Ogilvy on Copywriting
Does anybody read body copy anymore?
Well, according to David Ogilvy, it depends on these two things:
- How many people are interested in the kind of product you are advertising.
- How many people have been enticed into your ad by your illustrations and headline?
So how do you create body copy that holds your reader’s attention?
- Write for the individual
- Be interesting
- Write in everyday language
- Write your copy in the form of a story
- Avoid analogies
- Use testimonials to make your copy more credible
- Use markdowns and special offers
- Always include the price of your products
- Sign your work
- Long copy is king
- Just the facts
Write for the individual
When you’re writing copy, it’s easy to write for the masses when you should be writing for the individual. Your copy may have the readership of a small stadium but when people read your copy, they are alone. Ogilvy argues that copy should be written like a personalized letter you are writing each of them on behalf of your client. He states, “One human being to another, second person singular.”
“You cannot bore people into buying your product. You can only interest them in buying it.”
David Ogilvy, Ogilvy on Advertising
Be interesting
Writing short sentences and keeping paragraphs short is critical to staying interesting. This is easier said than done. Aldous Huxley, a copywriter, once said, “It is easier to write ten passably effective sonnets than one effective advertisement.”
Write in everyday language
When arguing about an esoteric word, Ogilvy replies, “Get on a bus. Go to Iowa. Stay on a farm for a week and talk to the farmer. Come back to New York by train and talk to your fellow passengers in the day coach. If you still want to use the word, go ahead.”
Copy should be written in the language people use in everyday conversation like the example below.
Carnation Milk is the best in the land,
Here I sit with a can in my hand.
No tits to pull, no hay to pitch,
Just punch a hole in the son-of-a-bitch.
Avoid writing essays. Your copy should tell the reader what your product will do for them and it should be told with specifics.
Write your copy in the form of a story
One of the most famous advertisements ever written was by John Caples for International Correspondence School, under the headline “They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano — But When I Started to Play…” Another example is, “The amazing story of a Zippo that worked after being taken from the belly of a fish.”
The goal is to entice your reader by creating a narrative. Since the beginning of time, humans have used narratives to make sense of historical events and share information. Copy exists to help your reader understand your product. Stories exist to help people understand complex ideas. Now, let’s combine the two and you’re left with winning copy that entices.
Avoid analogies
Gallup has found that analogies are widely misunderstood. For example, if you show a Rembrandt and say, “Just as this Rembrandt portrait is a masterpiece, so too is our product,” readers think you are selling a Rembrandt.
You should also avoid superlatives like, “Our product is the best in the world.” Gallup refers to this as Brag and Boast. It convinces nobody.
Use testimonials to make your copy more credible
James Webb Young, one of the best copywriters in history, “Every type of advertiser has the same problem: to be believed. The mail-order man knows nothing so potent for this purpose as the testimonial, yet the general advertiser seldom uses it.”
Endorsements from fellow consumers are more persuasive than anything an anonymous copywriter has to offer. If you include testimonials in your copy, it becomes more credible. Sometimes, your entire copy can be a testimonial.
For example, Ogilvy’s ad for Austin cars was literally a letter from an ‘anonymous diplomat’ who sent his son to Groton (a boarding school) with money he had saved driving an Austin car.
Celebrity testimonials get high recall scores but Ogilvy refuses to use them… for good reason. He argues that readers tend to only remember the celebrity while forgetting the product.
Use markdowns and special offers
This tidbit of advice is super straightforward. Consumers have a high recall rate when it comes to markdowns and special offers.
Always include the price
“When the price of the product is left out, people have a way of turning the page.”
Think of it like this, you see a shiny diamond necklace in the window of a jewelry store. You think to yourself, “Wow, I’d like to own that.” But you know you can’t afford it. It doesn’t even have a price tag. So, instead of going into the store to ask how much it costs, you leave and never return. Now, imagine if it had a price tag. If you know the price, do you think you might be more willing to go into the store to get a closer look? Probably.
Sign your work
According to Ogilvy, when agencies sign their ads, they produce better ones. Accountability is very important when you write copy. Not only does it give you a sense of accomplishment but having your name attached to your work will make you care more. No one wants to have their name attached to something they’re not proud of. That’s why by signing your work, you set yourself up to do better.
Short Copy v.s. Long Copy?
For Ogilvy, long copy is the sure winner. He claims that long copy sells more than short copy and he has plenty of examples to back it up. Here are a couple of examples:
- Louis Engel wrote an advertisement of 6,450 words for Merrill Lynch. On insertion in the New York Times pulled 10,000 responses — without a coupon.
- Claude Hopkins wrote an advertisement for Schlitz beer with five pages of solid text. In a few months, Schlitz moved from fifth in sales to first.
Ogilvy claims, “Advertisements with long copy convey the impression that you have something important to say, whether people read the copy or not.”
Just the facts
After studying the results of advertising for retailers, Dr. Charles Edwards concluded that ‘the more facts you tell, the more you sell.’ A copywriter’s chance for success increases as the number of “pertinent merchandising facts” increases within the copy.
WARNING: “If you want your long copy read, you had better write it well.” (Ogilvy)
In particular, your first paragraph had better grab the reader. Don’t let any fluff in that first paragraph. Instead, grab the reader’s attention with facts that make people tune into what you have to say.
A Harvard professor used to begin his series of lectures with a sentence that took his students by the throat: ‘Cesare Borgia murdered his brother-in-law for the love of his sister, who was the mistress of their father — the Pope.”
For more on Ogilvy, check out Seven Timeless Tips on Advertising from Ogilvy.
For more on writing copy, check out Copywriters to “Copy”.
Originally published at https://growdirectbookings.com on July 21, 2021.
