Is great copywriting still valued in adland? The sceptic in me (with the battle scars to prove it) wants to ask: Was it ever? Or, rather, was it ever valued enough? I recently attended an interesting talk on the possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) replacing writers (specifically copywriters) in the near future. The conclusion was that AI would never be able to replace originality and the insight that stems from life experience — the essence of great writing. In short: really good writers are safe. For the rest…
Advertising is about content: conveying the right message to the right people at the right time. It must be attention-grabbing yet clear in its delivery. It must be unique yet credible. It must be worth remembering and move the intended target audience to action. In all this, the copywriter plays a crucial role.
A conceptualiser, first & foremost
The copywriter is first and foremost a conceptualiser, someone who has the ability to pinpoint the unique selling proposition or USP (a term that was coined in the 1970s) ie what is different about this product or service and how can we position it in such a way that it rises above the clutter? The ingredients, the look, the clinical proof, anything.
This process is supposed to take hours (albeit not always possible). Many will disagree but this is the one thing I’ve learnt from all my years in advertising, marketing and writing in general: the more you know about the product/topic and its place in the market, the freer and more confident you will feel to come up with something that’s truly unique and devoid of cliché.
In short: great copywriting is not only about words; it’s first and foremost about the ability to generate a great concept, decide what elements are needed to realise this concept, and strategise how to put all these “puzzle pieces” (design, copy, execution, choice of media) together to ensure maximum impact.
Always integral
Copywriters are and should always be an integral part of the creative and strategic team. They shouldn’t only be writers but keen observers of human behaviour, and be knowledgeable about the different aspects of design, public relations, the pros and cons of different media platforms, the competition and more. They should study the work and methods of advertising gurus such as David Ogilvy, John Caples and Alastair Compton, and realise that effective copywriting isn’t merely taking a divinely inspired shot in the dark but that, over decades, studies were (and still are) done on how copy is perceived and what methods can improve readership and retention.
This brings me to my next point. Just as copywriters need to educate themselves on different aspects of advertising, it’s important that others do the same. How can one critique an opera singer if one is completely tone-deaf and believes Wagner to be the name of someone’s pet poodle?
Joe Vitale, marketing expert and author of Hypnotic Writing: How to Seduce and Persuade Customers with Only Your Words, wrote the following about effective copy and, to this day, it still rings true and is, in my opinion, applicable to all forms of writing: “Adjectives are like the leaves on a switch. They make the switch look pretty but, if you want to hit a blow that will cut, you take off the leaves. Literature that cuts has very few adjectives. The greatest things in life are expressed in one-syllable words… love, hate, fear, home, wife, child.”
Throwback to the 1990s
So, there I was in the early 1990s, starting out as a junior copywriter after finishing my postgraduate degree and part-time course at AAA, and ready to take the world of advertising by storm with a Loerie or three on the horizon…
Wakeup call of note. Big client. Wonderful campaign. Positive feedback from the creative director on the copy that she described as “edgy, original and interesting”. Oh, I could already smell that Loerie… In comes the client. At first, I had to convince him that, in South Africa, “realise” (as opposed to the American “realize”) was not a spelling error. Neither was “favourite” nor “visualise.” Then I was asked why I start my sentences with “And” and “But” (common copywriting practice, by the way). In fact — why all these short sentences? Yes, it was nice… but he needed more. “Make it more poetic. More descriptive… Say that our product is state-of-the-art, cutting-edge, high-quality… you know…”
I’m not saying that all clients are clueless but what I realised is that many people (within and outside the industry) still don’t know how to distinguish between the good, the bad and the ugly.
Huge misconception that writing’s easy
There’s this huge misconception that writing is easy, that metaphors flow from our pores and drip from our fingertips with the greatest of ease, and that we wake up in the mornings ready to deliver superbly written pieces in record time as we’re simply putting on paper what’s already been so perfectly structured and displayed in our mind’s eye.
In the words of Thomas Mann, German author and Nobel Prize recipient, “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” It takes a lot of practice, dedication and focus. And many, many drafts.
One doesn’t have to be a writer to identify and appreciate good writing. One can, however, be educated to read with a trained and informed eye to truly understand the impact of copy that’s fresh and original yet impactful and results-driven.
Teamwork, recognition & appreciation
Working in advertising is not only about teamwork but also about recognising and appreciating the expertise of each and every team member, and having the knowledge to hold them to the right standard.
Is great copywriting still valued in adland? It should be. It really should.
Maritha Broschk is invested in product development and brand positioning, and also a writer of fact and fiction — always with the reader in mind
Credit: Culled from MarkLives