Advertising Message Content

There are a number of specific identifiable techniques that are used in advertising to produce a message. These include animation, analogy, celebrity sponsorship, contrast, demonstration, diagrammatic, familiar, nostalgic, participation, personalization, sequencing, and slice of life. These techniques are primarily methods of organizing a visual structure, or a form for some content to be presented to an audience. Although these advertising techniques are ways of delivering a message, they are not the message itself.

For more information about advertising classifications refer to the article at http://www.theinformedillustrator.com/2013/09/advertising-classifications.html

Technique may seem to be the main influence that determines the personality of a message, however technique is only the conveyance when it comes to communicating a mindset in a message. This message viewpoint would include mannerism and personality, style and aesthetics, as well as a form and method, which combine to project a meaning. So if advertising technique is not the driving force that determines the character of a message, what is? Perhaps there is a higher set of essential elements that influence technique and form a direction for guiding message content.

Ultimately, message content in its purest form, is simply factual information about a product or subject. Information is the raw material that form the elements for all the other afore mentioned facets that go into preparing a promotional advertising message for mass consumption. It is these message elements that become the foundation that all advertising concepts are built upon. For in the world of advertising, information without adaptation is considered boring and non-attractive.

Essential Message Elements

There are three essential message elements, and at least one of these influencing elements is present in every example of advertising communication. In fact, these elements are also in every form of comedy, and for that matter, every other type of entertainment.

The elements are the intellectual, the emotional, and the physical. A reasonable definition of each follows.

Definitions

Intellectual - adjective

Of or relating to the ability to think in a logical way; involving serious study and thought; developed or chiefly guided by the intellect rather than by emotion or experience.

Emotional - adjective

Developed or chiefly guided by emotion or experience rather than the intellect; markedly aroused or agitated in feeling or sensibilities; likely to show or express emotion, easily upset, excited, happy, etc.

Physical - adjective

Relating to the body of a person instead of the mind; existing in a form that you can touch or see; of or relating to physics, characterized or produced by the forces and operations of physics; having material existence, perceptible especially through the senses and subject to the laws of nature.

Essential Elements as Related to Comedy

Before demonstrating how the three elements are used in advertising, it might be easier to discuss them as they pertain to another form of communication – comedy. And the best way to accomplish that is to relate them to the comedians themselves, for comedians provide excellent examples of the intellectual, emotional, and the physical. Looking at the Marx Brothers, Groucho was intellectual, Harpo was physical, Chico was a bit of both, and Zeppo and Gummo were strictly emotional. Considering the Three Stooges, Larry, Curly, Moe, and Shemp were all physical comics. Intellect and emotion were in short supply. Lucille Ball was physical and emotional. Jack Benny was intellectual, very subtly physical, and rarely emotional. Laurel and Hardy were physical and emotional. WC Fields was intellectual and physical. The TV show Seinfeld uses all three elements, but they are divided among the four main characters. Jerry is intellectual, Kramer is physical, and George and Elaine are both emotional, with George representing the male side of emotion and Elaine expressing the female side.

Essential Element Use in Advertising

Intellectual

Ads that take an intellectual approach tend to craft a thought-provoking message that may require some form of serendipitous interpretation. With an intellectual approach, the information requires a reader or viewer to make a mental connection to fill in a deliberate gap left in a message, i.e., to put two and two together to add up to four, much like mathematical or left brain thinking. The use of the intellectual element is dependent on the desire of an audience to be of an inquisitive nature and to have an interest in problem solving.

More miles for less.  Client: Dorvaling Motos. Agency: 9mm Propaganda Brazil.

Lung cancer search. Client: Don't You Care?. Agency: BBDO Moscow.

New LG Big-In-Combo. Client: LG. Agency: M&C Saatchi Stockholm.

Keep your kids safe online. Client: Durex. Agency: Arrow Advertising Dubai.

Eat out. Fried Sago Worms. Client: Land Rover. Agency: Y&R Dubai.

Very very blond. Client:Platinum Blond. Agency: Droga5 Australia.

Violence leads to violence. Client: Convivencia Sin Violencia. Agency: Alazraki Networks Mexico.

Emotional

The essential element of emotion is arguably the most difficult of the three elements to communicate. It relies on a reader or viewer sympathizing with the message and the depiction used to present an emotional message. This can only happen if a viewer or reader has had some prior, personal real life experience with the situation established in the ad and agrees with the opinion of the advertiser. The use of the emotional element relies on a common experience of an audience to register the information put forth in a message.

Cigarette burns. Client: TSPCA. Agency: BBDO Proximity Thailand.

Let's end child slavery. Client: World Vision. Agency: KBS+ Canada.

Free happens. Client 1st Bank. Agency: TDA Boulder.

It's worth the fight. Client: Food & Beverage Awards. Agency: WCRS London.

Instadog. Client: Pet Beauty. Agency: Tuppi Brazil.

People not numbers. Client: AVIV. Agency: BBR Saatchi & Saatchi Israel.

The new tippee cup. Client: tommee tippee. Agency: Full Contact Boston.

Physical

Far more prevalent in advertising than either the emotional element or the intellectual element, the physical element presents a conspicuous exaggerated display or a recognizable distortion of the information contained within a message. This element most successfully reveals its message in a visual, physically perceivable form. The use of a physical element is not nearly as dependent on some form of personal engagement by a viewer or reader as an emotional element or intellectual element.

Dark drinking chocolate. Client: Cocoa Metro. Agency: Richter7 Salt Lake.

Unleash your spirit. Client: Pena. Agency: Hermandad Brazil.

Train shaped chicken nuggets for kids. Client: Lezita. Agency: McCann Istanbul.

Up to 612 hp. Client: Mercedes-Benz. Agency: Jung von Matt/Donau Austria.

Chicken in a bucket. Client Cafe Deli Mart. Agency: Quimba Publicidad Costa Rica.

I feel fantastic. I'm falling apart. Client: Samaritans of Singapore. Agency: Publicis Singapore.

Apartments waiting for owners. Client: Morton Real Estate. Agency: Media Storm Moscow.

Ad Headline & Book Title Dynamics For Illustrators

What in the world? Illustrators writing? Absurd! And, even more absurd may be an illustrator writing headlines, body copy, theme lines, story titles, and even stories, etc.? And they do. But, do illustrators need to write? Can writing skills benefit an illustrator? You bet!  But all of this depends on the illustrator. Writing skills can add value to the work an illustrator produces, or an illustrator's attractiveness as a potential company employee. And, writing can certainly help an illustrator sell his or her work. So, not all the creative development that an illustrator engages in needs to be pictorial. Words and phrases whether they become headlines or not, can inspire visual ideas and should always be a part of an illustrator’s ideation repertoire.  

© 2013 Don Arday.

Headlines and titles are often the place where creative illustrative ideas begin. After all, or to begin, illustrations provide a visual reference for written narratives and information to add to the understanding of a storyline or article. Illustrations are also used to increase the comprehension of information. And more than occasionally, an illustration may precede and inspire the composition of a story, headline, or title.

In advertising writing, headlines, slogans, and positioning statements are composed using structures or techniques that improve their attractiveness, enhance their clarity, and/or aid in their memorability. In editorial writing, book, story, and magazine article titles also often rely on the same techniques as those used in advertising writing for the same reasons.

Straight Talk 

No use of any technique at all is in itself a technique. Straight talk should be self explanatory, but here is an explanation just in case it isn’t. A straight talking headline or title states the message as straight forward and clear as possible, without any word play, phrase twists, poetical rhymes, or any other form of an applied technique.

Slogan Examples

24-hour cold protection so your symptoms don't come back. (Efidac)

Take an additional 20% off sale items today only. (JC Penney)

You should take a closer look at your aspirin tablet. (Bayer)

A 200 km/hr wind can blow away a whole State. (Actionaid)

Cancer cures smoking. (Cancer Patients Aid Association)

Save your money. (ING)

Stronger than dirt. (Ajax)

Connecting people. (Nokia)

Push button publishing. (Blogger)

Expect great things. (Kohl’s)

There is no substitute. (Porsche)

The document company. (Xerox)

Cover the earth. (Sherwin-Williams)

Expect something extra. (CVS)

Title Examples

Brave New World. (Aldous Huxley) 

The Sound and the Fury. (William Faulkner)

This is Not Novel. (David Markson)

Crime and Punishment. (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

Steal This Book. (Abbie Hoffman)

Saving Fish From Drowning (Amy Tan)

A Brief History of Time. (Stephen Hawking)

Double Emphasis Word 

Also known as the double buzz word technique, the double emphasis statement takes a key word or important term and repeats it twice or even three times in the same slogan or sentence for the purpose of emphasizing it. By repeating the key word, theoretically, the statement becomes more memorable, and even easier to say or repeat.

Slogan Examples

Beef. Real food for real people. (Beef Industry Council)

He turned his new school clothes into play clothes. You turned them back. (Tide) Don't spend more, spend smarter. (The GM Gold Card)

Which husky is too husky? (Purina)

Lasts longer, much longer. (Duracell)

How does the man who drives a snowplow drive to the snowplow? (Volkewagan)

Buy it. Sell it. Love it. (Ebay)

It keeps going and going and going.... (Energizer)

Bring out the Hellman's and bring out the best. (Hellman's)

Computers help people help people. (IBM)

Better things for better living, through chemistry. (Dupont)

Be all you can be. (US Army)

Cleans you teeth while it cleans your breath. (Dentyne)

Better ingredients. Better pizza. (Papa Johns)

I am Iams. (Iams)

Two great tastes that taste great together. (Reese's)

Title Examples

Eeeee, Eee, Eeee. (Tao Lin)

Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? (Raymond Carver)

Stranger in a Strange Land. (Robert Heinlein)

Who’s Who in Hell. (Robert Chalmers)

Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger. (Beth Harbison)

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. (Anne Fadiman)

Other Voices, Other Rooms. (Truman Capote)

How Late It Was, How Late. (James Kelman)

2Bro2B. (Kurt Vonnegut)

Familiar Phrase 

The familiar phrase technique is achieved by incorporating a euphemism into a headline statement for the purposes of sounding familiar. It is supposedly most effective for first time viewers. It gives a reader or listener a feeling of familiarity and an impression that they have already encountered the message.

Slogan Examples

Let your little rascals join our gang. (YMCA)

Shoot everything from soup to nuts. (Presto Saladshooter)

Eating right shouldn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth. (Le Menu LightStyle)

Crisco beats butter with a stick. (Crisco Stick Shortening)

You commit 4 of the 7 deadly sins just looking at it. (Harley Davidson)

Life is harsh, your tequila shouldn’t be. (Sausa)

From the days when men were men, and so were the women. (Timberland)

To err is human. To er, um, ah, is unacceptable. (The Economist)

Better gas mileage. A Civic responsibility. (Honda Civic)

If gas pains persist, try Volkswagen. (Volkswagen)

Something special in the air. (American Airlines)

Peace of mind. (Chubb Insurance)

Love every minute. (Minute Rice)

When it rains, it pours. (Morton Salt)

Raising the bar. (Cingular Wireless)

Tried. And true. (Michelin)

Title Examples

And Then There Were None. (Agatha Christie)

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. (Joanne Greenberg)

Sticks and Stones. (Veronica Lovejoy)

Less than Zero. (Bret Easton Ellis)

Bright Lights, Big City. (Jay McInerny)

Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear: A Novel. (Katherine Weber)

Wikipedia Says It Will Pass. (Diane Salier)

Void Where Prohibited. (Marc Linder)

Rhyming Phrase

Rhymes and song lyrics, for that matter, possess a rhythm. So building a rhyme into the headline or title interjects a rhythm, which is thought to make a message easier to remember. It is also thought that a rhyming slogan is even able of enticing a reader or listener to want to repeat it. For this reason, many rhyming statements are set to musical phrasing.

Slogan Examples

Great taste, no waste. (Duncan Hines)

State of the art, for your heart. (Bayer Aspirin)

Big Taste. No waist. (Sugar Free Popsicle)

Taste. Not waist. (Weight Watchers)

Cream Pie vs. Dream Pie. (Dream Whip)

Grace, space, pace. (Jaguar)

Plop plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is. (Alka Seltzer)

Don't be vague. Ask for Haig. (Haig Scotch)

The flavor of a Quaver is never known to waver. (Quavers Crackers)

Cooks who know trust Crisco. (Crisco)

Nothing sucks like an Electrolux. (Electrolux)

Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. (Timex)

They’re not just alrighta, they’re Ore-ida. (Ore-ida)

The incredible edible egg. (Dairy Producers)

Be wise. Alkalize. (Alka Seltzer)
The quicker picker upper. (Bounty)

Don’t get mad. Get Glad. (Glad)

Title Examples

There’s a Wocket in My Pocket. (Dr. Seuss)

Yertle the Turtle. (Dr. Seuss)

Is Your Mama a Llama? (Deborah Guarino)

City Dog, Country Frog (Mo Willems)

Assassination Vacation. (Sarah Vowell)

Delicious and Suspicious. (Riley Adams)

Word Opposites

It is said that opposites attract, and in the advertising industry it is said they attract customers. Just as pictorial contrast is used to create visual interest, the word opposite technique is used in slogans to create verbal interest. A reader may reread, and a listener may rethink a headline or title simply to compare the opposites. A reevaluation of a message increases its comprehension.

Examples

Tone up your outside. Tune up your inside. (Metamucil)

Fisher-Price lets every rookie feel like a pro. (Fisher-Price)

When our van is outside, your home is clean inside. (Servicemaster)

My bottoms are tops. (Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans)

Hot eats. Cool treats. (Dairy Queen)

Does she or doesn’t she. (Clairol)

It Does More. It Costs Less. It’s that Simple. (Apple Macintosh)

Beauty outside. Beast inside. (Mac Pro)

You've got questions, we've got answers. (RadioShack)

Expect more. Pay less. (Target)

Title Examples

Up the Down Staircase. (Bel Kaufman)

Good Morning, Midnight. (Jean Rhys)

Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down. (Sherrilyn Kenton)

The Tragical Comedy or Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch. (Neil Gaiman)

The Uses and Abuses of History. (Margaret McMIllan)

Days of Magic, Nights of War. (Clive Barker)

Living Dead Girl. (Elizabeth Scott)

White Hunter, Black Heart. (Peter Viertel)

Ugly Heaven, Beautiful Heaven. (Jeffery Thomas)

Leave Me Alone: I’m Reading Finding and Losing Myself In Literature. (Maureen Corrigan)

Familiar Twist

This technique uses what sounds like a familiar phase, but is actually a variation of it, to create a slogan with a twist. The phrase sounds familiar to the reader but requires rereading and participation to discover the alteration. This technique has two advantages. The first one being that of having familiar phrase recognition, and the second one of enticing a reader or listener to reread or rethink the statement resulting in improved comprehension.

Slogan Examples

Zingle serving. (Kraft Cheese Whiz)

Zomething special. (Zima Beer)

Roast and relaxation. (Reynolds Oven Bags)

Honestea. (Tetley Tea)

The brake stops here. (Mr. Goodwrench)

Tis the season to be Jell-o. (Jell-o Gelatin).

If you can afford a glass house, you can throw anything you want. (The Economist)

They're waffly versatile. (Bird's Eye Potato Waffles)

Easy as Dell. (Dell)

Think outside the bun. (Taco Bell)

The Citi never sleeps. (Citibank)

Get found in the crowd. (Lexus)

Answer the smell of the wild. (Old Spice)

It’s time to wake up an smell the tea. (Twinings)

Title Examples

To Live and Drink in L.A. (Ben Peller)

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. (Toby Young) 

Are You Loathsome Tonight? (Poppy Z. Bright)

Still Life With Woodpecker. (Tom Robbins)

Still Life With Crows. (Douglas Preston)

Moby Duck. (Donovan Hohn)

Live and Let Die. (Ian Fleming)

Around the Day In Eighty Worlds. (Julio Cortazar)

Uselysses. (Noel Black)

Sleepless Beauty. (Alaska Everfall)

Carpe Demon. (Julie Kenner)

Three Little Words

Believing that there is something extraordinary about things that come in threes, many clients, advertisers, authors, publishers, etc., think a three-word slogan or title will stick in peoples minds the most. It is thought that three words are easier to remember than four or more, and that three words communicate more completely and clearly than two or one.

Slogan Examples

Snap! Crackle! Pop! (Kellogg's Rice Krispies)

Just do it. (Nike)

Beanz Meanz Heinz. (Heinz)

New. Fast. Efficient. (Air France)

Do you Yahoo? (Yahoo)

I’m loving it. (McDonalds)

Finger lickin’ good. (KFC)

Imagination at work. (GE)

Like no other. (Sony)

Unlike any other. (Mercedes Benz)

Zoom, zoom, zoom. (Mazda)

Think. Feel. Drive. (Subaru)

Taste the rainbow. (Skittles)

Isn’t life juicy. (Starburst)

Pure. Fresh. Clean. (Colgate)

Built Ford tough. (Ford)

Title Examples

Wake the Wicked. (Christion Baloga)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s. (Truman Capote)

Twelve Angry Men. (Reginald Rose)

East of Eden. (John Steinbeck)

Breakfast of Champions. (Kurt Vonnegut)

Snowballs in Hell. (Eve Langlais)

Assholes Finish First. (Tucker Max)

Thus Spoke Zarathustra. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

Far From Xanadu. (Julie Anne Peters)

One Word

Last and perhaps least are single word slogans and titles. It is supposed by the creators of single word slogans that one word says it all. Thought to be thought provoking, it is believed that single word statements force readers or listeners to ponder the meaning of the word in reference to its setting. This serves as a form of participation with the slogan, which increases its memorability.

Slogan Examples

Innovation. (3M)

Imagine. (Samsung)

Imagine. (Lego)

Invent. (Hewlett-Packard)

Advance. (Acura)

Think. (IBM)

Whassup? (Budweiser)

Different. (Dodge)

Shift_. (Nissan)

Fahrvergnugen. (Volkswagan)

Title Examples

Microserfs. (Douglas Coupland)

Twilight. (Stephenie Meyer)

Holes. (Lewis Sachar)

Atonement. (Ian McEwan)

Blindness. (Jose Saramago)

Lolita. (Vladimir Nabakov)

Neuromancer. (William Gibson)

Exodus. (Leon Uris)

Applause. (Carol Muske)

Defiance. (Carole Maso)

Awake. (Dorianne Laux)