Making Advertising Work For You
Appeal To Consumers Needs
Human behavior, according to psychologist Abraham Maslow, is always the result of one or more of five basic needs or
motivating forces.* Maslow classified these in a sequence he refers to as the hierarchy of human needs.
His theory is that until a lower-ranking need is satisfied there is no desire to pursue a higher-ranking need. Below are
the five human motivators, beginning with the basic or lowest-ranked need and continuing to the highest.
Physiological needs -- Include hunger, thirst, reproduction, shelter, clothing, air and rest.
Safety-security -- The need for security, stability, dependence, protection, structure, order, law, tenure, pension and
insurance.
Love-belonging -- The need for belonging, acceptance, love, affection, family and group acceptance and friendship.
Self-esteem -- The need for recognition, respect, achievement, responsibility, prestige, independence, attention,
importance and appreciation.
Self-actualization -- The need for satisfaction, the desire to achieve fulfillment through reaching self-set individual
goals or aspirations.
The advertising practitioner will do well to become familiar with the Maslow theory of human motivation because it
stresses once again that motivation is always an individual act. The most your advertising message can hope to do is
to present an appeal strong enough to stimulate action toward satisfying one of the basic human needs.
If there is one rule that will be most helpful in preparing effective advertising, it is this: The message must put the
desire of the potential customer before the advertiser's desire. Please read that one more time! The rule may sound
like a simple one to follow, but frequently advertising messages take the form of a plea to customers to respond and
solve the advertiser's problem.
Visualize the felt tip pen you probably use every day. When it was manufactured the raw materials were converted into
these product features: a plastic barrel, a plastic cap, a supply of ink, a felt tip and a metal pocket clip. These are the
total product points in the felt tip pen. What's amazing is that none of those things have anything to do with why you
will buy the pen! You buy any item only for how it will benefit you. The key, of course, is benefit. Effective advertising
must promise the consumer some benefit he or she will receive after buying the goods or services advertised. Product
features should be cited only to make the promised benefits believable. Here is an example of how you can advertise
the felt tip pen by promising benefits and then using the product features to make promised benefits believable.
- You can drop this pen on concrete from 20 feet in the air and it will not break because it is made of a strong plastic.
- You can draw a jet black line for more than 100,000 yards, thanks to the large supply of quality ink.
- This pen will not leave an ink stain on your shirt or in your purse, thanks to the snug-fitting plastic cap.
- When you bend over this pen will not fall from your pocket because it features a strong spring steel clip.
Although this technique appears logical, many advertisements ramble on and on with all the product features while the
potential customer asks, What will it do for me?
Using the benefit approach can be simplified by preparing a worksheet on which each product you plan to advertise is
dissected into (1) the benefits the buyer will enjoy by owning this product and (2) which product features will help
convince the potential buyer that the promised benefits are likely to be true.
Using the benefit approach is the best advertising technique for each advertising medium. It is also the selling
technique used by all top salespeople. Practice it -- it works!
Techniques in Presenting the Advertising Message
The buying decision is seldom a purely rational one -- emotions influence your behavior. As you explore various
techniques for presenting your advertising message, do not ignore psychological and emotional appeals. For example,
red, a strong color suggesting excitement, increases reader interest when used in sales ads. While the principles
discussed here relate most specifically to print ads, they can apply to all media.
Determining Layout Shape and Design
Behavioral scientists have determined that of all the rectangular shapes, the vertical rectangle of approximately three
units wide by five units deep is the one the public is exposed to most and, therefore, the one people find most
comfortable. The advertising world refers to this shape as the golden rectangle of layout. It is believed that an
advertising message receives higher readership when presented in this size.
In Appendix H is a drawing of this three-unit by five-unit shape. Notice the dot on the vertical center line, one-third of
the way from the top of the ad. This is called the focal point. It is the point to which the eye is attracted first, at which
the eye enters the ad. Next, note the wavy line extending from the upper left-hand corner of the ad to the lower
right-hand corner. This reverse s is the path that the eye follows, called the gaze motion path. Your objective should
be to reinforce the ease with which the eye can follow this path. How you place elements of your ad can invite the
reader's eye to follow this path or to leave your ad completely before getting your message. If your artwork, for
example, is located near the curves in the gaze-motion pattern, it will invite your reader to leave the ad at that point
and turn the page. The gaze motion also reinforces the principle that the best place for a headline is at the top of the
ad where the reader starts the visual journey through the ad. The worst place for your logo is the lower left-hand
corner; the eye prefers to leave the ad at the lower right-hand corner, so your logo will have greater impact there.
The dotted lines divide the ad into vertical and horizontal halves to stress balance in your layout. Formal or
symmetrical balance occurs when the elements on the left side of the vertical center line are in the same position and
of the same size or density as corresponding elements on the right side. This formal balance is not as interesting to
the eye as informal or asymmetrical balance, obtained by balancing weights on one side of the center line with weights
of varying densities at greater or lesser distances from the center line on the other side of the ad. Visualize ad balance
as being similar to a see-saw where weight near the outer end of the board can be balanced by heavier weights
nearer the fulcrum on the other end of the board. In designing your ad layout, place illustrations, copy blocks,
headlines and other elements so they appear balanced without formality.
Communicating Desired Layout to Printer
In submitting any printed advertising message to the media, the only way to ensure that your ad looks the way you
intended is to provide adequate instructions. Layout means blueprint to the typesetter or printer. Your layout should
be a full-size replica of what you want the finished advertisement or brochure to look like. Here are some guidelines to
use in preparing layouts.
1. A layout should accurately indicate where all parts of the completed message are to be located with respect to the
borders. This must include the location and approximate, if not actual, dimensions of all artwork.
2. There are five parts to a comprehensive layout:
Headline -- Print all headlines right on the layout sheet, making the headline fill the width you want. Give the printer a
close approximation of the desired type size by the size of your lettering. On each line, put the exact words you want to
appear and use capital letters or upper and lower case letters the way you want the type set.
Illustrations -- Use a copy machine, if possible, and paste a copy of any artwork or photograph on the layout sheet
where you want it to appear. If you plan to reduce or enlarge the artwork, show the finished height, width and the
location on the layout sheet.
Copy -- Copy refers to the text in your advertisement. Do not letter in the copy on your layout sheet. Use two parallel
lines to represent each line of copy and draw these lines in the exact position on the layout sheet. These parallel lines
should show whether you want the copy set flush on both right and left margins or if you prefer a ragged edge on the
right margin (see Figure 2). Each block of copy should be positioned properly on the layout sheet and then should be
keyed, i.e., assigned a circled letter of the alphabet that matches a separate block of copy supplied on copy sheets.
Copy sheets should be typewritten, double-spaced and should include all words and prices to be typeset, including
any headlines you have lettered on the layout. Leave a two-inch left margin on the copy sheet to give the mark-up
person space to code for type style and size.
Price -- It is generally a good idea to letter your prices right on the layout if they appear anywhere other than within
regular copy lines. Show the price as it hould appear, including the relative size of the cents to dollars portion of the
price and any dollar or cent signs you want used.
Logo -- The logo is your firm's name, whether you have a standard, exclusive design or you merely want your name
set in type. Let the layout show the desired location and size. It also is helpful to letter in your address and phone
number. If you have a logo design, do not paste the original art work on the layout. Make a copy and paste the copy in
the desired position. Ask the printer to make a photo reproduction (PMT) of your logo and keep the original artwork for
future use.
In addition to these key elements, your layout also should contain instructions, written outside the ad borders and
circled. A line from an instruction circle may lead to the specific area within the ad if it helps clarify instructions.
Instructions should include the dimensions of the ad stated in inches (width depth).
For a newspaper ad, the width should be stated in columns and the depth in inches or lines, depending on the paper's
policies. Other instructions can include the insertion date, reference to the enlargement or reduction of artwork, the
names of typefaces desired and special typesetting requests.
Remember, your layout will serve as the blueprint for your ad. The finished product can be only as effective as the
original layout. The copysheet that accompanies your layout also should contain the size of the ad and the insertion
date. Use a paper clip rather than stapling the copy sheet to the layout.
This will prevent tearing when the two sheets are separated for production
Figure 2 -- JUSTIFIED AND RAGGED RIGHT MARGINS
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HEADLINE
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Justified
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HEADLINE
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Ragged
Strengthening the Elements of Your Advertisement
Headlines
Since the headline is the first contact your readers have with your message, it must reach out to them. Promise them a
benefit. Tell them how they will be better off if they read the rest of the ad. Use action verbs. Save ten dollars is a
stronger heading than Savings of ten dollars because of the verb.
Headlines can be classified into the following five basic types; effective headlines frequently combine two or more of
these kinds.
News Headlines
This form tells the reader something he or she did not know before. Using the word news does not make it a news
headline. Now -- a copy machine that copies in color is an example of this type headline.
Advice and Promise Headline
Here you are promising something if the reader follows the advice in your ad. Switch to Amoco premium, no-lead
gasoline, and your car will stop pinging.
Selective Headline
This headline limits the audience to a specific group. For example: To all gray-haired men over forty. Caution! Be
absolutely sure you do not eliminate potential customers with this type of headline.
Curiosity Headline
The intent here is to arouse the reader's interest enough to make him or her read the ad. The danger is that this
headline often appears cute or clever and fails in its mission. An example: Do you have trouble going to sleep at night?
Command or Demand Headline
Watch out for this one as most people resist pushiness, especially in advertising. Do it now! or Buy this today! This
headline generally can be improved by changing to less obtrusive wording such as: Call for your key to success!
One common misconception about headlines is that they must be short and easy to understand. This is not always
true. Here is a headline that was used extensively in print ads by Ogilvy and Mather for one of their clients: At 60 miles
an hour, the loudest noise in this Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.
Illustrations
There are three primary reasons for using illustrations in an advertisement.
To attract attention to the ad.
To illustrate the item being featured.
To create a mood in the mind of the reader.
Everyone has heard, A picture is worth a thousand words; in advertising, the illustration frequently helps the reader
visualize the benefits promised. You can almost feel the warmth of the tropical sun when you see the photos in
January travel ads. Cost and practicality may dictate whether your ad uses photographs, artists' drawings or merely
canned artwork. Any of these can make the ad more appealing to the reader's eye.
Copy
If you follow the three principles of good copy, your ads will be effective:
Good copy should be clear.
Good copy should be crisp.
Good copy should be concise.
Clear, crisp and concise . . . the three Cs of copywriting suggest that the words in your advertising message merely do
a good job of communicating. Do not use big words when small words can make your meaning clear. Use colorful,
descriptive terms. Use the number of words necessary to make your meaning clear and no more -- but also no less!
Selecting the right words is critical to the success of the ads. Recent research conducted at Yale University found that
the following 12 words are the most personal and persuasive words in our language.
You Discovery Safety
Money Proven Results
Love Guarantee Save
New Easy Health
Notice the overused word free is not on the list.
REMEMBER THAT WHEN YOUR MESSAGE IS PRINTED IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS INSTEAD OF UPPER- AND
LOWERCASE LETTERS, IT IS FAR MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE READER TO FOLLOW AND REMAIN INTERESTED.
EVEN IN HEADLINES ALL CAPITAL LETTERS SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
Price
Should you or shouldn't you put prices in your ad? Yes! Yes! Yes! Since price is the one factor that allows the
consumer to determine whether an item represents an adequate value, an ad without price makes the buying decision
difficult if not impossible for the reader. Can you imagine how uninteresting your daily newspaper would be if there
were no prices on the food store ads or the department store offerings? Yes, price belongs, and it belongs whether
you are advertising a home for $175,000 or a ballpoint pen for 49 cents.
Logo
Can you visualize the corporate logos for such firms as Chevrolet, Ford, Playboy, Borden or Levi Strauss? There is an
identification advantage in developing a logo design exclusive to your firm. Using a logo also helps give your
advertising continuity. Use the logo consistently on all printed pieces, including stationery. Use it in Yellow Page
advertising, on the side of your truck or company car, on bags or boxes and anything else your customers or
prospects may see.
Type
The typeface you use in advertising plays an important role in how the message comes across. Printers are very
knowledgeable about typefaces and happy to help you make choices. A selection of typefaces is illustrated in
Appendix I.
their product.
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