The Copy Book. How some of the best advertising writers in the world write their advertising.
We have to admit, the copywriting is no longer as fashionable, or at least not as cool, as it used to be. People don’t see it as a craftsmanship or an art any more, it’s just a skill you better possess to catch people’s eye, draw traffic and make conversion in no seconds.
This book opens a window for me to the world I know little. And with ad gurus sharing thoughts on copywriting and a great collection of their work, it reminds us loudly, that no, copywriting is still golden, and will never lose its charm. It’s only because there are not much good copywriting out there these days.
I think I’ve never been much good at copywriting, esp. English copy, and always comfortably rely on good agencies. The book, however, wakes me up to the love of language and the fun having muse to visit. I see the 9-year-old me writing poems everyday and dreamt to be a writer someday. I’m not OK being a cripple in marketing and communication, I will read and write more, I have to be able to write natively, copywriting level of native. Yes, I will be joining them in a worthwhile war – a war against mediocrity.
“The design and advertising environment we inhabit is fractured, fragmented, automated, dominated by social media and other technologies. The new platforms available to us as designers and communicators devour content at an unprecedented volume. And sometimes the creators of that content seem not to care greatly about the quality of what they’re writing and making.
But words — well-crafted, well-written, thoughtfully-composed words — that move, explain, sell, persuade, describe have never been more important, nor at a greater premium. In a world of dross, the good stands out, jewel-like. It’s how we make our work engaging, distinctive, successful. Great copy glitters.
By buying this book — actually simply by reading it — you are joining us in a worthwhile fight — a war against mediocrity.” From Tim Lindsay CEO of D&AD
Below are some great quote from the book, most of them are not just applying to copywriting or advertising, but to life.
David Abbott
I don’t panic and I know that the best thing for me to do when tired or thwarted is to walk away from the ad and do something else. The job still surprises me and for every easy problem, there’s a stubborn sister.
Put yourself into your work. Use your life to animate your copy. If something moves you, chances are it will touch someone else, too.
Confession is good for the soul and for copy, too. Bill Bernbach used to say “a small admission gains a large acceptance”. I still think he was right.
Don’t be boring.
Directness has its place in advertising but so do subtly and obliqueness. Things you can’t way literally can often be said laterally.
John Stingley
In many ways, then, creating advertising actually is the same discipline as acting. You must start by mentally discarding your own identity. You have to become the people you are communicating with. Internalise their interests, joys, fears, tastes, even biases. Often I t means mentally and emotionally becoming someone you would never in a million years be like yourself.
I think that’s why visually every great advertising creative I’ve met is a student of humanity; interested in every trend or personality type or culture they’ve ever been exposed to.
Advertising is a bridge between the worlds of art and business. It must entertain, intrigue and emotionally move people if you are going to get their attention, yet It must fulfil very basic marketing needs. Those creatives who learn how to cross back and forth between those two worlds are the ones who not only create good work but see it produced.
Dont resist change. Have fun with it.
Tom Thomas
The hurdle every ad faces isn’t simply getting noticed but getting believed.
Demonstrate greater insight into the needs of the audience.
Since facts are more believable than claims, it’s better to express claims as facts.
Be the smartest choice in your category.
Create an aspiration to buy.
People who write ads should assume readers are at least as bright as they are.
Mary Wear
Know when to shut up. The best copywriting isn’t always in the lines. It’s also between the lines.
Know there’s always a fresh way to tell an old, old story. Stand-up comedians are brilliant at this, taking the most mundane subject – life – and retailing it in ways that make us laugh, wonder and think.
Know your target audience. Not intellectually, but intuitively. Think like them, empathise with them, identify with them. Because at some level, the reader needs to like the writer.
Know that we are all creative creatures. Everyone enjoys the quirks and whimsy of creativity. You don’t have to logic people into a corner, you can charm them into wanting to come out and play.
Andrew Rutherford
- Get attention
- Intrigue your reader.
- Single out your target. Understand their problems, hopes and needs. Ignore everyone else.
- Always demonstrate your product’s superiority if you possibly can.
- Facts are more persuasive than empty claims. (But a little humour can sugar the pill).
- Create a desire – a shortage perhaps.
- Give the product credibility.
- Clinch the sales. Make the buyer want to do something, and make him do it.
Nigel Roberts
Good art direction taps them on the shoulder. Good copywriting does the talking.
Publicity is not advertising. Publicity informs, at best. But advertising, good advertising, sells.
Tim Riley
It’s good discipline for a writer to work at a place that doesn’t believe in writing. I spent three years at BBH, where less was most definitely more. “The best copy” John Hegarty would say, “is no copy.” And: “If the French could inspire a revolution with just three words: ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’, why should you need any more than that to sell a soap powder?”
Dan Germain
- Take a train. Or even a plane. There is something about movement and not being anywhere that helps me write better.
- Stare out into the cosmos. Remembering how small and accidental you are reminds you that what you are doing isn’t that serious or difficult.
- Start. The hardest bit is staring. Once you are writing, it’s fine. It’s the bit before you start that kills you.
Paul Fishlock
We are not in the entertainment business we’re in the influence business. It’s my version of something Dave Trott said to me some 30 years ago: “Our job is not to make people think what a great ad, it’s to make them think what a great products”.
Copywriting is more science than your may think. If you accept a copywriter’s job is to change behaviour, how can you not have a world-class curiosity about how to change behaviour? Read up about psychology and brain science – it’s fascinating and useful. Not to replace your genius but to make you an even greater genius. Creativity underpinned by proven principles of persuasion works better than creativity flying blind.
Real people aren’t as interested in their choice of toothpaste as you are. It may be life and death for agency and client, but often the best thing you can do for Mrs Smith is help her drop something in her troll without thinking. This is not an excuse for lazy copy, it’s a case for harder-working copy. Stand in the supermarket, bar or showroom and watch people at the exact moment they decide whether to buy your products or your competitor’s. Your ad many have charmed her in her living room but if it doesn’t work here, it doesn’t work.
While some copywriters thrive on management others die painfully from resource utilisation spreadsheets, firing friends to meet budget and having to be your worst client’s best buddy. So check the crown fits you before you it on – it’s hard to go back.
Malcolm Duffy
I like to go through my work over and over and over. Then go through it again five more times for good measure. It always got better, not worse. I sometimes used to go through copy so many times I knew it off by heart. Ask your self, is your copy worth memorising?
Read. You can’t be a writer if you are not a reader. I’ve always got a book on the go. Devour as much good writing as you can get your hands on. If good things are oil into your head, good things will come out.
Sean Doyle
Always be collecting. There are gazillions of ideas floating around out there, just awaiting collection. Just keep your radar on for anything remotely interesting, and snatch it. Be bothered to write it down or photograph it. Then file it away.It’s amazing how a seemingly irrelevant object your see in the street can suddenly become the perfect answer to a problem. You can come up with some great ideas when you are not trying to come up with some great ideas.
Wake up early. Get into work before anyone else. Psychologically, physically, literally, you’ve got a head start on others. There’s no noise. Plus your brain is less cluttered the closer you are to sleep so your thinking has more clarity. Your agency seems like a whole other world with no other people in it, and there’s nothing like a change of environment to stimulate your creative juices.