The Best Copywriting headline EVER?

The understanding of how classically effective headlines
were written has got pretty warped on the internet. These
days we see a lot of bloated headlines - equivalent to
trying to get a date with a passing girl by boasting at
rapid-fire speed of your macho manliness before she
passes out of earshot.

Hardly seductive, yet very common - and most of the less
experienced copywriters seem to write 'em this way.

A good headline is often boiled-down like a Bolognese,
the process is one of starting with the most compelling
idea or concept or benefit that is going to attract the
interest of the target reader. Often pithy and unshowy
works. ie:

"Corns?"

I've never had 'em but I'm sure if I did I'd remember that
ad and check out the offer. The "corns?" ad is actually
what is known a cultural "meme" at this point, it's so
familiar.

If you get familiar with Robert Collier's stuff, and Drayton
Bird's too, you'll see a tendency to not emphasize headlines
nearly so much as the concept of writing for the reader and
making a pertinent, attractive offer. The offer usually falls
at the end of the letter or ad, while the headline, being at
the top, has the real purpose of arresting attention, not
usually selling the product.

There are exceptions, particularly with price/value propositions,
ie. "Bananas .59/lb", which, if you like bananas and
are hungry might get your attention and get you to look
at the product with intent to buy.

My favorite headlines are classic artful ones of guys like
Clyde Bedell, whose classic ad David Ogilvy swiped to write
"At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new
Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock."

Hey Ricci

That's a difficult question, because "best" is subjective. The three main functions of a headline are (a) to get (or keep) a reader's attention (depending on where the reader came from), (b) to get them to read the next sentence, and (c) to demonstrate relevance.

I tend to like headlines that make it almost irresistible to ignore, such as...

Why Some Foods "Explode" In Your Stomach

... that one goes back to the 1950's, but it's hard to ignore the idea of anything exploding in our stomach, don't you think?

My current favorite is over at CatchHimAndKeepHim.com (a dating product for women), but it's also one of the longest I've seen:

Could It Really Be This EASY To
Create A Lasting Connection
With A Man That Goes Far
BEYOND "Physical" Attraction...
And Sparks A Deep Emotional
Bond Inside Him... To Where
He Feels Literally Addicted To
Being With You, And ONLY YOU, Forever?

I think the guy who wrote it is connected with David DeAngelo (aka Eben Pagan). Now, I'm not the target audience for the above product... but if you put yourself into the shoes of a single woman, that, I imagine, would be a VERY irresistible headline!

I don't normally like long headlines, but that one seems to push the target audience's "hot buttons" very nicely.

Hey Paul,

Wow - the headline 'Why Some Foods "Explode" In Your Stomach' certainly does grab your attention doesn't it? I would certainly read that.

And I see what you mean about the dating website headline. I can't imagine a single women alive, who would be able to resist that headline.

It certainly ruins the theory I read from a TOP copywriter - that all headlines should be 17 words or less!

I am partial to headlines that have an odd disconnect or which sparks an extreme intrigued interest regardless of whether you were in search of the product or not... After all, the main goal of your headline is to get the prospect to read that first sentence. (Leave the rest of the copy to sell the offer.)

Because, after reading the amazing story which does connect the headline (in an odd way) or shines light on the intriguing headline (like the food exploding in your stomach) you just may find yourself needing what is being offered.

Short and to the punch, but there are times when you will find a nice headline which breaks that unspoken rule of 17... Headlines such as the one Paul mentioned.

In my mind, it matters not how long the headline is as long as it creates enough curiosity to get the prospect to actually begin to read your copy. But, I mostly like short and to the punch headlines.

A favorite? Well, I was recently browsing Lawrence Bernstein's blog ( Info Marketing Blog | Direct Response Marketing | Copywriting ) and I ran across an excellent piece of ad copy: How To Launch An Ad Agency: Find The Man!

The headline goes...

There is only one solution to an advertising problem:

Lol, these are good.. i really like the " Why some foods explode in your stomach"

"Generous Creative Businessman Wants To Find A Hot Sexy Woman With A Good Sense of Humor"

Love this Halbert classic. It snipes at a crowd, makes them curious and throws them down a slippery slide. Oh and it tickles the greed glands.

"Discover the Fortune That Lies Hidden In Your Salary"

Fortune. Hidden. Curiosity builds ... Plus it has broad appeal

"Do You Close The Bathroom Door When You Are The Only One Home?"

Builds curiosity, intrigue, a bit of mystery and if you do close the bathroom door when your the only one home you are going to read further - Guaranteed

"Do You Make These Mistakes In English?"

This famous headline was a dm control package for a very long time. One of my favorites because it's so versatile.

Okay I'm getting ahead of myself, but as you can see the best headlines builds massive CURIOSITY. Also, newsworthy headlines pull more, because interesting editorial is much more likely to get read than advertising.

How Come We Missed You At the Bank This Week?

One of the reasons why it is difficult to determine the 'best' headline is because headline's aren't about being 'best', but 'most effective'. Headlines are only effective if they grab the attention of the intended audience. it's relatively easy to grab attention, but grabbing the attention of the people you're trying to target is more important.

One of the rules I tend to abide by is to never include references to myself, since it's less likely that people are interested in my self absorbed musings than in something which appears to speak directly to them.