Page 152 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

indifference barrier and reposition the TLS as a useful tool to help
them with their studies? The answer presented itself almost at
once. Drugs.

As I write this, the poster I wrote stares down at me off the wall
of my office. Try to picture it. There is a TLS front cover taken up
entirely by a photo of a huge tomato. The cover rests on a green
spotted background. Beneath it is the headline:

Mind expanding substance

Visually it’s arresting—it was designed to be posted on the wall of
student bars and read from a distance. (A point you should always
consider when writing posters unless they’re for underground
trains.) But it’s the headline that carries the weight of the task. The
druggy play on words was too good to pass up and is probably the
only pun I have ever used in 23 years as a professional copywriter.

The TLS is not what you’d think of as natural student reading
material: too many long articles, not enough pictures, and weekly
into the bargain. But we managed to create a cooler image for the
paper than it probably warranted by paying attention to the copy
and design.

In practice

• Think about the language—vocabulary, register, keywords—

your reader will be comfortable with and try to work within
those parameters.

• Do not, under any circumstances, try to sound like a teenager.

Unless you are one. In which case, well done for getting such a
cool job so quickly.

100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS • 143