in capital letters.

9. Use of white space: The advertisement must not appear stuffed and crowded. There must be enough white (blank) space to make it look uncluttered and pleasing. White space will attract the attention of the reader by making the ad look rich and classy.

10. Clarity of ad message: The advertisement must be very clear about its objective. The reader must easily understand the ad message. He must not be confused to grasp the central message of the ad. He must also not have any doubts about the ad.

11. Good ad atmosphere: The atmosphere surrounding the advertisement must not be ignored or overlooked. The surrounding of an ad is also essential to make the ad appear attractive and pleasing. A shabby background or atmosphere makes even an attention-grabbing ad less appealing.

12. First impression: The first impression is the best impression. If the impact of the first impression is good, then the reader will read the full ad message and react positively. He may desire to purchase a product or try a service. However, if the first impression fails to create a good impression, then the reader won’t read the full ad message. He may not remember and lose interest in the advertised product or service. In such a case, sales won’t happen and the advertisement will fail to achieve its goal.

Therefore, the copywriter must make the first impression of the ad impactful. A positive impact can be achieved by using a catchy slogan, attractive colours, lots of white space, good illustration, so on.

The advertising decision-maker or the advertiser has to work within the broad framework of the marketing plan of the firm; as advertising is one of the tools that has to be effectively used for attaining marketing objectives. Large number of factors have influence over the job of advertiser. He has to take into account factors like company’s image in the market, the strength of his competitors; the position he is seeking for his product or brand and other external environment factors like government restrictions, legal forces, existing social values and changing lifestyle of the people. Given the above broad framework, and advertiser has to take four major decisions:

a) Deciding the advertising objective,

b) Determining advertising budget and budget appropriations.

c) Deciding the copy, and

d) Deciding the media.

Deciding the Copy: The term ‘Copy’ includes every feature that appears in the body of the advertisement. It covers the written or spoken matters, pictures, logo and designs and layout. Developing the copy is a creative process where no rigid principles can be applied. However, certain guidelines assembled from the experiences of previous successful advertiser can help the developing of a copy. Some of these guidelines as proposed by Jewler, an authority in creative strategy in advertising are as follows:

1. Use of Present tense: It makes the message more active and personal. It deals with “new” rather than “before” and such messages are more impressive and current. For example, “Introducing for the first time……….”.

2. Use of Active voice rather than passive voice for better reading: As active verbs mean action, they communicate better as compared to passive voice. For example, “it saves energy” is more direct and communicative as compared to saying, “energy is saved when this device is used.”

3. Use of familiar words and phrases: The audience is not testing the language proficiency of the advertiser so he is not impressed by the use of fancy and literary words. The audience prefer simple language but unambiguous.

4. Respect your audience: Audience is rational and logical, so the message should be straight forward, simple and specific explaining what the product will do for him rather than explaining how good the product is.

5. Facts based claims: The claims made by the advertiser about the product or service offered should be supported by laboratory tests or a testimonial by a credible witness to make it more effective.

The entire copy should be structured along the concept of AIDA where AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. The central theme must be sufficiently interesting and absorbing so that the reader reads it carefully enough to become aware of the product/brand. This is especially true for print media where the reader has the option to skip pages which will then defeat the very purpose of the advertisement. It must command readers’ attention to arouse his desire and interest.

HEADLINE: The headline is considered to be most crucial element of the entire message which carries almost 80% of the weight of the message. The headline can be accompanied by a visual or a photograph to make it more effective. The style and content of headlines will vary with the nature of the product and purpose of use of the product and it may be presented in any of the following ways –

a) Headlines promising benefit to the customer like “Eno on, Pain gone” or “Action in10 seconds-Eno”, “Retirement solutions – HDFC pension plans” etc.

b) Headlines to arouse curiosity like “the secret of youth in Herbals” will definitely arouse the reader’s curiosity to read further.

c) Headlines providing newsworthy announcements like “SBI going global”, “Market crashes” etc.

d) Headlines to draw attention of specific target. For example “A gift for someone you love”, ‘Attention: Termite Problem” etc.

e) Headlines may begin with a question or may give a positive command to the readers to take a particular step like “Treat yourself to luxury” etc.

Sub-Headlines: These are meant to amplify the impact of the headline. A marketer uses sub-headlines for three purposes:

a) To gain attention and interest;

b) To organize to copy into logically related segments thus aiding comprehension; and

c) To direct the interest of the consumer to important points.

Where a headline is complete and is totally informative in itself, then a subheading may not be necessary. But if the headline in not self-explanatory or is not directly related to the message, sub-headlines are desirable. For example, “Do not buy a car” with a sub headline such as “until you have checked mileage”. Such sub-heading compliment the headlines.

Body Copy and Text: The main copy is meant to explain the headline further in a narrative way to explain product features and develop the benefit it promises. The copy may be long or short. The copy may use emotional or rational approach. However, in all cases the advertisement should be interesting and informative. For example, Mercedes people are known to write long advertisements with success. Advertisement for diamonds use emotional approach. According to Advertising Manager’s Hand-book, a copy must do following seven things in order to produce results:

a) The headlines and entire body should make interesting reading.

b) The main idea should be to inform readers maximum about the product in an interesting way.

c) The advertisement should be more personal, involving the client and should make the reader think that it is meant for him/her.

d) The advertisement should not be a source of entertainment for the readers or a source of providing information. It should help the reader solve his problem and this help should be sincere and genuine.

e) The advertisement copy must convince the reader about the truthfulness of the claims made for their products in the advertisement. It should provide supporting information.

f) Making reader believe in the truth of the statement is not enough, an advertisement should be able to persuader the reader to buy the product.

g) The aim of advertising is to create such awareness of a product in the readers that next time they have a problem, they will remember the advertised product as solution to the problem.

Close of the Copy: Advertisements close is second to its headline in importance. The close should urge some sort of immediate favourable action. For example, “Visit your nearest dealer and ask for a demonstration” at the end of an advertisement for washing machines and microwave ovens are often found in the close. The advertiser’s name and address or the brand name are often prominent in the close. Words such as “go”, “try” and “task” and “ask” are often found in the close of an advertisement.

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