You might expect to work chronologically on an assignment: come up with a headline first, and then mite the lead-in, followed by a transition into the product story; then, a transition, and, finally, the wrap-up. That’s certainly an option, but you may be disappointed with the results: The copy feels flat. It doesn’t really come to life. No clear “sell” for the product emerges from the ad. The ad doesn’t resolve itself smoothly.
What’s missing? Perhaps it’s the spontaneity, enthusiasm and fun of using Creative Aerobics. Here’s a creatively radical thought: What if you didn’t start at the beginning, but in the middle?
When you think about it, the most important part of an ad is the story or “sell.” What is it about the product that will persuade a potential customer to buy it? What kind of a story should be written? What would sell the reader on Navel Oranges? In order to write the story, you will need to collect facts. A starting point is the facts list compiled in Creative Advertsing.
A fact by itself is nothing more than information; it has no powers of persuasion. The first step, then, is to examine the facts and determine what it is about each fact that could make it important to someone reading the ad.
Review your facts. Which ones would you select for your story or sell?
Suppose you decide you’d like to tell a health story. Select the facts that relate to health: a Navel Orange contains vitamin C, meaning it supplies you with nutrition; it’s a low-calorie snack, meaning you can enjoy it without worrying about gaining weight; it’s healthy, which means it’s good for you. Not on the list, but health-related: an orange is a 100 percent natural, meaning there are no additives, nothing artificial; it gives you energy, meaning it fuels your activities; and it’s a fruit, which puts it at the top of the food pyramid.
Is that enough to work with? Also include secondary facts that could be persuasive to the reader: a Navel Orange fills your mouth with sweetness, meaning it satisfies your sweet tooth; it’s juicy, meaning it provides refreshment and quenches thirst; it tastes good, meaning it’s enjoyable to eat.
Since you’ve chosen a health story, it might be helpful to make a list of phrases containing reference to good health:
Just what the doctor ordered
If you know what’s good for you
The picture of health
Drink to your health; here’s to your health
In sickness and in health
Healthy choices
Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise
Medical opinion
Clean bill of health
Combining the two creates a health story:
Sweet, juicy Navel Oranges are just what the doctor ordered. There’s nothing artificial about these golden sections of a 100 percent natural fruit. They’re high in nutritious vitamin C. But low in calories. Full of refreshment. And they’ll fill you full of energy. Pick up a dozen, if you know what’s good for you.
Let’s analyze how this story is constructed. Sentence one identifies the product—Navel Oranges. But it does more than that. It pairs the fruit with its taste—”sweet, juicy”— from the secondary facts list. The taste is underscored by a literary tool—alliteration—which repeats the “s” sound— sweet, juicy—increasing the sense of sweetness. There’s more: since this story centers on health, the sentence is completed with a health reference—”just what the doctor ordered“—from the list of health phrases, which sets up what is to follow.
Sentence two probes the health relationship: Navel Oranges are a 100 percent natural fruit. There is nothing artificial about them—no artificial coloring, no artificial flavoring, no chemical additives. Sentence two also dissects them, dividing them into “golden sections,” appealing to the reader’s sense of sight.
Sentences three and four, and sentence fragments one and two flesh out the health story (vitamins … refreshment … energy), employing additional literary tools: opposites (high …, low …); and parallel construction (high in vitamin C, low in calories).
Sentence five makes the sale. It asks for the order: “Pick up a dozen ….” And it gives a reason to believe that summarizes the health story: “if you know what’s good for you.”
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