Print Advertisements
Essential Elements of Advertising
What you’ll learn . . .
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How ad campaigns are developed
The creation of advertising headlines
The preparation of advertising copy
The selection of advertising illustrations
The significance of advertising signatures
The Advertising Agency
• Advertising agencies work
jointly with business clients
to develop advertising
campaigns.
• An advertising campaign
involves the creation and
coordination of a series of
advertisements (both
This building on Main Street, designed by Frank
broadcast and print)
around a particular theme Gehry, is the headquarters of Chiat / Day / Mojo,
an advertising agency. Its entrance is flanked by a
Claes Oldenburg / Coosje van Bruggen binocular
sculpture.
Developing Print Advertisements
• Print ads are very important to most
campaigns.
• They usually contain four key elements
– Headline
– Copy
– Illustrations
– Signature
• Some also include the company’s slogan
• Each element enhances the overall theme of a
product promotion
Headline
• The headline is the saying that
gets the readers’ attention,
arouses their interest by
providing a benefit, and leads
them to read the rest of the ad.
• More than 80% of the people
who look at a print ad just read
the headlines.
• A headline provides a benefit
to the reader
Writing Effective Headlines
• Most are brief – many people cannot take
in more than seven words at a time.
• Effective headlines stress benefits by
making a promise, asking a question,
posing a challenge, or using a
testimonial.
• Many headlines use familiar sayings with
a twist.
Developing Headlines or Slogans for
Ad Campaigns
• Alliteration (repeating initial consonant sounds) – Welcome to the
World Wide Wow” (AOL)
• Paradox (a seeming contradiction that could be true) – “The taste
you love to hate” (Listerine mouthwash).
• Rhyme – “Give a hoot, don’t pollute” (United States Forest
Service).
• Pun ( a humorous use of a word that suggests two or more of its
meanings or the meaning of another work similar in sound – “Time
to Re-Tire” (Fisk Tires).
• Play on Words – “Let your fingers do the walking” (Yellow Pages).
Copy
• The copy is the selling message in a written
advertisement.
• It expands on the information in the headline or the
product shown in the illustration.
• It should be simple and direct
• It should appeal to the senses
• Tell the who, what, when, why, where, and how of your
product
• Key words used in copy, such as compare, introducing,
now, price, save, easy, and new, establish immediate
contact with the reader.
• It should provide a call to action to shoppers
Illustration
• The photograph or drawing
used in a print
advertisement.
• Its primary function is to
attract attention
• It should transmit a total
message that would be hard
to communicate just with
words.
• Illustrations may show the
product, how the product
works, and its features.
Signature
• No advertisement is complete
without naming its sponsor.
• The signature, or logotype
(logo), is the distinctive
identification symbol for a
business.
• Well-designed signatures get
instant recognition for a
business.
Signature
MAGAZINES
Magazine Categories: Size
Size
classification
Large
Approximate size
of full-page ad
4 col. x 170 lines
(9 3/8 x 12 1/8 inches)
Magazine Example(s)
Life
Flat
Time, Newsweek
3 col. x 140 lines
(7 x 10 inches)
Standard
National Geographic
2 col. x 119 lines
(6 x 8 ½ inches)
Small or pocket
Reader’s Digest, TV Guide
2 col. x 91 lines
(4 ½ x 6 ½ inches)
Magazine Circulation
• Magazine advertising rates based on circulation
• Readership = Total Circulation
• Subscription and Vendor Sales
– Ratio of subscriptions to newsstand sales important to media
buyers
• Subscriptions account for majority of magazine sales
• Newsstand sales indicate that the purchaser really wants the
magazine and is not merely subscribing to it out of habit
– Account for approximately 34 percent of total revenues
• Can increase effectiveness of advertisements if editorial, circulation,
and readership are strong
NEWSPAPERS
Using Print Media: Newspapers
• Newspapers are now second largest
medium (after television) in terms of
advertising volume
• Major community-serving medium for
both news and advertising
• Approximately 88% of revenue comes
from local advertising
Pros and Cons of Newspaper Ads
• The Pros
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Mass medium.
Local medium.
Comprehensive in scope.
Geographic selectivity.
Timeliness.
Credibility.
Selective attention.
Creative flexibility.
An active medium.
A permanent record.
Reasonable cost.
• The Cons
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Lack of selectivity.
Short life span.
Low production quality.
Clutter.
Lack of control.
Overlapping circulation.
Types of Newspaper Advertising
• Public notices are legal announcements about changes in
business, personal relationships, public governmental
reports, notices by private citizens and organizations, and
financial reports, inserted in the paper for a nominal fee
• Pre-printed inserts are ads or brochures, which the
advertiser prints and delivers to the newspaper plant for
insertion into a specific newspaper edition
– Sizes range from typical newspaper page to a double postcard
– Formats include catalogs, brochures, mail-back devices, and
perforated coupons
– May be limited to specific circulation zones
Slogan
• May support a firm’s signature
• A slogan is often added to the four main
elements of a print ad
• Is a catch phrase or small group of
words that are combined tin a special
way to identify a product or company The Breakfast of Champions
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