Finally, some Ad-Speak!

This was a trade article point-of-view paper I wrote in the beginning of my last semester in college. I was to read several articles based on the same aspect of advertising, write a blog about it (with, of course, my own POV in there) and post it to www.ihaveanidea.org. I think that because this article is not about me, it's the first posting to my own blog that really shows my style of writing. Or, atleast, one of my styles of writing.

Copy, where’d you go?

With more ads becoming visually driven, online-based, fast-forwarded on TiVo, and completely avoided on most satellite radio stations will there be an end to the iconic slogans of brands? I speak of tag lines such as “Just Do It” and “A Diamond is Forever”. No need to tell you the brands. You know them; we all know them.
But I’m concerned what will be remembered from our time - from now. (“It’s our time down here.. Down here, it’s our time!” Anyone else a Goonie?) Will it be the extremely grammatically incorrect lines such as “Where you at?” from Boost Mobile that was chosen because that’s the language of my generation? Or will it be the dancing ‘shadows’ of Apple’s iPod commercials?
According to Mr. Rau, of J Walter Thompson, in a Businessline article, it’s only a catchy visual that can make an impression. He also says he agrees with the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is true, why are the books always better than the movies? The written word allows us to create what we will of it - place ourselves in the shoes of the heroine or picture our boss as the evil villain. We are free to use our imagination. We become involved with the words and the picture they paint.
Meg Carter, of Financial Times London, states that copywriting is “one of advertising’s central skills”. If this is true, where are you, Copy? Fortunately, Carter believes that there is a rise in advertisements featuring copy.

Copywriters, too?

A Precision Marketing article stated “Alarmingly, though, some senior industry figures are voicing concern over the declining numbers of talented industry wordsmiths.” As one of approximately 30,000 that will graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University, I know there have to be talented writers among us and from other universities. Perhaps it’s not a lack of talent but a lack of ambition to use the talent. Precision Marketing says that sometimes the copywriters can be overlooked and have an ‘ugly sister’ tag. Is this a direct result of a visual driven age, or is due to a lack of talented people in the industry? I think it’s both. According to a very short article - a blurb, really - by Rebecca Fannin of Marketing and Media Decisions, it is the glamour of television writing that has lured writers from print copy. Especially if we have been raised on television. She also states that this has left some agencies with no print expertise at all. Although, if no one else wants the jobs I’ll just (hopefully) one day take my pick.
There are numerous copywriting training classes popping up according to the Precision Marketing article, but if there’s not an ambition to use the talent potential copywriters have, these classes are futile. There should be a ‘headhunting’ of talent and motivate them toward this type of career choice. It could start early - while still in college. If they find there’s a lack of talent - go out and find it. Things don’t always come to you.

Is there hope?

Gregory Solman, writing for AdWeek, interviewed Karl Heiselman. Heiselman believes there is far too much emphasis put on a tagline, especially when only 1-2% remember it. He says consumers remember the brand promise. I believe that these could be both on and the same. It is a connection, and if it is a well thought out line - or jingle, even - it can last. And then it can be tweaked and changed. Then, it can be brought back. Solman lists several companies who have brought back taglines that were out of use, or were changed: Burger King (“Have it your way”), Avis (“We try harder”), and Memorex (“Is it live or is it Memorex?”). Is this proof of hope for copy, or only old copy? This shows the importance of copy to a brand. People relate to these simple lines, and remember them. They’re used in pop culture trivia, on quiz blogs and made into Top 100 Best Taglines in blogs. If the copy of our time must be copy that has been brought back from times previous, so be it. You can’t argue with a classic.
Part of my concern for the lack of copy in advertising is quite selfish. I admire the short, profound way to convey a message that can only be done in advertising. I only hope I can create a line for a brand that will be repeated twenty years from now. These words not only have provided inspiration for a possible future career for me, but have also provided the basic requirements for many “clippings” poems I was forced to do in a high school Creative Writing class. It’s where my love for copy began and I would hate to see the industry become strictly visually driven. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many pictures can one word inspire?

As a side note, the last line of my article is a question that was meant to get across the point that if I used a word - any word - in a room full of people, more than likely those people would all have different visuals pop into their heads. My professor, however, used my question to create an actual mathematical equation to show me that a picture really only equals 1000 words. I found it quite amusing. And it almost proves my point. Everyone sees things differently, even without the aid of a visual.