Business English Part 96

Fundamentally, the same principles apply to the advertis.e.m.e.nt as apply to the sales letter (See page 230). First of all, you must look at your goods from the standpoint of the user; see his gain in buying rather than your profit in selling. Your products, then, will probably fall into one of the following general cla.s.ses:

1. Something entirely new for which you must create a demand by showing its advantage to the buyer, arousing his sense of need and, consequently, his desire to possess.

2. Something new but filling a long-felt need--"Just what you've been looking for"--the value of which will appeal to the buyer almost as soon as the product is explained. Comparison with the article that now imperfectly fills the want suggests itself.

3. A new brand of an old staple, like crackers, of which the superiority must be dwelt upon to induce buyers to ask for it. Even after the article is selling well, continuous advertising is necessary to keep the name before the public.

A paying advertis.e.m.e.nt appeals to a large cla.s.s of people or, better still, to several cla.s.ses. For a moment let us a.n.a.lyze a few of the appeals to which almost every one responds; let us consider the reasons back of our purchases. Why do we buy one article and not another? We buy it first, perhaps, because we need it or think we need it; second, because we think it will taste good or be comfortable or good-looking or because it will afford us amus.e.m.e.nt; third, because we think it is better, though possibly more expensive, than any other brand on the market, and our pride or our desire to emulate responds to it; fourth, because we think it is good for our health or our safety; and, fifth, because we shall save money or make money thereby. Summing up, we may say that the motives to which appeals may safely be made are:

1. Need, conscious or unconscious (usefulness, quality, or durability).

2. Comfort, amus.e.m.e.nt, or appet.i.te.

3. Pride, desire to emulate, or vanity.

4. Safety (of health or personal possessions).

5. Economy or gain.

Clip from magazines and bring to cla.s.s good advertis.e.m.e.nts that appeal to the motives named above. Try to find those advertis.e.m.e.nts that make an appeal to only one motive in one advertis.e.m.e.nt.

=Exercise 282=

The following catch phrases have been taken from advertis.e.m.e.nts in various places. Tell (1) whether their appeal is general; (2) whether they induce one to buy; and (3) if they do, which of the motives given above have been used by the advertiser. Frequently more than one motive is used in one advertis.e.m.e.nt.

1. For a delicatessen store: Good things to eat.

2. For a chewing gum: The taste lasts.

3. For a motor washer: Two cents a week pays your was.h.i.+ng bill.

4. For a refrigerator: Are you poisoning your family?

5. For a summer drink: It's wet.

6. For stockings: Wear like 60, look like 50, cost but 25.

7. For a shaving soap: Comfort for your face, economy for your purse.

8. For a liniment: Don't rub--it penetrates.

9. For a hair tonic: What does your mirror say?

10. For a clothing store: Exclusive styles for exclusive women.

11. For an inexpensive scouring powder: Why pour money down the sink?

12. For canned goods: When company comes.

13. For a varnish: Water won't hurt it.

14. For bread: The human hand never touches it.

15. For a fountain pen: It can't leak.

=Exercise 283=

Bring to cla.s.s two advertis.e.m.e.nts containing catch phrases that you think are good. To which of the motives given above does each appeal?

=Exercise 284=

Bring in two advertis.e.m.e.nts of articles that have suggestive names. What is the value of a suggestive name?

=Exercise 285--Good and Bad Headlines=

A good headline has the following qualities:

First, it should be short. Professor Walter Dill Scott determined by experiments that the average person can ordinarily attend to only about four visual objects at the same time--four letters, four words, four simple pictures, or four geometrical figures. As the headline of an advertis.e.m.e.nt is intended to be taken in at one glance, it should, therefore, be not longer than four words--preferably less, provided the interest of the phrase is the same. Short words, too, can be taken in more readily than long words.

Second, the best headline is a command. People instinctively obey a command, unless it is so worded that they rebel against the manner of expression.

Third, a good headline is suggestive. It touches upon the things that the reader is thinking about. It shows that the article that is offered for sale has a close connection with the interests that absorb the reader's mind. It is a direct answer to his thoughts, feelings, hopes, or worries.

The following headlines were taken from the advertis.e.m.e.nts in one issue of a magazine. Judge of their effectiveness, using the three principles given above as a basis for your decision:

1. Get That Job!

2. Foot Comfort.

3. Ventilate, but Don't Catch Cold!

4. A New Filing Cabinet.

5. Are You Open to Conviction?

6. Low Priced Envelope Sealer.

7. Shave for 1c Without Stropping.

8. What a Wonderful Trip!

9. Save 30% on Your Furniture.

10. You Have a Right to Independence.

11. Just Out!

12. Get the Dust Out of Your Home--It's Dangerous.

13. The Easiest Riding Car in the World.

14. Our Seeds Grow.

15. That Raise! (Sub-heading in smaller type: What Would a Raise in Salary Mean to You?)

=Exercise 286=

Some advertisers choose headlines merely for the purpose of attracting attention, forgetting that the headline should suggest what the following ill.u.s.tration and text explain. A few years ago a well-known automobile company ran an advertis.e.m.e.nt with the headline _$1000 Worth of Folly_. The headline was followed by a picture of the automobile. The advertis.e.m.e.nt was intended to convey the idea that, as this car might be bought for $3000, any one paying $4000 for an automobile was foolishly squandering $1000. As a matter of fact, the only suggestion that the reader got from the advertis.e.m.e.nt was that any one who paid $1000 for the ill.u.s.trated car would be a fool.

1. Bring to cla.s.s an advertis.e.m.e.nt in which the headline has no connection with the rest of the advertis.e.m.e.nt, being used merely to catch the attention.

2. Find an advertis.e.m.e.nt in which the headline suggests the opposite of what the advertis.e.m.e.nt is intended to convey.