the role words play in the digital age

1 © 2013 PETER MAYER © 2013 PETER MAYER

PETE Creative ideasworth spreading

IF NOBODY READS COPY ANYMORE WHY ISN’T YOUR HEADLINE LOREM IPSUM?

THE ROLE WORDS PLAY IN THE DIGITAL AGE

2 © 2013 PETER MAYER © 2013 Peter Mayer Advertising

Back when most of you were just a glimmer in your daddy’s eye (the 1980s), copy was important.


Then, the Internet came along.


With it: •  Great shopping •  Easier access to porn •  The death of print pubs •  And, some would say, the

demise of the golden age of advertising copy


Back in the golden age, nobody counted characters. It was the idea that counted.


The answer to the question, “how long should a headline be?” was “as long as it needs to be and no longer.”


The award books were filled with long headlines. It was called, “the Minneapolis style.” Let’s take a look.


!


So what happened to the Minneapolis style? Joe Alexander of the Martin Agency put it this way.


He said, “The Almighty Headline kept many a copywriter in business for a long time. Until, suddenly, it didn’t.”


“That little thing called the Internet arrived and the world of cranking out lines in your office disappeared.”


“In this new world, a copywriter had to venture out of his or her comfort zone and—gasp!—not even write a headline. Maybe let the art direction lead a campaign.”


So where does that leave us?

Is the headline really dead?


NO WAY, JOSE. (I’m a writer. Sometimes we rhyme.)


But clearly something’s awry.


A writer on ihaveanidea.org noted: •  Most of the industry’s biggest

awards go to headline-free ads.

•  Most advertising blogs are dominated by purely visual concepts.


He said when he tried to convince his copywriting students of the relevance of headlines, he had to dust off 15-year-old annuals to prove his point.


Let’s look at a few more ads from back in the day.


Let’s fall back in love with words.


A poster should contain no more than eight words, which is the maximum the average reader can take at a single

glance. This, however, is for Economist readers.

The Economist


Lose the ability to slip out of meetings

unnoticed.

The Economist


Those were great ads, weren’t they? TOO BAD NOBODY READS COPY ANYMORE, RIGHT?


WRONG.


I think famous copywriter Howard Gossage had it right:

“Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it's an ad.”


So here’s the challenge:

Whether we’re writing a Google text ad, a Facebook tile ad, a postage stamp size banner or a blog, we need to write copy that’s compelling, entertaining and relevant.


Was John Pucci onto something when he asked, “are hashtags the new headlines?”


Maybe so. But they’re not the only kind of headlines.


Headline-driven concepts are a tool – and an inexpensive tool at that. You can do great work without animation or even photography. Let's not forget that.


And just because you’re writing a blog or a social post, that doesn’t mean it can’t be crafted. Brands should sound like your friends talking, but not your stupid friends.


THANKS.

the role words play in the digital age

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