the art of writing advertising (vintage wisdom from legendary mad men)

T H E A R T O F W R I T I N G

ADVERTISINGConversations with Masters of the Craft.

William Bernbach • Leo Burnett George Gribbin • David Ogilvy •Rosser Reeves

A REDUX FOR THE MODERN AGE

HI!I WRITE ABOUT MARKETING/BRANDING FOR HONIGMAN MEDIA AND IDEONAND TEACH DIGITAL MARKETING AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY

I’M JOE GELMAN

In 1965 Dennis Higgins, the Senior Editor of Ad Age Magazine went around Madison Avenue and asked five advertising giants what they thought it takes to

Write a great ad.

The following presentation provides a short summary of

What they said.

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1. Bill BernbachCo-founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach, the agency that pioneered advertising’s “creative revolution.”

Produced landmark campaigns for VW and AVIS.

But I can't.

I wish I could give an equation, so that all you

have to do is follow it.

We wondered whether the advertising community was loved by the American people.

We’re not even hated!

They ignore us.

“

“One of the disadvantages of doing everything mathematically, by research and by mandate, is that after a while, everybody does it in the same way.”

still a problem today…these are all good, but all look the same!

“You must have inventiveness but it must be disciplined.”Bernbach emphasizes over and

over that advertising that is not different doesn’t get looked at. This restrained inventiveness is on fine display in this legendarily striking campaign for Levy’s Jewish Rye

“Everything you write, everything on a page, every word, every graphic symbol, every shadow, should

further the message you’re trying to convey.”

2. Leo BurnettFounder of his eponymous agency, Leo Burnett

Worldwide. Mastermind behind such iconic figures as the Marlboro Man and Tony the Tiger.

“Always stress the inherent drama

of things because there’s almost always

something there.”Burnett had the idea to shoot this meat on a bright red background

to emphasize the inherent dramatic qualities in the product.

“I have a folder on my desk – and it’s getting bigger all the time. Whenever I hear a phrase in conversation or any place, which strikes me as being particularly apt in expressing and idea, I scribble it down and stick it in there.

“I have a folder on my desk – and it’s getting bigger all the time. Whenever I hear a phrase in conversation or any place which strikes me as being particularly apt in expressing and idea, I scribble it down and stick it in there.

Leo would’ve been all about Pinterest!

3. George GribbinChairman of famed advertising agency Young & Rubicam and company mastermind of landmark

campaigns such as Ohrbach’s.

A writer should be joyous, an optimist…

“Central to good writing of advertising is an understanding of people, an insight into them, a

sympathy toward them.

[After you write an ad]

Ask yourself: Will the headline make you want to read the first line of copy, and will the first sentence make

you want to read the second sentence?You go straight through the copy.

It ought to be the last word when the reader wants to drop off.

“

Ever the master of the headline, this institutional

ad for Young and Rubicam certainly

passes Gribbin’s self-imposed test.

Even today.

Wanna read on?

4. David OgilvyWidely hailed as the “Father of Advertising,” Ogilvy championed a precise style that birthed famous ads

for Rolls Royce and Schweppes.

“I did a lot of work that was original.

I didn’t know enough to be unoriginal.”

“A lot of copywriters think they’re good judges

of their own work. I know I’m not.”

Ogilvy intimates that when he wrote this ad for Rolls Royce (among the most

famous of all time) he wrote “26 different headlines for it

and then got half a dozen other writers to go over them

and choose the best one.”

If he needed a second opinion you certainly do.

“If you have all the research, all the ground rules, all the directives, all the data – it doesn’t mean the ad is written…

Then you’ve got to close the door and write something – that is the moment of truth.”

5. Rosser ReevesEarly trailblazer of television advertising and inspiration for Mad Men’s Don Draper, he famously coined M&M’s

“Melts in your Mouth, Not in your Hands.”

Enduring LegacyA recent study by Texas Tech found that Rosser Reeves’ slogan for M&M’s “Melts in your Mouth, Not in your Hands.” was the most liked slogan of all time.

“Perhaps it could have been phrased 15 other ways, but the idea for the campaign (that these candies do not melt because of the sugar shell) was the easiest thing in the world because it

was inherent in the product.”

“Let’s say your sales are tanking. Now what do you want from me? Fine writing?

Or do you want to see the goddamned sales curve stop moving down and start moving up?

The public doesn’t… the public either acts or it doesn’t.

Only advertising men hold seminars and judge advertising.

Hope you enjoyed this summary.

Happy writing!

JoeGelman.com

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