29 steps to the Perfect Body (Copy)
6 min readJan 24, 2019
We’re writing this series as we’re working on our first big advertising campaign at Tandem Bank this year and we want to share the most useful things we learn about marketing and branding with you as we go...
So here’s what Ogilvy has to say about writing the perfect copy in his 1983 classic on advertising. Number 11 is seriously counter-intuitive. We’d love to hear if it’s still right in from your experience in the digital age.
- Address body copy to the interested individual
Average readership of body copy in a magazine ad is 5%. That can add up to a lot of people when circulation is 1 million. But don’t talk to them like you are addressing a stadium of fans. Talk to each person as an individual. People mainly read alone. You’re probably alone right now aren’t you? - You can’t bore someone into buying your product
You can interest and intrigue them. You can make them feel like they don’t want to miss out. But you can’t make them buy it because you know it would be good for them and you know you’re right. No one cares. - It’s not an essay, it’s a story
Story’s are structured by the reader asking, “And then what?”.
As soon as they stop asking that, your ad is over. - Analogies in body copy are like an airplane with too many wings, they look confusing and they simply don’t land.
This makes perfect sense to me, but probably not to high percentage of people who read it. The analogy is often only obvious or enlightening in the writer’s own head. A better way of saying it would be the clearer way of saying it: Analogies don’t work well in ads. - The best copy in the world!!!!!!
Is not full of “brag and boast.” Readers have a radar for hyperbole. It makes it feel like a salesman’s promise and it turns them off. - Testimonials
“The most important thing for a testimonial to work is authenticity.” - Celebrity endorsement
Improves recall of the celebrity, but often not of the product. Make sure you’re measuring change in brand preference, not just “recall”. Change in brand preference directly relates to likelihood to buy. Recall has little or no effect. - Dani Shipp, lead copywriter at Tandem says…
Unknown, but relevant experts are the best people to give testimonials. This is because they seem more authentic than celebrities and they don’t over shadow the hero of the ad, which should nearly always be the product. - Show the price
Anyone who is put off by a pound sign wasn’t going to buy anyway. - Sign the ad / get the agency to sign it
Everyone loves a signature. And we naturally trust signatures. If hiring an agency, they will work harder if they have to sign the ad. It ties the ad to someone’s reputation, increasing trust and authenticity. - Long copy outsells short copy
Nearly every time. What? You don’t believe me? - Long copy may not get read in full
But the fact that the copy is long shows that there is a lot to say about the subject and that, by extension, we are talking about a serious product. People do not always read the long copy, but simply by it being there, it can increase the feeling of confidence and trust that a reader has in what you are saying. Even if you are essentially just saying the same thing in a few different ways. This point looks more serious than the previous one, even though it’s not adding much. It just looks more serious. And if I was asking you to part with your money to buy an expensive new car, or put your money into a hidden gem of a fixed term saver with better rates than you currently have, you’d probably be more comfortable, because the longer copy gives you confidence that I know what I’m talking about and I’m an expert on the subject. See? - Illustration -> Headline -> Copy
This is the natural order of reading. Use it to your advantage. Or at least know that before you play around with it. - Headline goes below illustration
This increases readership by roughly 10% in standard print advertising.
This is interesting to compare with the standard layout of a Facebook post, where the order is Headline, illustration, copy. But that’s why the clickbait order is to reverse the copy and the headline, asking a question in the copy that is answered in the headline. It breaks up the scrolling by momentarily confusing the scroller. - More people read the caption of a picture than the copy
So include your brand and your promise in the caption. - 6x more people read articles than the ads in a magazine
Making your ad look like an article can be a good tactic. People still do this on the internet, so it is still working — though the exact stat may have changed as people get used to the technique. - Fonts and typography matter
Serif type is more readable and drop initials perform better at drawing the reader in to a paragraph (not sure if that’s true on Medium, they look a bit strange). AND TOO MANY CAPITALS MAKES IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO READ, THEY READ ONE LETTER AT A TIME RATHER THAN READING WORDS AT A TIME SO IT GETS TIRING PRETTY QUICKLY AND PEOPLE WILL JUST GIVE UP OR PUT THEIR FINGERS IN THEIR EARS AND HOPE YOU STOP SHOUTING. - Black on white
Is easier to read than white on black. Use white on black for things you don’t want people to read if you’re being super cheeky. Don’t put your terms and conditions in white on black if you’re a bank who is trying to be transparent and fiercely fair with your customers. - Single spread is better value than double
Sometimes you need a double spread because it suits the subject perfectly. But mostly it’s just vanity and doesn’t give you twice as much readership for your money. - Posters & Billboards should be simple
+ Start with a visual ‘scandal’ with story appeal.
+ Sell the promise visually (as well as in the text).
+ Use the largest possible type.
+ Use Strong, pure colours.
+ Limit yourself to a maximum of 3 design elements - Ads in the tube/metro
People have an average of 20 odd minutes to look at your ad while they are sat in the same seat on the underground. Often this is one of the only forms of advertising where people are actively seeking to be entertained by the ad for such a long time. - Typography again
Good typography helps people to read your copy.
Bad typography stops them in their tracks. - CAPITALS ARE HARDER TO READ
So stop shouting, even if it’s a headline. - Don’t do this.
A full-stop at the end of a headline creates a moment like silence on radio — where the possibility of the audience turning their attention away to something else is increased. - Sanserif in small doses stands out
But in longer copy it repels the reader. - Typefaces that are familiar…
Are easier to read, because readers are used to reading them. - Don’t make visual shapes out of the long copy
You know, like a poem about love in the shape of a heart. Aw cute. How… Clever. You’ll get good marks in your end of year exam. But you’ll just confuse readers. The long copy is there to be read. Stop trying to be smart and making it harder to read. People won’t bother. - Black on white, not white on black
I know I’m repeating this. But Ogilvy is very clear on this. He may hate rules. But he hates white writing on a black background more than almost anything else. - Rules for very long copy
+ Use a subhead of 2 lines to give a taste of what is to come
+ A drop initial to start increases readership by 13%
+ Opening paragraph should be max 11 words.
+ Use a cross head every two to three inches of copy
+ Don’t justify paragraphs, short lines increase readership
+ Key paragraphs in bold/italics
+ Arrowheads / bullets / asterisks increase readership
+ Number unconnected points, rather than trying to join them in prose
+ Line spacing between paragraphs helps
Where could this article’s copy be better at keeping you reading? Let us know in the comments below.
29claps = thanks for saving me time / I like the number 29.
Don’t miss the highly acclaimed part one of this series on Advertising.
And make sure you‘re on top of your print advertising game with part two.
