The Serious Advertisement Or The Explosively Entertaining?

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The Serious Advertisement - Or The Explosively Entertaining?

I've recently finished studying books by Ogilvy, John Caples and the like - they seem to be more attached towards the style of the "serious, professional advertisements".

I really love such advertisements - extremely witty, original and brings the subtle message right across into the reader's mind. Ingenious and powerful.

On the other hand, if you were to look to some other (more recent) copywriters - you tend to see copy that is... leaning more towards the dramatic side - extremely and highly sensual adjectives, giving off a distinct "tabloid" feel.

They're all still based on the same few principles - but the style (not the writing personality of the copywriter, of course) seems quite different.

One seems more catered towards "gimmicks" (No offense) like picking up some secret techniques/forms in martial arts, hairsprays, one-push-troll softwares...

The other seems more catered towards the professional feel - the Rolls Royce, the corporate professionals, coffee, beer, ....

I'm confused - There are a lot of contradictory advice in copywriting out there. Schwartz promoted identification headlines in a heavily saturated market, while Ogilvy was sincerely against any form of ads that didn't sell the product or call in the target audience in the headline.

What kind of style do you normally write in, and which would you have you found to be most effective to modern consumerism culture?

The explosively entertaining (ringing with highly sensory copy - not unlike John Carlton or Gary Halbert) or the quietly powerful factual kind (like Ogilvy, Caples and the like)?

(Have the times changed at all?)


Respectfully,
horizon

*Edit* - I forgot to add in that any views on TV/video advertising would be treasured as well.
#copywriting #advertisement #entertaining #explosively #serious
  • I remember someone saying all that it takes to make an advertisement memorable is a gorilla in a jockstrap. Memorable, however, doesn't necessarily lead to sales.

    Most of those commercials that win the Cleo awards go on to achieve nothing else.

    Ogilvy's ads were simple but subtly attention-getting (remember the Hathaway eye-patch guy?) and built branding not entertainment value.
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    • kaniganj:
      Yes, I remember that eye-patch guy ad- Brilliance I must say. Totally true, an advertisement sells the product, not the ad itself - that's one saying Ogilvy emphasized.

      The problem is - with the increasing ADD in society - how are we to transfix the reader immediately with the copy headline? Would subtleness really work in a one-shot sales copy instead of a long-term sales campaign? (Since that's normally the case for internet information products)

      I read a remark in a book somewhere that said- "If I wrote a headline that said, "This Is All About (Your Name)." " People would lick every single detail off that page without spare since it heavily concerned them. However-

      -With increasing awareness to Ads and the rise of multiple products and sales pitches... Additionally to the fact that people are constantly bombarded by movies, action and vivid detail... Would a quiet title instantly grab the reader off his Skype, multiple windows/tabs, emails, phone calls?

      It seems to defy logic (but of course, testing... )

      But Ogilvy's ads don't pale in comparison completely - It seems to lack the element of grabbing the prospect's attention immediately in today's society... Unless it's befitting such as in the print of an automobile/business/professional magazine, or good press.

      What would be your thoughts on blending in subtlety with the more novel attention-grabbing headlines?


      max5ty:

      It's great that you raised the high refund rate - I think it's an ethical slippery slope that the MMO niche has slipped right down - even the better products have just as high a refund rate as the downright bad ones. People are even refunding to get money to buy groceries.

      (It seems that the big players are trying to grab in as much traffic so as to retain as many customers as possible) That's just a huge money blackhole right there- even other markets don't have as high refunds rates as the MMO niche.

      Would a stable, consistent brand still thrive in the MMO niche using a professionally subtle copy? Most of them die down anyway - the campaigns are hyped up again & again - relaunched again & again - the same sales pitch in a slightly different role, again & again...

      Away from the MMO niche, even health products, bodybuilding, dating/seduction niches are dominated by highly sensory/entertaining/radical copy - is that really the way internet advertising for information products should go?

      It really seems such a waste...
  • One of the most interesting posts...

    Here's my thoughts.

    There are those who pride themselves on being in your face, witty, shocking, and way out there with their campaigns...

    usually offering a great show, but little in the way of profit.

    You see most of these campaigns on clickbank, etc...usually aimed at the younger generation...and written by older copywriters wanting to still seem "hip".

    Return rates are usually high...and the campaigns fade away quicker than a hit song by another "one hit wonder band".

    The hardest problem some copywriters have is getting out of the way of their work.

    It's not about the copywriter or how witty or shocking they are...it's about your customer and their product.

    The shock jocks are still trying to drum up work 20 - 30 years after they've started idolizing themselves.

    I'm a big proponent of the professional style...

    I'll leave the hype to the others looking to be the central theme of their work.

    It's still -- and always has been about making your client very wealthy -- not the copywriter's ego.
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    • I vacillate between thinking you are a troll and gaining a lot of insights from your posts. I guess you are an insightful troll if you ARE one.

  • We've sadly gotten to the point where the term "copywriter" has become a joke.

    Take a moment and look at what "copywriters" are selling...

    another get rich quick course on how to sell more, another product that will explode your sales, a secret to the latest catch phrases that has your reader begging for your info.

    These aren't copywriters, they're marketers.

    A copywriter sells products for their client...their mission is to sell real tangible products...those of their client...it's our job to make them the next millionaire.

    Ogilvy, Schwab, etc. didn't become wealthy by selling their ideas on how to sell ideas -- they actually got wealthy by selling real products.

    We've prostituted the whole idea of being a copywriter.

    If you're trying to sell a course to others on how to "get rich" from writing sales letters...and that's all you've ever sold (info products on how to be a better copywriter), don't pretend you're a copywriter.

    A "copywriter" takes a product that is urgently wanted...and offers an urgent solution...

    teaching someone how to learn the best phrases and words and squeeze pages is not that urgent any more.

    We'll always have a "new" group of copywriters that've bought into the get rich quick schemes...they'll come and go -- there's some of us that understand the real meaning of being a "copywriter".
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  • Sorry for getting so dramatic about your post...but it's something that hit a nerve with me.

    I know I'll Pi** some off, but it's how I feel.

    There are so called "gurus" out there, who all they've ever done is sell one course after another on how to be a copywriter.

    Hello...

    ...and all they've done is read the books by Ogilvy, etc., and put it into their own words.

    I'll give it to them that they're good at marketing...but they're not "copywriters".

    One of the biggest secrets these guys have is that they actually hire real copywriters to write their sales pieces...I could name names that would blow your mind -- but as I've said, our job is to make our clients wealthy....

    I'm impressed with those that have had real clients, with real products, and have a success record.

    Sorry for the rant...
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  • Yes, significantly. People are...

    1. More skeptical.

    2. Bombarded with information.

    These two differences have a direct impact on the headlines a copywriter should write.

    Forty years ago, a headline like "How To Get Rich" worked great. Today, single-benefit headlines have virtually no chance of getting a reader's attention.

    The best headlines include an element of curiosity and communicate a benefit that touches the reader's driving emotion.

    Alex
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    • I have to disagree with you Alex...

      Here's the problem.

      The new breed of "get rich quick copywriters" are living on the internet.

      All they know is internet lingo and results -- guess that's good in a way...because there's still people pulling in ungodly amounts of wealth from being an offline copywriter.

      "How To Get Rich", would still pull in some serious cash in the offline world.
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  • Yes, there is an epidemic of hummingbird attention span these days, but I believe people's focus slows...right...down...when they see something of interest to them.

    Recall that we're supposed to be writing to a "target market." This means the majority of people will not qualify for our offer, and they also will not be interested. So we should expect the uninterested majority to skim past.

    After all, not everyone could afford Ogilvy's advertised Rolls Royces, Hermes ties & scarves, etc.

    One of those famous European composers, I can't remember who or find the quote online, it was likely Richard Strauss or Beethoven, said "Make a loud noise at the start; after that, you can do whatever you like." If those guys had this point of view when creating their art, maybe we should adopt it.
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    • Yup... that's the name of the game. Get their attention with something that interests them.

      And single benefit headlines rarely do so now-a-days.

      Alex
  • I think video sales letters are *no time limit* TV commercials - so undoubtedly they will be powerful. But I also don't doubt the power of words - copy can be fitted ingeniously into videos as well.

    I do mean the use of highly dramatic words like explosive, wept, inferno, the use of stories to build attention and intrigue as compared to the cleaner, more subtle and factual-sounding ads in the past on print (particularly claude hopkins/ogilvy). The schlitz beer ad was very factual sounding and had few dramatic words, and yet had resounding success.

    Would such ads capture the attention of the modern, ADD crowd?
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    • Power words (as they're commonly known in the copywriting community) create mental imagery and spark emotions.

      The ADD crowd reads headlines, so I would say yes, most certainly.

      Here's some examples...

      12 Backcountry Crappie Fishermen Reveal Jealously-Guarded
      "Fish Slamming" Secrets They Used To Catch Crappie... Or Starve!

      "Who else wants a proven 'SYSTEM' that turns raw ideas into solid
      businesses and solid businesses into raging cash machines in days
      and weeks instead of years?"

      If You Can Give A Girl These 8 Different Extreme Orgasms...
      She'll SWEAR You're The Best She's Ever Had!

      WARNING: Do Not Read This If You Have Moral, Ethical Or
      Religious Reasons Against Hurting (Or Even Killing) Someone
      Who Violently Attacks You, Your Wife Or Your Kids

      As you can see, for anybody in these target groups, these headlines hit home and definitely get attention.

      Alex
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  • Wish it didn't but it does.

    I would like to offer, seeing a few of these video sales letters, that "live person" is debatable.

    My suggestion is, when one of the options is a person saying their letter ...to the camera, you'll do well to hold out for a fourth option.

    There seems to be two letters missing in one of the words used to describe this phenomenon.
  • I don't think there's a categorical answer to this question. I really think it depends on the context, and what specifically is being sold.

    If you're targeting very wealthy clients, it's probably best to go with clever, well laid out ads published in magazines or on very prestigious websites. Also, it's important to use very sophisticated websites with broad layouts and professional photography, rather than the standard internet marketing template with the long sales letter. I know some wealthy people, and they really prefer to buy on the perception of quality or timelessness rather than on price points or hype. They'd probably be turned off by "explosively entertaining" templates. Keep this in mind if you're selling 500,000 dollar racing boats.

    Now, if you're selling self help products or anything like that, unless you're specifically targeting a very high end market, traditional "explosive" sales letters will work.
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    • Oh, the animal analogy does sound like the DISC model. I do particularly agree with the comparison between the Rolls-Royce ad and the power-sounding ads as well as the post on different types of consumers.

      I've recently went back to the classics and done some research regarding this matter and the closest I found was by Joseph Sugarman:

      He sold a "device that found phone numbers".

      At the highest price, it was treated as *another* sophisticated device.

      At the medium price, it was treated as a sophisticated walkie talkie.

      At the lowest price, it was treated as a toy.

      It seems that the price is a major factor in determining the targeted consumer market, and hence defining the "class" of the product. I would suppose the presentation of the ad is a supporting factor to this price:

      My untested hypothesis from this:
      Consumers tend to get more serious about the purchase when the price gets higher. The burden of the worry is higher, so if the ad seems gimmicky, it doesn't seem serious- hence it does not justify high prices.

      *but it's interesting to note certain exceptions like billboard/tv ads where "humor" is used to create an impression of the brand...
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