Kiss & Sell: Writing for Advertising

(Redesigned & Rekissed)

Robert Sawyer

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9782940373468
• eBook ISBN: 9781350035287
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Graphic Design

Kiss & Sell: Writing for Advertising discusses different subjects and media, from print and broadcast to interactive media, as well as tactics and strategies employed by copywriters. Commentary, example and advice from leading players in the advertising world offer the aspiring professional important insight and meaningful guidance. Detailed explanations outline the aims of various work and how it was achieved. As a copywriter, your job is not to amuse or entertain, but rather to sell products. By examining the campaigns here, youll see why writing copy is as much a craft as it is an art, and, along the way, you'll learn how to succeed in this glamorous but cutthroat industry.

chapter #03

writing copy

Jeep: Never Confuse Your Net Worth…

If you can say exactly what needs to be said in a few words, then do it. See how well it works in this advertisement that features a man and his dog in the woods. In this context, anything less than writing on the level of Ernest Hemingway would be a mistake. A good approach is to separate the details from the headline, so that the thoughtful tone, established by the headline, will not be disturbed by the details.

Copywriter	David Shih
Art Director	Paul Szary
Photographer	David Stoecklien
Agency	BBDO Detroit
Client	Jeep

faith in words

Getting the job done is central to good copywriting.

Good copy and good writing are not necessarily the same thing. Copy has a distinct purpose—to sell a product or a service.

Writers tend to make the same mistake. That mistake is a faith in words. Faith in their ability to move the reader to care or—more specifically—to move the consumer to the cash register. Writers, as a group, harbor the not-so-secret wish that words are the magic element in a communication. And, it’s a wish that’s often granted, provided the writer has encouraged customers to read what they’ve written, to believe it, and then to act on the message.

The job of the copy in an advertisement is to sell a particular product or service. And getting this job done—selling a product, service, or idea—is at the heart of good copywriting. Writers indifferent to the sell will never become successful copywriters. And no matter what they write, it won’t produce an effective advertisement.

Good copy:

1.Focuses the reader’s attention.

2.Conveys an idea.

3.Persuades the reader to believe that an idea is relevant.

4.Leaves the reader with a positive experience of the brand.

5.Inspires a specific action.

Ten essentials behind writing good copy:

1.Focus on the work at hand.

2.Know your audience.

3.Keep it simple.

4.Be honest.

5.Make it passionate.

6.Keep current.

7.Write in a conversational, brief, and witty voice.

8.Serve as an advocate.

9.Express optimism.

10.Discard a ‘brilliant idea’ if it’s not working.

Faith: A fidelity to a promise you make; sincerity with your intentions; a firm belief in something that cannot be proven; something you believe in, particularly a strong conviction.

Indifference to the sell will doom an advertisement to failure.

If a copywriter isn’t positive and enthusiastic, the reader won’t be either.

Know what to keep in your preliminary copy and what to throw away.

Who’s kidding whom? What’s the difference between Giant and Jumbo? Quart and full quart? Two-ounce and big two-ounce? What does Extra Long mean? What’s a tall 24 inches?

Marya Mannes (1964), in Stephen Donadio, The New York Public Library: Book of Twentieth-Century American Quotations, New York: Stonesong Press, 1992

Long copy has its uses—even if no one reads it.

Ken Segall, partner and worldwide creative director on Intel account, Euro RSCG Worldwide, told to Robert Sawyer

If you believe that facts persuade, you’d better learn how to write a list so it doesn’t read like a list.

David Abbott, in The Copywriter’s Bible: How 32 of the World’s Best Advertising Writers Write their Copy, Hove, UK: RotoVision, 2000

Bose: There Are So Many Reasons…

Few people buy technology for technology’s sake. What interests them are the benefits of technology. This is why a faith in words can well serve the feature/benefit model. It’s a simple technique: describe a feature and attach a benefit to it. Describe another feature and attach another benefit to it. Repe...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• contents
• Preface
• Foreword
• Introduction
• How to Get the Most out of this Book
• Chapter 01 What is Copywriting?
• Chapter 02 Elements of Copy
• Chapter 03 Writing Copy
• Chapter 04 Interactive Channels
• Chapter 05 Brochures and Other Long Forms
• Chapter 06 Names and Naming
• Bibliography
• Index
• eCopyright