Ideation and Copywriting

UNIT 7 : IDEATION AND COPYWRITING1

Structure
7.0 Introduction
7.1 Learning Outcomes
7.2 Copywriting
7.2.1 Who is a Copywriter
7.3 Writing Copy for an Ad
7.4 How to Come Up with an Idea
7.4.1 DHL
7.4.2 AMUL Ads
7.4.3 McDonald’s
7.4.4 Fevicol Ads
7.5 It’s Time to Make the Ad
7.6 When itt Comes to Writing a Headline
7.7 w to Write
How W it
Writee Bo
ody
d Copy
Body
7.8 What to
What to D
Doo iff Yo are S
ou
You tuck
tu
Stuck
7.9
7.
.9 Creativity
C eaati
Cr tivity Analog
y in A nalog an Digital
and Di
D g tall
gi
77.10
.100 What
hat a Copy
Wh Copywriter
w iter Shouldn’t
pywr Shoul
uldn’t
ul Do
’t D o
7.11
11 How
7.1 Hoow too Approach
oachh Advertising
Appro A vertissingg A
Ad Agencies
gencciess for Work
1 Let Us
7.12 U Sum Up
Up
7.13
13 Check
7.1 e k Your
Chhec Y ur Progress:
Yo Progrress: Possible
Posssiblee Answers
Answ
werss
7.144 Further
Fuurther Readings
gs
7. G osssary
Gl
7.15 Glossary

7.00 INTRODUCTION
INTRO
ODUCTIO
ON
Copy
Copywriting
Copy
pywriting iiss one of the es essential
sse
s ntial compon
components
nen
e ts of a campaign. Th The way
you strate
strategically
tegi
gica
callyy craf
craft
aftt th
the words, that will simply carry your brand and
ultimately
li l create theh connection i withi h your audience,
di iis bboth
h an art and
da
science for copywriters.
In this Unit, you will discover the best practices of copywriting and gain
insights on how to masterfully create compelling headlines and stories that
will bring out attention, response, and action the way you want.
This Unit is written in First person in the language of conversation. While
reading it, I want you to feel that you are interacting with me, face to face. I
enjoy my conversations as much as I enjoy writing my Copy. So ready" Let
us talk and learn as we go along!

7.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After working through this unit, you should be able to:
Ɣ Discover the craft of copywriting

Unit 7 Writer : Padmini Jain and Rachita Rathi

151
Practice of Advertising Ɣ Identify how to become a copywriter
Ɣ Write copy for an advertisement
Ɣ Conceive copy ideas for advertisements
Ɣ Compose headline and body copy
Ɣ Learn how to approach advertising agencies for a copy writing job

7.2 COPYWRITING
In advertising, Copy refers to the text, or words, used in an advertisement.
The Body copy is the actual paragraphs of supporting text adding additional
facts and bene¿ts to the headline and greater concept, in the instance of a
print ad. Where a television ad is concerned, the body copy would manifest
in dialogues, the announcer’s script, etc.
Copywriting lingo (speak) includes phrases like: concept and copy, concept
crafting,
g conceptualisation,
p pproo¿ng,
g layouts,
y colour pproofs, and ¿nal
sign off.
Copywriting ba basically
asicaall
llyy means, taking powerful, emotion evoking word
picturess aand
nd sho
showing
owingg the he rea
reader
ade
der th
that
hat
a hhis
is orr he
herr li
life
f wwould
o ld
ou d bbee more ccomplete
o pl
om pletee
- better, easie
easier, more
er, mo
m productive,
ree pro oduuct
c iv more
ve , m ore ppro¿table,
ble, hhappier,
roo¿tabl apppier whatever
err, wh
hat
atev
ev
ver - if thatt
reader oowned
re wned dwwhat
h t iitt is th
ha that you
hat yo selling.
ou aree selllinng.
Copywriting,
Copyp wrriting
py ¿rst
g, inn the ¿ instance,
stancce, iiss thee cre
rstt ins creative process
roceess ooff co
eativve pr conceptualising.
onc
ncep
eptuaalisin
ep i g.
aadvertisements
ad vert
rtissemen marketing
nts and mar rketiing ddevices
evic
ev such
i ess suuch aass ev
events
ventss andd otoother pplatforms
her pl atform
rm
ms
promoting
prrom otiing brands
o ot nds or services.
brran servicces.
7.2.1
2.1 Who
7.2 Who Is
I A Copywriter?
Copyw
y riter?
r?
A copywriter
copy
p wr
py w itter is
is skilled in
in the
the craft
cra
raft
ft of
of writing
wrrit
itin
ingg persuasive
in pers
pe rsua
rsu sive
ve words.
wor
ords
ds.
ds
S/He
S/Hee is
is thee pers
person
son who comes
mes up
com up with
with thee ideas
ideass aand words
nd words
or d ((or
ds or “copy”)
“co
copy
copy”)
py ”) tthat
hat
ha
advertising
gett an advvertisiing or promotional message across clearly and effectively.
Traditionally,
Tra
Tr aditio
ona copywriter’s
n lly, a copywwriiterr ’ss jo wass to ccreate
jobb wa
w reeat
atee th text ffor
the text or aadvertisements,
or dver
dv erttise
er seme
se mentts,
promotional
prommotional brbrochures, nd oother
rochurees, and ther
ther ppublic
ublic rrelations
ubl ellati
tion
ti communications.
ons co
on commmmun
mm unic
un icaati
ic ationns. AAss
digital
digi
di g tal media ha
gi expanded,
has expand
nded
nd ed, co
ed copywriters
copy
pyywrit may
iteers ma
m generally,
y ge
gene
nerrall
ne llyy, aalso
rall lsso ha
lso have
havve tto
ve focus
o foocu
cus
on writing copy that promotes a product or a website. Some web writers who
produce more general copy that is not ultimately promotional promotional, however
however, may
be called content writers. Copywriters are tasked with conceptualising or
“hatching” the Big Idea.
Coming up with a creative concept that sells is a very involved and energy
consuming process. It’s more than just writing a few words; it is a lot more
complicated than churning out a quick headline and a few paragraphs of
body copy.

7.3 WRITING COPY FOR AN AD

Before you start writing copy for an ad you need to do some homework.
You won’t be doing it alone though, as you will get help from the people
from the account servicing team.
In fact, they are the ones who are going to give you the work as they are in-
charge of an Account in an ad agency. They work with the clients to de¿ne
opportunities, timelines and budgets and lot of other stuff. Overall, they are
152
the liaison between the client and the agency. Ideation and Copywriting

Ɣ Look at the Current Positioning of the Brand You are Working

on:
Start looking at the positioning of the brand and what positioning
your competitors occupy. Should you concentrate on de¿ning your
client’s position, or do some de-positioning of the competition" Do
they have an adjective" What’s your adjective"
Brand = Adjective
Each brand has its own core value. Consumers don’t have to ¿gure
out what the brand they use have to stand for. It is up to you to make
the brand stand for something.
Ɣ Get to Know the Target Audience:
Always do your audience research homework before you even attempt
writing any copy. You usually don’t have enough time; make time.
Who are the people you are writing for" How old are they, what do
they earn, where do they live, etc.
The answers to these questions willl addd to thee vvalue alue
alu ooff yo
ue ourr
your
co
opy
pywritin
copywriting i g ou
ooutputs
tput
tpu s and increa
ut ase yo
increase our calib
your ber aass a pro
caliber ofe
fess
s ionnal aand
professional ndd
freelaanc
freelancencee copypywr
writ
wr i er. If yyou
copywriter. ou donn’t co
don’t ondu
duct pproper
du
conduct ropper audi
diencee res
audience searrch,
research,
you’
yo u’ll
you’lllll bbee stum
mbling ar
stumbling aroundnd in th
he da
the ark
r .
dark.
Ɣ Ob
bserv
rve and Understand:
rv
Observe Understa
and
n :
Tak
T ak
Takeke ca
carereful sstock
careful tockk of
o yourr surr r ounddin
rr i gs
surroundingsg and the int ntterrac
a ti
tion
interaction on beetween
between
peopopple. Not on
people. onlyly wil
illl you ¿ndd wayss off saying things
il
will thing
nggs cleverly,
clever
erly
erl , more
ly
clearlrlyy an
clearly andd in a m ore ap
more aappealing
peaalingg way,
y, but
u as a pr
prof
ofes
of essi
es s onnal
si
professional a ccopywriter
opyw
op y ririte
terr
te
yoou wi
you ill
willl also star rt gai
start iningg an
gaining n uunderstanding
ndeerstan
a ding off wh hat m
what akes
ak
makes es peoopl
plee
people
tiick.
tick.
Ɣ W it
Wr i e -Rewrite Until
Write Until
ill You
You
u are
are Sure
Sure Th
T at What You Have to Say
That
Matt
Ma tters:
tt
Matters:s:
Whe communicating
When communiccat atin
in
ng some m thing, ¿nd
me
something, ¿nd ten en unique
uniqu
ni ue wa wayss ofof
comm
mmun
mm unic
icat
communicatingatin
ingg th
thee samee tthing.
hing. Take aatt least ¿ve
¿ve different
diff
diff
ffer
eren
ent cr
en crea
ati
tivve
creative
or conceptual angless aand nd develop them. Don’t get possessive about a
headli
line tthat
headline hatt you might have composed. And don’t be shy to cut and
re-write your own long copy to improve style, tone, Àow and register.
Ɣ Find a Unique Selling Point by Making a Tight Strategy:
In ¿nding this your client servicing partner plays an important role.
Good strategy is stimulating, and you can create amazing executions.
However, be cautious that the strategy should be simple.
Ɣ Learn to Handle Criticism:
Creative outputs are more a reÀection of opinion, crafting and effort
than talent, and certainly, have no bearing on one’s character. Through
discussions and criticism, you may catch a glimpse of what your
audience’s think and act like – only may be. But don’t bank on it,and
learn to trust your gut. Once you’ve made up your mind, don’t be
afraid to defend your ideas to other copywriters or creatives.
Ɣ Believe in Your Own Copy

153
Practice of Advertising So many times, you have to face an empty page or empty word but
don’t get scared. Feeling butterÀies in your stomach is part and parcel
of the creative process. The ultimate creative sin is not believing in
your own work. If you don’t buy into it, your client almost certainly
won’t either. And if they do, it will be bad for the brand and your
reputation as a copywriter.
Copywriting tips aren’t the be-all and end-all, yet the above copywriting
tips constitute the very minimum requirements for developing your
copywriting technique - and most freelance copywriters will bene¿t
from them.
Check Your Progress: 1
Note: Use the space below for you answers.
1. Study three different print ads of cars and try to ¿nd out the adjective
of that brand and write them here.
..............................................................................................................
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..............................................................................................................
2. St
tudy a pr
Study pprint
int ad ooff a smmar
artt phon
smart ne aad
phone d aand
nd try tto
o ¿nd
¿n
nd out
oouut wh
ho is thee
who
ta
arget aud
target diencce off th
audience hat bbrand.
that rand.d.
...
..........
. ...............................
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...........................................................................................................................
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...
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..............................................................................................................
3. Ta a pri
Take rint ad whichh yo
ri
print yyouu don’
n’tt like at all. Write the copy of that ad
n’
don’t
ay you tthink
in the way hink
hi will
nk w ill ma ke iitt ap
make appealing.
ppe
peal
a in
ing.
g.
..............................................................................................................
..
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.......
. ..................... ....
.. ....
............ ......... ......... ....
.............
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.......
.. .............. ...... ....
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77.4
.4 H
HOW
OW
W TO
TO COME
CO
OME U
UPPW
WITH
ITH A
ANN IIDEA
DEA
Crreativity is su
Creativity
C supposed
upp
p osed tto
o re
rely
l oon
n in
iinspiration.
spiiratio
sp ir ion.
n B
But
utt as a co
copy
copywriter,
ywr
writ
iter
iter, yo
youu ca
can’t
an’t
wait for inspiration when you have deadlines to meet. So, to deliver creative
output
t t you hhave tto come up with ith your own creative
ti methodology.
th d l It consists
it
of a reassuring series of steps and a mental list.
Now let us look at some of the fundamental thoughts that can lead you to
n idea. While we discuss them, we shall deal with an illustrative example,
where this strategy would have led to an famous advertisement. The
examples and the discussion around them will give you a creative lead to
follow.
Ɣ Is there an Idea in the product name or logos?
When the product name or logo becomes the idea, there is less risk
of creating a generic campaign. The brand identity will itself lead the
advertising messages from the center out.
THE ECONOMIST
One of the greatest British campaigns, with its hallmark white on red, had

154
its genesis when David Abbott, lost for an idea, sat staring at the magazine’s Ideation and Copywriting
masthead. The Economist had been running for years. The success of the
‘white out of red’ campaign was based on the idea of feeling that you were
a member of a club.

You have also got to ensure how a campaign must keep on evolving and
keep fresh.
Ɣ Is there an Idea in the Packaging?
Packaggin
ing?
g?
Itt could bbee thee shape, iitt could bee the ccolour,
olou
o r, oorr it co
ould be
could b tthe
h m
he aterial
material
it iiss ma
madede fr rom. H
from. o d th
ol
Hold the prod duct or
product o uuse
se itt. Itt co
it. ouldd be tthe
could he w
wayay
y it
open
opens ns or rese eals. It cou
reseals. ould bbee so
ou
could omethhingg on tthe
something he lab bel; a ph
label; phrrase or for
phrase
thhat m
that atter,, it could be tthe
at
matter, h lab
he a el itse
ab
label elf. In whichh ca
itself. ase
s , your
case, ur ideea w
idea ill
will
beelongg too thee prod
belong oduc
od u t excl
product cllusiv
vel
ely.
exclusively.
Ɣ the
here an id
he
Is there dea
a in ho
idea h
howw th
he pr
the roducct iss made?
product
Niine ttimes
Nine i es out off tten,
im en, m anuufactu
manufacturestures w illl take th
will hei
eirr ow
their ownn ma
m nufa
nu fact
fa c urrin
manufacturing ingg
processees for gran
pr
processes anted.
granted. d. It ttakes
akees the ddisciplined
iscciplined eyeye anandd wi
w ild
ld m
wild indd of
mind
th
he writ
the ter
writere andd tthe
he artt ddirector
irrectorr tto
o ¿nd
n thee stories. A
nd Andndd if you
youu ¿nd
¿nd
n thehem
he
them
a d they excite yo
an
and youu yo our eexcitement
your xciitem
xc ment wi ill convey itself to the reader.
will

The Volvo 460 is cocooned in a multi layered shell of anti corrosive material.
No wonder Abott Mead Vickers could shower it with 6 inches nails.
• Is there an idea in where the product is made?
155
Practice of Advertising AMUL- The Taste of India ad - In 1994 Shri Kanon Krishna of
Advertising and Sales Promotion (ASP) Advertising Agency, Mumbai
once asked Federation Of¿cer “Why should Amul hire us when there
are 525 other advertising agencies around in India"” “It is”, he replied
his own question, “because we go the extra mile”, He went on to
explain that in search of a corporate slogan and logo for Amul he had
to bring in “taste” and the “diverse” nature of our country. To catch a
glimpse of this or a slice of India as it were, he used to go to Matunga
in Mumbai, which had natives from many states, on Sundays.
The Taste of India – these four words are more than what the common man
may think of these – a mere slogan.
Activity
Watch the Television commercial of AMUL – The Taste of India corporate ad.
You may see it on YouTube.
And now think over and comment how the ‘Indianness’
Indianness has been integrated
into the Brand IIdentity.
dentit
ity.
Ɣ Is there aan Idea
dea iin
n Id Product’s
n thee Pr
Prod
oduc
uct’ History?
t s Hi
Hist
storry?
y
Stuck
Sttuck ffor idea
dea in tthe
orr an id he ppresent"
rese
re seent"
Go bac
Go ck to
back t thee passt ffor
past or a solut
tionn. (O
solution. Or th
(Or hinkiing llaterally
thinking ate
terallly if th
he pr
the rodductt
product
has noo pas
has a t then yyou
past ouu can n alw
lw
ways cre
always eate one.
create .)
one.)
Ɣ Iss there
therre aan
n Id
dea iin
Idea n some
meth
me thin
hing th
something hatt’ss h
that’s appeeni
nin
happening ng aro
roun
rou d yo
un
around you?
“I s are
“Ideas ree all aroundd you, all yyou ou need to do is open your ears and
eyyes aand
eyes ndd observe wha at’
t’ss go
what’s goin
ingg around yyou
going ou all the time -the humor
annd th
and he ch
the ccharm
arm an
andd th
thee fu
un of tthe
fun he thi
hing
hingss - andd yo
ng
things youu wi
will
ll gget
et iideas
deas
ass tthat
hatt
really
y doo surprise and
really andd are
are fresh.
fre
resh
re sh.
sh
Some
Somem of the
th
he ad ccampaigns
ampaigns lik
ike Jaggo
like J ggo Re of Tata Tea become
Ja become iconic
iconic
i jjust
ust bby
y
taaki
kinng cue
taking u s from
ue
cues m the dday
a tto
ay o da
dayy ha
happ
pppen
enin
i gss ((seemingly
happenings seem
se emin
emingl
inglyy mu
gl m ndan
nd ane)) aaround
an
mundane) roun
ro undd
un
th
them
he .
them.
taa T
Tata ea launche
Tea h d thei
launched ir Ja
their Jaag
agoo Re – m
ag
Jaago eanning
meaning ngg ‘Wa
Wake
Wa ke U
‘Wake p’ – T
Up’ TVV ca
camp
mpaaignn in
mp
campaign
an effort to wake
wak
ak
ke up an apathe h tiic nati
apathetic ion tto
nation o the issues tha
h t af
that ffe
f ct it, lit
affect i erallly
literally
stirring up a storm in a teacup. After successfully drawing attention to
i
important iissues, iit was time
i to empower India di bby simplifying
i lif i socially i ll
responsible action. Tata tea jaago re campaign has been on for a while now,
picking up different social issues.
THE JAAGO RE MICROSITE

156
 Ideation and Copywriting

Ɣ Is there
the
here
re an Idea
Idea in
in showing
show
o in
ow ng what
wh happens
hap
ppe
p ns with
witth the
th product?
prooducct?
pr
T is iiss like sh
Th
This how
win
ingg “A
showing “Afterr ““without
without sh
howing th
showing he “b
the bef
efor
orre”
e”. It
“before”. It is liike
like
what wil i l ha
il
will happ
pppen when so
happen ssomebody
mebody uses th
tthee prod
duct"
t" What
product" Wha
h t ef
ffectt it wi
effect ill
will
have oon
have n yoyyou,
u,, how
ow
ww ill it change things" As you explore the territory,
il
will
your idideas could ld wellll bbecome more and d more stunning
t i whichhi h llater
t
you can review and chop out the least relevant ones.
The Idea Cellular television commercial: IDEA always highlighted simple
telephony answers to solving large social problems. In one campaign, the
brand addresseed not so much a societal issue but an endearingly “closer
to my life” story that has the potential of impacting a very large part of the
society.
Idea behind the IDEA ad: If we look around, we all are leading extremely
stressful lives that impact and strain our personal and professional
relationships. Relationships need ‘time’ and ‘time’ is the rare commodity. It
is becoming increasingly dif¿cult to appreciate, empathise and respond to
relationship demands that seem to snap at the smallest provocation. In the
good old days the saying went “step into my shoes to understand my life”.
In today’s context, our mobile phone is a true reÀection of us and what’s
going on in our life. This campaign aptly brings alive the core insight - “ek
doosre ko samajhne ke liye telephone exchange, what an idea!”
157
Practice of Advertising There was a time when an operator sitting at a telephone exchange would
unwittingly connect your call to a wrong number and you would end up
hearing an unfamiliar voice leaving you bewildered. The new Idea story is
similar yet different. This one shows a telephone exchange of a different
nature where a son deliberately exchanges the phones of his parents when
he sees them indulge in a daily morning argument. What follows is a
realisation at both ends about how the other manages daily chores and work
life, after being privy to a string of mobile phone calls on the other’s phone,
in a single day!
Realisation of each other’s contribution in life adds to love and respect in
a relationship. This simple yet powerful thought is aptly communicated
through the Idea ad (being discussed here) and once again reinforces the
brand’s tagline – An Idea can change your life!
So, yet again the brand belief of “An Idea can change your life” comes alive.
Ɣ Is there an idea in showing what happens without the product?
You may ccall
Y this
his rroute
all th oute like showing the ‘before’ without ever showing
‘After’.
the ‘After This
r ’. Thhis ggenre
enre is quite popular because it leaves the reader to
close to tthe
h bra
he brand.
rand
nd.
Ɣ Iss ther
there
re aan idea
ea iin
n ide n th media
the m edi
d a in
di which
n wh h tthe
hich d is ggoing
he ad ng tto
oing o run?
n
Here the
Here th medium
he me
m becomes
diuum bececom mes the
he mmessage. today’s
esssage. In tooday world
y’ss wo
orld the medium
he meediium
m
plays
lays a very
pl v ry imp
ve important
porttant rrole. For
olee. Fo
ol or eexample,
xammple,, thee w way magazine
ay a ma
magaazinee iss
opened
op
pened d aand
nd cclosed might
loseed mi
migh suggest
g t su
gh sugge est how other
w oth things
her thinngs can bbee join
joined
in
ned
e
or separated.
sep a ed. In fact,
parat t iin
facct, India
n In
Inddia VVolkswagen
olkswagen has used newspaper to
showcase
showc
sh casee their talkingg ttechnology.
echnololoogy. They had stuck a talking machine
ol
on thee newspaper
new
ewspaper
ew er that
hatt worked
tha woork ed on
rked on touch
to uchh sensor.
ouc seens
nsor
o.
or
Let
Leet uss nnow
ow look memorable
lookk at somee me
memo
mora
mo rabl
rablee ad
bl that
ads thhat bbecame
ecam
ec iiconic
c nic bbecause
amee icon
am ecau
ec their
ausse off th
au thei
er
ei
simple
si
imp ple yet ccompelling
om Copy.
mpelling Co
Copy Hope
ope tthis
y. Ho inspires
hiss in
hi sp s yyou.
nspires ou.
ou
7.4.1
7.4.
4 1 DH
4. DHL
HL
Now
N ssay,
ow sa y, there is a brief n ffront
briieff in ont ooff yo
ro youu th
that says
at say
ays th
ay thatt yyou want
ou w antt to pposition
an osittio
on
DHL
DH HL as the wor
world’s
o ld’s most
mos rreliable
ostt reliab
e ab
able courier.
l cououriier. Yo
ou You
ou wa
want communicate
nt too co
comm
mmun
mm the
uniicaate th
un he
risks of package
ri packages
ges ending up in the wrong hands.
ge hands.
The idea: DHL or else.

7.4.2 AMUL Ads

In 1966, Amul hired Sylvester-da-Cunha, the then Managing Director of
the advertising agency AS to design a new ad campaign for Amul Butter.

158
daCunha designed an ad campaign as series of hoardings with topical ads, Ideation and Copywriting
relating to day-to-day issues. The campaign was widely popular and earned
a Guinness world record for the longest running ad campaign in the world. In
the 1980s, cartoon artist Kumar Morey and script writer Bharat Dabholkar
had been involved with sketching the Amul ads; the latter rejected the trend
of using celebrities in advertisement campaigns.
Dabholkar credited chairman Verghese Kurien with creating a free
atmosphere that fostered the development of the ads. Over the years the
campaign continued to evolve strategically.
Let us look at Some of the remarkable ads in this longest running campaign
of Amul:
The ¿rst ad shown below was made on the sexual assault case in Delhi. Few
more have been shared below which are self explanatory. This is the beauty
of the communication – that it needs no explanation.

7.4.3 McDonald’s
The Golden Arches have inspired many instantly branded ideas from
creatives around the world.
159
Practice of Advertising McDonald outdoor ad where the golden arch a new purpose by serving
as a catapult for Angry Birds

Apt use of logoo to show

sh
how
w that now it opens at night too.

McDonalds happy meal ad gets a heroic makeover

The Brain food

160
 Ideation and Copywriting

7.4.4 Fevicol Ads

161
Practice of Advertising

Favicol
Fav
Favicoll Marine
Marine
nee ad (screenshot
(scr
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nsh
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he V
Video
ideo
ideo
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The ad ¿lm reiterates Fevicol Marine’s strong bond in water with the tagline
‘Wahi mazboot jod, paani mein bhi’. The ¿lm begins with a boatman
ferrying wooden chairs in his boat, with Baul Sangeet playing in the
background. As he rows, an old man waves out to him to ask for a ride.
The boatman points to his loaded boat and refuses. However, when the old
man points to a young woman nearby, immediately he halts the boat and
162
throws out a few chairs into the water. When the woman points to her goat, Ideation and Copywriting
he kicks out some more. She then signals to her haystack and the boatman
has no option but to empty his boat completely. Finally, the boatman ferries
the woman, her goat with the haystack. The chairs have been tied to the boat
with a rope, and Àoat along in the water behind it, without getting damaged.
The ad ends with the voice over, “Wohi mazboot jod, paani mein bhi.”
7KH)DYLFRO±0DOODFWLYDWLRQ

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Check
Ch k Your
heck Yoour Progress: 2
te:: 1)
Note:
No
ote Use
U e the
Us the space
s ac
sp ace below
l w for you
beelo you answers.
answ
wers.
2)
2) Compare
Co
C omp
mpar
are
re yo
your answers
ur answer
ers see given aatt th
rs with those thee en this
endd of thi
his un
hi uunit.
nitt.
1. The ‘white out of red’
Th
The reed’ campaign is off _______________________
d
brand.
2. ________________brand uses the hoardings with topical ads, relating
to day-to-day issues.
3. An idea can change your life – is the tag line of which brand"
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
4. Name a brand where the same idea is used in print, TV, radio and on
the internet.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
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163
Practice of Advertising
7.5 IT’S TIME TO MAKE THE AD
Ɣ Come up with a lot of ideas. Cover the wall:
It’s tempting to think that the best advertising people just peel off great
campaigns ten minutes before they’re due. But that is perception, not
reality. The great ads that we see are the ¿ne prints but in the making
of those ¿ne prints there are lots of ideas. In the previous Section we
had discussed how you can come up with the ideas. At ¿rst, ideas
seem very hard to ¿nd. But then they start coming in bunches. When
they do, don’t stop to analyse them; if you do, you’ll stop the Àow, the
rhythm, the magic. Write them down and go on to the next one.
Ɣ Quick sketches of your ideas are all you need during the creative
process:
Always keep a pen and paper handy with you. Now a days even
writing your ideas on your mobile is also not bad. Just put the concept
on paperr and continue moving forward. You’ll cover more ground
this way.
Ɣ Tag the
Tag th best
b st ideas
be ide
d as on the
de the wall:
w ll
wa ll::
Seeeingg th
Seeing hem
e uup
them p tthere
her
ere al
alll in
n a bbunch
unch hhelps
elps
pss yo
ou ddetermine
you eter
ermi
ermine
ne w hettherr
whether
th
here aare
there re camp
paiggnss for
campaigns rmingg andd w
forming herre the
where ere aare
there ree ho
oles tha
holes at ne
that eedd to
need o
bee ¿lled.
¿lleed.
Yoou may
Y
You may keepp wo
workin
workingng on tthe
h ddetails
he etai
ails
ls oon
n yo
our
u nnotepad
your otep
pad orr i-
ii-pad.
-ppad. Bu
ut
But
up the
ere
r - on the wal
there alll th
wall he bi
the bigg pi
icture begins to take shape.
picture
Ɣ W ite.
Wr e. Don’t
Write. Don
o ’t talk. Write:
Wri
riite
te::
D n’tt talk
Do
Don’t k about the
he cononce
on cept
ce
conceptsptss yo
pt yyou’re
u ree w
u’ orki
or king
ki
working ngg oon.
n Tal
n. alkking
al king tturn
Talking urn sene
ur nerg
ne rg
gy
senergy
you ccould
you ouldd use to bbee cr
reati
tiive into talk
creative lkiing ab
lk
talking aabout
outt bein
bbeing
ein
ng ccreative.
reati
tiive.
Ɣ Writ
i e hot.
it
Write hoot. Edit cold:
Get it on paper, fa
Get ast aand
fast ndd ffurious.
urious
ur us. B
us Bee hhot.
ot. Le
ot Lett iitt ppour
ourr ou
ou out
out.t. D
t. on’t
on
Don’t’t eedit
ditt
di
anything when yyou’re
anything ouu’re com
omin
om
comingingg up w
in ithh tthe
it
with he ad
ads
s. T
s.
ads. hen,
he
Then, n, llater,
atter
er,, be rruthless.
uthles
ess.
es
everryt
y hing tthat
Cut everything hatt yo
ha youu feel
feel eeven
ven sl
ven slig
ight
gh ly
slightly y nnot
ott ssatisfying.
attissfy
fyining.
in g.
Ɣ Never walk away from a hot keyboard:
O
Once k ride
you get on a streak, id iit. When
h the
h words d ¿nally
¿ ll start coming,
i
stay on it. Don’t break for lunch. Don’t put it off till Monday. You’d
be surprised how cold some trails get once you leave them for a few
minutes.
Check Your Progress: 3
Note: Use the space below for you answers.
1. Pick up a brand that you like and try to come up with 5 different ideas
for the same.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2. Come up with 15 names for a candy that has vitamin C in it. It is
targeted toward kids.
..............................................................................................................
164
 .............................................................................................................. Ideation and Copywriting
..............................................................................................................
3. Come up with a print ad for the same.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

7.6 WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING A HEADLINE

Well, it is not always necessary that you need a headline. Sometime even
your body copy itself becomes your headline. And even if you need a
headline, then make sure you don’t write it for the hack of it. If your ad
needs a headline then write hundreds of them. Yaa, there is no shortcut!
When you will write 100 then start giving them ranking lines— decent, to-
hey not bad, whoa-that-rocks.
Ɣ Will you have a bent headline with a straight picture? Or Vice
versa?
If the idea in the ad is being carried by b thehe hheadline,e, iitt me
eadline, means
meana s th
thee
headline
head
ad
dli will
linne w illl co
il contain
ont
n ai trick,
ain a twist, a trick shock
k, a shocck ffactor,
actor
or, it wil
or willill bee be
il bent.
ent..
Therefore,
T
Therefor
h e thee aaccompanying
ore,
or c ompa
cc pany
pa visual
n ing vi must
isual mus play
ust pla straight
ay a str
traigh
ght rorole.
ole
l .
Iff tthe
hee iidea
dea
e inn the ad d iiss be
being
i g ccarried
ein arrieed by
b sosome
ome crcreative
reatiive
v twtwist
wist in the
ppicture,
pi cture,
ct e, tthe
h picture wil
he will bent.
illl bee beent. TTherefore the
he hheadline
heereforre th eadl
dlin
dl ine mu
in must
ust be
absolutely
abbsolu utely straight.
y str
trai
aiigh
ght.
So, the
t e crux is,
th s, iiff both
th the hheadline
eadl and
dliine an
nd th are
the picture ar the
re bent, thhe ad
a will
lose iits
ts ffocus
ocus
oc us andndd it wo
won’t workwork. And
rk. Annd iff both th visual
the vi sual aand
visu h ccopy
nd the oppy
are
ar straight,
re straaig
ight, the ad wil will
ll bee bbland
land boring.
nd andd bor
o ing.

Imagine: The headline could have been something boring like:

“We’re proud of our wide variety of beautiful Àower arrangements. One’s
just right For your budget.”
Ɣ Save the operative part of the headline for the very end.
You know that single part of a headline where the concept comes to
life!
That key word or phrase where the idea is unveiled!

165
Practice of Advertising Save that unveiling for the end of your headline.
Ɣ Don’t let the headline say what the visual is also saying
Copy and visual should complement each other and not be ¿ghting
for attention.. Remember, the rule of thumb is never show what
you’re saying and never say what you’re showing. Something has to
dominate the ad - it could be either the copy or the visual.
Ɣ Develop a look no one else has
You’ve got to ¿nd something your client can call their own: a shape, a
color, a design, something that is unique. For example: look at AMUL
ads they have a typical style of writing and the moment you just read
the headline you can tell it is an AMUL ad.
Check Your Progress: 4
Note: Use the space below for you answers.
1. Take out ¿ve print ads where the headline and visuals are
compleme
meentin
ng ea
complementing each other.
...............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
...
................................................................. . ............. .....................................
..
..............................................................................................................
...
........................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2
2. Ta
ake oout
Take ut ¿ve
¿ve print
prinnt aads
ds wheree the headl
where dline aand
headline nd th
he vi
the isual aare
visual re ssaying
ay
yingg
th
he sam
the me tthing.
same hingg.
...........................................
........
...................................................................
..............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
................
. ....................
. ...........................................................................
...............................................................................................................
................................................................................................................

77.7
.7 H
HOW
OW
WTTO
O WR
WRITE
RITE
EBBODY
ODY COPY
CO
OPY
Weell
Well, ll, a goo
go
good
ood hea
headline
e dline leads the user to body copy. So, if your headline is
pretty
pret
pr etty ggood
et e the bbody
ood then
en oddy ccopy
py hhas
opy ass tto
o be eequally
qual
qu ally
ally ggood
ood as ppeople
ood eopl
eo plee wh
pl whoo araree
rreading
re adin d copyy aare
ng the body the
re th
he seserious
seri
rioous
ri ous ususers.
ser
erss. When
s. W write
henn I wr
he writ body
itee bo
it ody ccopy, long
oppy, lon
ong
on
or short,
short, I workk hard att m
making
akin
ak smart
ingg itt ass sm
in smar rt and
an pepersuasive
pers
rsua
rs uasiivee aand
ua nd rreadable
eada
ea dabble ass I
da
ccan.
can. I suggest yyou
ou do the same. Because a few people are going to read it.
And the ones who do - you bet - They’re interested.
Ɣ Write like you talk
Write with a smooth, easy rhythm that sounds natural. Obey the rules
of grammar and go easy on the adjectives. Short sentences are best.
One-word sentences" Fine. End with a preposition if you want to. And
if it feels right, begin a sentence with “and.” Just be clear. Through it
all, remember, you are selling something!
Ɣ Show the personality of brand in your ad
Every brand has a personality. Write like you would talk if you were
the brand. Successful brands discover their own distinct voices and
then stick with them year after year. If you have a new brand or
you’re creating a new voice for an old brand, consider yourself lucky.
It’s one of the most creative and rewarding things you can do in this
business—discovering “who” a brand is and giving it shape and form
and voice.

166
Ɣ Have the basic structure of your argument in mind Ideation and Copywriting

Know where you’re going to go. “Okay, I’ve got to come off that
headline, then hit A, B, and then end on C.”
Ɣ Don’t repeat what you have just said in the headline
Get to the point. It’s time for the details. Put your most interesting,
surprising, or persuasive point in the ¿rst line if you can.
Ɣ Pretend as if you are writing a letter
Why address the masses. It’s one person reading your ad, isn’t it"
So write to one person. Write a letter. It’s a good voice to use when
you’re writing copy. It’s intimate. It keeps you from lecturing. The
best copy feels like a conversation, not a speech. One person talking
to another.
Ɣ Provide detail
In headlines, in body copy, anywhere you can say something speci¿c
and concrete, do it. It will make your aargument
r um
rg men
entt more persuasive and
your ad more interesting.
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This ote
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rom 0cCab a e, one
ab onne of tthe
he greatt w riiters
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writers thee 197070s.
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1970s.
Y
Yo ur job is to present
Your preesentt tthe
he cclient’s
liient’ss case aass memorablyy as yyou ou can,, not
to com
omee up w
om
come ithh aanother
it
with notheer ggreat
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want o
do bboth"
oth" But you aaren’t
ren’
ren’tt like
n’ ely to do bot
likely o h if you
both ou’ree co
ou
you’re onc
ncen
entr
en trat
atin
at
concentrating ng on
styl
ylee.
yl e. D
style. on’t
on
Don’t’t w o ry aboutt sstyle.
or
worry tyle. It willl be expre ress
re ssed
ss
expresseded nno o ma
mattttter
matter er w hat
ha
what
you do. Style is partt of tthe
yo he way your brain is wired.
Just concentrate on solving the client’s problem well
well. The rest will
just happen.
• Once you lay your sentences down, spackle between the joints.
Use transitions to Àow seamlessly from one bene¿t to the next. Each
sentence should come naturally out of the one that precedes it. When
you’ve done it well, you shouldn’t be able to take out any sentence
without disrupting the Àow and structure of the entire piece. (This
fragile coherence of beautiful writing is lost on many clients and is
one of the reasons copywriters are often seen mumbling to themselves
at bus stops.)
Ɣ Break your copy into as many short paragraphs as you can.
Short paragraphs are less daunting.
Ɣ When you’re done writing the copy, read it aloud.
I discovered this one the hard way. I had to present some copy to a
167
Practice of Advertising group of ¿ve clients. I read it to them aloud and realised that I should
have read it to myself before that. Speaking out and listening to (even
if its your own words created with passion) bring out many a Àaws
that you would otherwise miss in a written text.
Ɣ When you’re done writing your body copy, go back and cut it by
a third.
Proofread your own work. Don’t depend on Spell-Check. First of
all, that’s lazy writing. Second, Spell-Check can’t tell the difference
between your and you’re.
Ɣ But do you really have to have a tagline? A slogan?
It’s just one more thing to cram in an ad. One more element for attention.
From what I’ve seen, few taglines bring any new information to an
ad.
Ɣ Sweat the details
Go to anyy length to get it right. Don’t let even the smallest thing slide.
bothers
If it bother you
ou eeven
e s yo ven a little bit, work on it till it doesn’t.
Ɣ Be obj
jecti
t ve
ti
objective
O nce you’ve
Once youu’ve putput some
somme good
goood ideas
ideeas on paper
pap
aper
e and
annd had
had time
tim
imee to
o polish
poolishh
th
hem tto
them o yo
yyour
ur sati isfa
factioon, m
satisfaction, aybbe iit’s
maybe t’s ttime
ime to caart th
cart hem ar
them aroun
aroundnd thee
ha
allwaays a little
hallways litttle biit, ev
bit, ven bbefore
even efo
ore youu tak ke th
take hem
themm too yoour cr
your reativee
creative
di
irectoor.
director.
Ɣ O nly keep
Only keeep the best
If your
you ur campaign
caampaign has ev eeven
ven
en oone
ne weak ad in it, replace that okay ad
w
wi
withth oone
nee that iss aass gr
greatt as tthe
he othther
therss.
er s. I hhave
others. avee of
av ofte
t n ta
te
often talk
lkeed m
lk
talked ysel
ys elff
el
myself
into ppresenting
in r seenting ca
re amp
m aiaign
campaigns gnss th
gn hat iinclude
that ncluude w eakk si
ea
weak sisst s be
sters
sisters beca
caus
cau e time
us
because mee w as
was
rrunning
unnning ouoout.
t. But rreaders
e deers ddon’t
ea on’tt ccare
on a e if mos
ar mostst of yyour
ourr ad
ou adss are gr
grea
eat.
eat T
t.
great. heyy
he
They
seee tthem
hem one at a time, so they all should be excellent- all of them..
Ch kY
Check our Progress:
Your Pro
r gress: 5
No
ote
te:
Note: Usse the space
Use sppac
acee below
belo
be ow for
f r you
fo yo answers.
ansswer
an erss.
er
1. Take outt ¿ve print ads where the body copy is as interesting as the
headline.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2. Take out ¿ve print ads where you feel that the bodycopy is too long
and it can be cut short.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

7.8 WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE STUCK

Ɣ First of all, being stuck is a good sign.
Really. Being stuck means you have moved through all the easy stuff.
You’ve waded through all the crappy ideas, through the okay ideas,
passed the low-hanging fruit, and are entering the outlying area of
168
 big, new thoughts. Being stuck is not only not unusual, it’s what you Ideation and Copywriting
want.
Ɣ Go take a walk
A conference room maybe. Or leave the agency. Work in a public
place. Some restaurants are close to empty between one and ¿ve in
the afternoon. Hotel lobbies are great, especially those lobbies on the
second Àoor that looked really “sharp and modern” on the architect’s
drawing but nobody ever uses.
There are other things you can do.
Ɣ If the print isn’t coming, work on the radio.
Ɣ If you can’t write the headline, write the body copy.
Ɣ And if it’s not happening during of¿ce hours, stop in the middle of
dinner and write.
Ɣ Try writing on the notepad instead of the computer. In fact, you may
¿nd handwriting brings an altogether different
i fereent ppart
dif
if art of your brain into
play.
Ɣ thee store
Go to th stor
st o e where they selll th
or stuff.
thee stuf
u f.
uf
There is ddemographic
Th emogographicc ddata neatly
a a typedd neat
at atly oon paper.
n pa And
aperr. A nd tthen tthere’s
henn th erre’s the
stark
star reality
arkk re
ar a ity ooff a ccustomer
real
al ussto standing
tomeer standding iin front
ront ooff a sto
n fr store
ore sshelf
helf llooking
ookkingg at
your
you
yo ur brand
ur braand aand Brand
nd at Bran nd X. I ¿nd
¿nnd it iinspiring just
nsppiringg jusst tto soak
o so a iin
oak vibes
n thee vibbes
off the mmarketplace.
arke
ar ketp
tpla
l ce. Just w watch.
attch Think.
ch. Thin guarantee
nk. I gua aranntee yyou’ll
o ’lll co
ou ccome back
mee baack
with some
wiith somo e id
om ideas.
deas.
Ɣ k your
Ask yo Cr reat
ativ
i e Di
Creative D recttor
Directoro ffor
or hel
lp.
help.
Thhat
a ’s wh
That’s w
whatat they’
y’re th
they’re here for.. T
there herre iss no di
There ish
shoonor
dishonoror inn thhrowingg upp
throwing
yo ha
your ands and ssaying,
hands ayin ng, ““I’m
I’m
m iin
n a ddark
arkk and terr
rrriblee pla
terrible lacee. H
la
place. elp m
Help mee
orr I shall
shaall
l pperish.”
eris
issh.” Your
Yoou C CDD ma
m
may y bee ablee to see tthings
h nggs yo
hi ou ca
you can’
n’t. S
n’
can’t. /h
/he
S/he
h snn’t had his/her
ha
hasn’t er nnose
osse twoo in
inches
ess awayy from the pproblem
roblem for the last
week
we
two weeks eks like
like
k you
you
ou have.
hav ve.
e
Ɣ G t more
Ge
Get m re product
mo produ
uct iinformation.
nforma
nf ati
t on.
Y may not know en
You nou
o gh about the pproblem
enough roblem yet, or you may not
h ve eenough
ha
have noug
no ughh in
info
form
ormation on the market. So ask your account folks or
information
planners to go deeper into their ¿les and bring you new stuff to ideate
on. It’s likely that they edited their pile of information and gleaned
what they thought most important. Get to the original material if you
can.
Ɣ If you’re stuck, relax
Most of the books that I’ve read on creativity keep bringing up the
subject of relaxation. You can’t be creative and be tense. The two
events are never in the same room together. Stay loose.
Breathe from the stomach. If you’re not relaxed, stop until you are.
Just the simple act of physical relaxation will bring on new ideas. I
promise.
But remember, you do need a certain amount of pressure to be creative.
Creativity rarely happens when things are perfectly under control. To
make the kettle boil, a little ¿re is necessary, and a deadline that’s a
month and a half away isn’t always a good thing. I ¿nd that if I have
169
Practice of Advertising too much time to complete a project, I’ll put off working on it until
two or three weeks before it’s due just so I can dial up the pressure a
little bit.
Ɣ Sometimes it’s good to work on three projects at once
You may ¿nd that the ideas come faster if you move between projects
every hour or so.
Ɣ /HDUQWRHQMR\WKHSURFHVV1RWMXVWWKH¿QLVKHGDG
I used to hate the long process of writing an ad. The fact is,most
of your time in this business will be spent in some cluttered, just-
slightly-too-warm room, thinking, not admiring your ¿nished work.
But I would suggest that being a copywriter you should enjoy the
process of making the ad, trust me you would not ¿nd it boring and
even at odd working hours it will keep your mind cool.

7.9 CREATIVITY IN ANALOG AND DIGITAL

Few years back, back k, ad copy
coppy was written for many media- print, Radio, TV,
Outdoor, Cinem Cinemama – whwhatever bbee it,, it wass ffor or a oone
ne way comcommunication.
ommu
m nication on.
You message had
meessagee haad to bbee ppowerful,
owe engaging
weerful,, en ngaggingg and lasting.
n lasting
nd The
g. Th consumer
he consum mer
e cocould
ould d
nnott communicate
no com
mmunnicat back
ack aand
ate ba
at tell
ndd tel what
ll wh hat they
a th about
hey feltt abo out yyour copy.
ouur co Post
opy. Poost ttesting
esttingg
research
reese
s arch h wass thee onlyy rescue
rescuue forfoor anyy kind
nd of
kin of feedback. those
feeedbaack. Inn tho days,
ose dayys, an
andd forr
those
thos media,
se m Message
edia,, M essagge wwasass tthe
he kking.
g It ddid
ing.
in matter
idd nott mat tter hhow
ow much
w mucu h yyou
uc said…
ou said
id…
aalll th
al that
hat
a mmattered
atteeredd was, how
s, ho ow yyou ou say
ou ay it.
Fair,
Fa after
air, af
aft all
ter alll we creating
w were crea eaatingg ccatchy
a ch
at hy messages that had to be read in a
hurry,
hu while
urry, w crossing
ossing a road, or sur¿ng
hile cro sur ¿ g pages of a newspaper.
ur¿n
¿n
But,
Bu
ut, the times
h tim
he mes hhave changed.
ave ch
han d. We h
nged. have
avee moved
mo
ove d to Digital
ved Dig
igit
igital
itall ffrom
rom th
ro Analog.
thee An
nalog
ogg.
And
A nd th most
the moost eencompassing
ncompassssin
ss feature
ng fe
eatur
uree of
ur this
o thi
his me
hi media
edi
diaa – th
thee ne
new media-
w me
edi a iiss it
dia- itss
iinteractive
nteera ve nature.
activ natture. The scope to get instant feedback k and the ability to
communicate
coommunnic with
i ate wi
w your
th you audience
ur au
udi
d en c iin
nce n real time.
real tim
me.
Itt is a bbrave
rave new
neew marketing
mark kettin
ng woworld
worl
rldd wh
rl where
w herre itt iiss le
less
ess aabout
bout
bo ut tthe messages
he m
he essa
es and
sagges an
sa nd
more
mo content.
ore about con matter
ntent. Noo m attter
at what
ter wh
wha at yyou
ou ccreate
reeatee hehere,
here always
re, al
re waays rremember
alwa emem
em embber th
em that
it needs to havee a commercial value to it as you are not making an art.
Less about ads more about experiences
Make your customer experience the brand and that will make them fall for it.
It is less about asking customers to listen and more about inviting them to talk.
It is less about trying to make people want stuff and more about making
stuff that people want.
Writing for social media:
Content is the king and conversation is queen:
Before you write for social media you need to understand who this
community is that you are trying to attract. How does your community want
to engage.
Which community your brand belongs to.
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Ɣ Spectator- These are the biggest group of people. Just like the name

170
 they are the ones who like to read the blog watch the video and snaps Ideation and Copywriting
on facebook, or just follow people on twitter.
Ɣ Critics- These are the ones who tend to react to all this content and
post comments.
Ɣ Collectors- They are the ones who like to study things and be on top
of trends.
Ɣ Creators- These are the user generated content people who love
posting their own stuff.
Ɣ Joiners- They are the ones who constantly update their statuses and
keep talking, talking, talking.
Once you know the category of your user, then you can plan your content
accordingly. For creators, make sure there is a way for them to add content, to
embed videos, or post a write up. For joiners give them special membership
privileges, for spectators provide them awesome content.
Check Your Progress: 6
Note: Use the space below for you answers.
Write
Wriite aatt le
W least one
eastt on bbrand
ne br that
hat ¿ts
and each tha ¿ s into
¿t in the
he aabove
nto th bove mentioned
t oneed ¿ve
ve menti
ti ¿vee
categories.
ca
categories e.
..............................................................................................................
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.....................................................................................................................................

7.10
7.
.10 WH
WHAT
HAT A COPYWRITER
COPYW
WRIITER
R SHOULDN’T
SH
HOULDN’T DO
DO
Ɣ Always
Allwayss talk to you
yoou not
noot we
we
Wh aree we" We bec
Who com
becomeomee thee ffaceless
acele
less ccorporation.
orporation
o . An
on A aadd sh
shou
ould ttalk
ou
should alk
direectly talk to you
di
directly ouu aass yyou
ou ar
aaree seei
ing it. A
seeing Ass a copywriter you shouldn’t
be ‘‘we’
w ’
we
Ɣ You are not client’s
You clientt’s rrepresentative
ep ent
eprese n ative
Always rremember
emem
em em
mber that yyouou are reader’ss represent
tativee. Al
tati
representative. lwa
w yss w
Always rite
ri
i
write
copy ffrom
copy rom a ¿rst
stt pperson
erso
ers n plural perspective.
Ɣ Get away with cliché
Being a copywriter everyday you have to deal with cliché and
formulaic copy. You have to be constantly vigilant as this kind of
writing very quickly becomes the habit as writing cliché is an easy
grove.

7.11 HOW TO APPROACH ADVERTISING AGENCIES

FOR WORK
Ɣ Prepare a portfolio
Always remember that a portfolio full of cool ads doesn’t guarantee
you a job but a portfolio full of brilliant thinking does. So come up
with brilliant ideas not just an idea for the sake of it.
Ɣ Come up with stuff that is interesting

171
Practice of Advertising Though your work needs to have some sort of commercial aspect to
it but while doing that always remember that it should be interesting.
You need to make ads that will gather the attention of the creative
director and they are really busy people.
Ɣ Do some research about the agency where you are applying
Go through the website, know about the clients they handle and if
possible, try to come up with dummy ads on those brands. You can
even re do the existing ads.
Ɣ Round out your portfolio with a variety of goods and services
Take out few brands that you use, starting from a toothpaste, soap,
cycle, insurance, car, newspaper that you read, tea that you drink,
bank that you use, phone that you use, phone service that you use. I
am sure all these will bring a good variety to your portfolio.
Ɣ Try to come up with campaigns, not one shots
Make eight
eig
ght or nine great campaigns. It is very easy to come up with
one great ada buut th
but he challenge lies in carrying forward that idea into a
the
campaignn thatt ca
cann be used across all the media- print, TV, radio and
onnli
line. Al
online. lways remem
Always mber th
remember hat on
that ne sshots
one hots
t are ici
ts c ng - tthe
ci
icing he cak
ke is
cake i m adee
made
upp of ccampaigns.
amp
m aiggns.
Ɣ B eing a copywriter,
Being c pyw
co writterr, yo
our
u po
your ortfoolio
portfolioo sho
ould have
should ve llong
on
ng copy
pyy ad
ds too
ads
C ominng up
Coming up with
wiith visual
visua
uaal ads
ad
ds iss good but being
bein
ng a copywriter,
copy
pyywrit
iter, you
y u need
yo neeed
to comme up
come u wit ithh inte
with teell
llig
ig
gen
e t hheadlines,
intelligent ead
dline
n s,
s smart
rt bbodycopy.
odycoppy.
y S how them
Show m
that yo
th ou ccan
you an write goooood long cop
good o y, a blog content.
op
copy,
Ɣ A small
smaall write
w ite up for
wr for eeach
ach
h campaign
camp
campaiign
mp
Th
T
Thisis will
will help thee per
rso
sonn wh
person whoo is viewing
vie
iewi
wing
wi ng your
you
ourr work.
woorkrk.. The
The write
writ
itte up
up
sshould
houlld exp
x lain you
explain ur ma
your main iidea
deaa an
de and th
he bu
the usi
sine
ness
ne
businesss cchallenge
hall
ha llen
llennge tha
hatt yo
ha
that youu ar
aree
takiing in tthat
taking hat campaign.
Ɣ O ganisee your ad
Or
Organise aads
ds
Always st
sstart
art stro
ro
ong and
strong andd end
end strong.
strronng.
g Always
Alw
lwayys put
put the
the best
bes ads
ads ¿rsst.
¿rst.
Remembber
Remembere ¿rst im mpr
pressi
siion iiss th
impression he la
the astt imp
last mpre
ress
ssiion
ion.
impression.
Ɣ Create your own website or blog
An online portfolio is always good to showcase and it is easy for
the person to access it at his own convenience. But just make sure
that your blog or website is easy to navigate. Always put you contact
details on the top.
Ɣ Don’t underestimate yourself
You have made a good portfolio, so be con¿dent about your work and
don’t let other people take you for granted.

7.12 LET US SUM UP

While ideation can take on many different forms—from gathering around
a table and white board for group brainstorming to popping into a shared
¿le to add your ideas as they come—one thing remains the same: it is the
critical starting point for all of our copy writing project.
The pressures on copywriters are immense. Of course, they need to deliver
172
compelling copy. That’s a given. That’s the easy part. The thing that elevates Ideation and Copywriting
a copywriter out of mediocrity is the ability to generate outstanding ideas.
Ideas that de¿ne campaigns. Ideas that transform brands. Ideas that resonate.
Ideas that change the way people think.
In this Unit we have discussed tips on generating ideas, writing good and
compelling copy and headlines. You have also been educated on the methods
to break the writers’ Block. We dealt with the manners in which you can
approach agencies for jobs in the ¿eld.
Creativity is in everything around us. Become a keen observer and appreciate
the beauty in everything. This attitude coupled with the knowledge gained
in this Unit will surely help you generate good ideas and write well.

7.13 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE ANSWERS

Check Your Progress: 1,3,4,5,6:
All the questions in the CYP Sections above have been derived from the
content discussed in the preceding Sections. There aare
re no ¿xed ‘right or
wrong’ answers to these questions.
They are meant
re m nt ass an eexercise
eant help
xercise to he
xe you
ou rreview
elp yo what
evieew w you
haat yo hhave
ou ha learnt
ve lea
arntt
while
whil through
le goingg thro
th
hroughh th Unit.
thee Unitt.
We areree not giving
ot giv aany
vingg an marked
y mark
rked
rke rresponses, because
e ponnses,, be
es wee eexpect
ecause w xpec yyou
ect yo u tto
o ggain
ain
iinsights
g ts iinto
nsigh
gh ntoo th while
the concepts whi attempting
ile att
tem
e ptingg to answer
o answ these
wer thes questions.
se questitionss.
You
ou are aadvised
Yo s d to llook
dviise around
ook aro nd aand
arou n nnotice
nd otice th
ot the
he ad campaigns
a campaign ns wwith
i hm
it memorable
emorable
copy
opy and aapply
co p ly thee cconcepts
pp o cept
on p s that
pt at you have
ou hav just
ve ju through
ust gone thro ugh to tthese
oug h se real
he
world
woorld occurrences.
occuurr
r ennce
ces.
s
You
Yo expected
ou aree expect cted to be aable
ble tto compose
o co
ompop se go
po good ccopy
ood co write
py andd wriite ccatchy
atch
chyy taglin
ch ttaglines
a in
ines
es
with
w
wi th
h thee tips an ideas
and idea shared
red iin
eaas shar this
n th
his Unit.
i Unitt.
Check
Ch k Your
heck Y ur Progress:
Yo s: 2
1. The
Th Economist
Economist
i
2
2. Amul
mul India
Am Ind
ndia
ia
3. Idea
Id Cellular
dea C services
ellular ser
rvi
vice
cess
4. Nescafe
Many more such examples are around you. Explore them

7.14 FURTHER READINGS

Books
Ɣ Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great
Ads, Luke Sullivan and Sam Bennett (Wiley, 2012)
Ɣ Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities,
David Airey (New Riders, 2009
Ɣ he Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the
Power of Archetypes, Margaret Mark & Carol S. Pearson (McGraw-
Hill, 2001)
Suggested websites to go through

173
Practice of Advertising
Ɣ http://adsoftheworld.com/
Ɣ www.creativecriminals.com
Ɣ www.afaqs.com
Ɣ www.youtube.com

Reference
All the pictures in this unit, have been clicked from the ads openly available
in public domain

7.15 GLOSSARY
Bangtail: On a return envelope, the slip of paper between the envelope’s
back and the adhesive Àap. Since the envelope cannot be sealed without
removing the bangtail, it is certainly seen by the prospect and almost
certainly
y read,, hence its signi¿cance
g for marketers.
Body: The text ooff a gi
givenn piece of copy, as opposed to other written elements
headlines,
such as headline subheads,
es, sububhe captions,
heads, capptions, etc.
Collateral:
Collate eral: Printed
Prin
in material
nted ma brochures,
ateriial — such as bro ochur
ch pamphlets
hu es, paamphlet and
e s an sales
nd sa
aless
ssheets
sh created
eets — creeated provide
ed to prov
vid information
de innform on aand
matio nd ssupport sales.
uppport sal
les.
Comp:
Co m : A visual
omp a mock-up
viisual moock-uup of a set of o concepts
concceptts or work
worrk in
i progress
pro es used
r grress u ed
us d too
eeither
ei ther sell
e se
er present
ell orr pre ideas
eas tto
esentt ide client.
o the cl
clie
i nt.
Concept:
Co e t: In
oncep
ep n advertising/marketing
adv
d ertising/m
mar
arke
k ting
ke lingo,
ngg lin
ngo, the “big idea” behind a given
marketing
ma
arkettin element
ing el
lem campaign.
ment or campa
paaig
gn.
Copy:
Co The
opy:: T written
he w word.
rittten wo
ord Alll th
rd. Al
A tthee wr
writing
writ
itin
iting fo
in found
oun n aads,
undd in direct
ds, di
ds dire
rect
re c m
ct mail,
ail,
ail, bbrochures,
roch
hur
ures
es,,
es
ssites
Web si
We and
tes an oother
nd ot marketing
her mark
rketin
rk ingg ma
in materials.
mate
teri
te rial
ri a s.
CCopy
opy B Brief:
rief agency,
ef: In an agency
cy, th
cy the document
he do
ocu
cume
mennt tha
me that paints
hat pa
ha ain ts tthe
ints he ttarget
argeet the co
ar copywriter
copy
pywr
py writ
wr iteer
it er
must
mu ust hit. Good
Good briefs
briefs de¿ne the objectives,
obje
j ctives, articulate the strateg strategy,
eg
gy,
y illustrate
tthee intend
th intended
n ed aud
nd audience, outline
dience, outlinne a nnumber
ne umbe
um of ““points”
berr of
be poin
po ints
in ts” th
ts writer
the wr
writiter
it must
err m include,
ust in
us ncl
clud
udee,
ud
and li lists
ist
sts items of evidence
o evide the
ence th writer
he wr
wri er ccan
iter n uuse
an se too ma
make ke a ppersuasive
er uas
ersu asiv case.
ivee ca
iv ase.
Copywriting: The
Co T e art/science/craft
Th art/
t//sc
scie
ienc
ience/
e/crraf
e/ aft of writing
of w riting
ri ngg ccopy.
opy.
op Not
y N ot too be cconfused
on use
onfused
with “copyrighting,” which concerns the legal rights and obligations of
intellectual property.
property
Hooks: Hooks are used to grab your customer’s attention. They may be
unusual facts, or overwhelming bene¿ts that get your reader interested and
keep them riveted to your copy.

174