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A
WORD TO HARASSED ADVERTISERS FROM PAT QUINN
Close
to 40 years ago in London, I was taught the basic principles of
creative advertising by one of the greatest Copy Chiefs
who ever put pen to paper. This man was a genius.
The
advertising agency for which we both worked was one of the three
most creative outfits in the country...and I'm probably being
charitable to the other two. But it was hammered into me that,
just as there are only eight musical notes, so there are only
half-a-dozen creative advertising themes; and every ad
campaign is merely a variation on those themes.
I
was also taught that benefit - large benefit - is the sole of
advertising. In other words: 'buy this product, get this benefit'.
And if your target market doesn't immediately see the benefit
to them of owning your product or buying your service, then your
advertising is flawed and will fail.
But
how do you devise benefit-ridden campaigns on a regular basis?
Easy? You re-work material which has worked well in the past.
It's the 'variation on the theme' ploy. And here's how you do
it:
During
the many years that I've been in the advertising business,
I have filed everything I have ever written. This means that I
can refer to it when stuck for a decent idea. It occured to me,
therefore, that I could make all of this material available to
others. They wouldn't have to spend hours knocking their brains
out to come up with creative concepts that would not only satisfy
the creative strategy, but would also be worth putting their names
to.
You
might, of course, say that this is cheating, or plagiarism, or
some other Greek word I've never heard of. As I've said, ladies
and gentlemen, there is nothing new in the advertising business
- only new ways of treating old ideas.
Which
is where WORDPOWER III comes in. It's the advertising
techniques book that's collated from my own career writing
for some of the biggest organisations in the world. It's a goldmine
of concepts that I don't mind you stealing!
Now
you can have an advertising resource at your elbow via
which you can devise professional, hard-selling sales propositions
that really do move products off shelves.
With
WORDPOWER III, you get a brainstorm buddy who only wants
to make you look good!
Pat
Quinn, M.A., Ph.D
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