Page 157 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

72 MAKE YOUR ADS LOOK
LIKE—AND READ LIKE—
EDITORIAL

There are two schools of thought when it comes to ads. One says
make it as vibrant as possible and keep the copy short because
nobody reads long copy. (As this is often uttered by copywriters
you have to wonder where they get their motivation to come into
work from.)

The second school (the old school, if you will) says make your
ad resemble editorial, since that is what people buy magazines
and newspapers for in the first place, and write as much as
possible. Why as much as possible? Because the only people who
are going to buy from you are those motivated to do so, and they
need and want as much information as possible before making
their decision.

The idea

From Lynplan Ltd, who make sofa covers and sell them via mail
order
When I came across Lynplan’s ad in a Sunday supplement, I couldn’t
believe my eyes. Here, in late 2008, was a page ad clearly conceived,
written, and art-directed by people who don’t just want to sell more
sofa covers (a laudable enough aim in its own right if that’s what
you manufacture) but who have bothered to find out what works.
The ad (miraculously free of the ADVERTISEMENT header some
newspapers and magazines insist on for ads with the temerity to
comport themselves other than as nightclub flyers) begins with a

148 • 100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS