‘Clever’ Ads (Part 2)

It’s all about getting people to read your ad, then take action.  If people have to decipher what you’ve written they’ll simply pass over your ad and forget about you altogether. Writing ads is not about making people laugh, or having them think you’re a genius. It’s about communicating with them in the fastest clearest possible way.

The average person is not skilled in reading comprehension. For the majority of people, if it’s not spelled out for them, they won’t understand. You need to understand that writing ads is not about you the writer, it’s about making people understand.

…focus instead on getting your message across in a fast and efficient manner.

Time for another example.  Take a look at this billboard.  Allow no more than about a second (which is about what you can spare from a moving vehicle…)  Just glance at it.

Did you get it?  Take a longer look and you will see that it’s a ‘clever’ billboard.

But don’t you wonder about how effective it is?  Does it present a compelling reason to visit the store, or is it wasted money?