ADVERTISEMENTS
"I hold every man a debtor to his profession; from the which as
men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so
ought they of duty to endeavour themselves by way of amends to
be a help and ornament thereunto."--FRANCIS BACON.
I. Introduction
In no field is the writer of English more generously rewarded than in
advertising. The annual expenditure for advertising in the United States
is close to $1,000,000,000 and is rapidly increasing. Writers skilled in
presenting goods to the public command very large salaries in the
distribution of this great sum. The profession has been steadily
attaining higher standards and has made a place for its members in
nearly every business house in the country. It is certain, however, that
there is still a vast field open for advertising development.
II. Assignment I
Make a list of the reasons that would induce you to buy a particular
kind of fountain pen; suit of clothes; set of books; stove or range;
lead pencil; candy.
III. Example
(See page 109.)
IV. Definition
An advertisement is an argumentative composition cut down to its
simplest elements, a composition in which single words represent
sentences or even paragraphs of ordinary writing. A sentence in an
advertisement frequently conveys the meaning that in ordinary writing
would be expanded into a long descriptive essay. The principles of
composition-writing apply to advertising in the superlative degree.
Above all things else, an advertisement must be clear, coherent, and
forceful. In addition to these things it must be brief.
Model Shoes
make happy, handsome feet.
Model Shoes
are made on natural foot-fitting
lasts and feel right the first time.
Model Shoes
are made of carefully selected hides
tanned by the special process which
increases their wearing quality
thirty per cent. Every operation
from cutting to final packing is
under the supervision of experts who
are specially trained in their line.
Model Shoes
are designed by shoe artists who
watch every turn in the smart
productions of fashionable New York
and London bootmakers and combine
the most favored lines with _model_
comfort into distinctive _model_
designs.
$4.50 at your store
_Write for Style Booklet_
Model Shoemakers
Lowell, Mass.
V. Assignment II
From the reasons that you have listed in Assignment I, pick out the one
that most attracts you in the case of each of the articles named. Give a
reason for your choice. Find a quality in each article that you
especially desire but rarely find.
VI. Forcefulness in Advertising
An advertisement must first of all demand and win attention. The first
word, the first sentence, must be strong enough to arrest the eye of the
average reader, who runs hastily through the advertising matter of a
magazine, newspaper, or other medium. It must catch the reader's
interest, and hold his attention long enough to lead him into the
remainder of the argument.
So far as possible the first sentence, in some cases the first word,
should contain the heart of the message, the one big thing that you have
to say about the article you have to advertise. If you fail to get your
reader's interest with your first sentence, the word or words that
attracted his attention to your advertisement, you have lost him
forever. You will have no opportunity to present to him the argument
that may follow. Your attention words are read by your maximum
audience. Your most attractive argument in its most striking form should
therefore be presented to them at once.
VII. Assignment III
Write a sentence presenting the arguments selected in Assignment II in
the strongest and most attractive sentences that you can devise. Reduce
the sentences to the single words that express the ideas most vividly.
VIII. Humor in Advertising
As an attention feature, a touch of humor is valuable in advertising. It
tends to put the reader into a pleasant frame of mind, a frame of mind
in which he is likely to listen more attentively to what you have to
say. It operates in the same way as the funny story that usually
prefaces the remarks of the after-dinner speaker. The humor, however,
must have a direct and unmistakable bearing on the body of your
advertising. Irrelevant humor is as much a waste of valuable advertising
space as an irrelevant illustration. Advertising space costs too much to
be used for anything but advertising. Grotesque illustrations and
far-fetched puns are no longer found in advertising columns, because
they have been found ineffective.
IX. Illustrations
In advertising practice the attention feature is frequently supplied by
an illustration showing the article advertised in the use that is
emphasized in the body of the advertisement, or in a way to illustrate
the special argument presented. The importance of the attention factor
is indicated by the large amount of space that is occupied by such
illustrations. Some experiments have indicated, however, that a
well-written attention line is fully as effective as an average
illustration.
X. Suggested Reading
Carl Schurz's _Life of Abraham Lincoln_.
XI. Memorize
IPHIGENEIA AND AGAMEMNON
Iphigeneia, when she heard her doom
At Aulis, and when all beside the king
Had gone away, took his right hand, and said:
"O father! I am young and very happy.
I do not think the pious Calchas heard
Distinctly what the goddess spake; old age
Obscures the senses. If my nurse, who knew
My voice so well, sometimes misunderstood,
While I was resting on her knee both arms,
And hitting it to make her mind my words,
And looking in her face, and she in mine,
Might not he, also, hear one word amiss,
Spoken from so far off, even from Olympus?"
The father placed his cheek upon her head,
And tears dropt down it; but the king of men
Replied not. Then the maiden spake once more:
"O father! sayest thou nothing? Hearest thou not
Me, whom thou ever hast, until this hour,
Listened to fondly, and awakened me
To hear my voice amid the voice of birds,
When it was inarticulate as theirs,
And the down deadened it within the nest?"
He moved her gently from him, silent still;
And this, and this alone, brought tears from her,
Although she saw fate nearer. Then with sighs:
"I thought to have laid down my hair before
Benignant Artemis, and not dimmed
Her polished altar with my virgin blood;
I thought to have selected the white flowers
To please the nymphs, and to have asked of each
By name, and with no sorrowful regret,
Whether, since both my parents willed the change
I might at Hymen's feet bend my clipt brow;
And (after these who mind us girls the most)
Adore our own Athene, that she would
Regard me mildly with her azure eyes,--
But, father, to see you no more, and see
Your love, O father! go ere I am gone!"
Gently he moved her off, and drew her back,
Bending his lofty head far over hers;
And the dark depths of nature heaved and burst.
He turned away,--not far, but silent still.
She now first shuddered; for in him, so nigh,
So long a silence seemed the approach of death,
And like it. Once again she raised her voice:
"O father! if the ships are now detained,
And all your vows move not the gods above,
When the knife strikes me there will be one prayer
The less to them; and purer can there be
Any, or more fervent, than the daughter's prayer
For her dear father's safety and success?"
A groan that shook him shook not his resolve.
An aged man now entered, and without
One word stepped slowly on, and took the wrist
Of the pale maiden. She looked up, and saw
The fillet of the priest and calm, cold eyes.
Then turned she where her parent stood, and cried:
"O father! grieve no more; the ships can sail."
WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR.[16]
[16] When the Greeks were about to set sail for Troy, Artemis, being
angry with their commander King Agamemnon, becalmed their ships at
Aulis. The seer Calchas thereupon declared that the goddess could be
propitiated only by the death of Iphigeneia, the daughter of Agamemnon.
This legend forms the theme of tragedies by Euripides, Racine, and
Goethe.