oday, careful attention should be made to getting the most out of new forms of communication such as online interaction and email blasts and take advantage of how they relate to the reliable printed document. Are you wondering how to improve your complete advertising plan? Through experience, we uphold that cookie-cutter marketing is not the key. We must take a broad view of your business, your budget, your consumer, your potential customer. Contact us to talk about the print and digital challenge. Our clients testify that we are skilled in taking advantage of this rapidly changing landscape.

Unless you are seasoned in the communication arts field, you may not have heard of David Ogilvy. The following snippets include six “opinions” from his book titled Ogilvy on Advertising. Decades later, many of Ogilvy’s opinions still carry validity, although there are exceptions to the rules.

1. Headlines

• On the average, five times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. The headlines that work best are those that promise the reader a benefit.
• On the average, ads with news are recalled by 22% more people than ads without news.
• One study reports that headlines with more than ten words get less

readership than short headlines. On the other hand, another study of retail ads found that headlines of ten words sell more merchandise than short headlines. Conclusion: If you need a long headline, go ahead and write one, and if you want a short headline, that’s all right, too.

• Some headlines are “blind.” They don’t say what the product is, or what it will do for them. They are about 20% below average in recall.

2. Illustrations and Photography

• The subject of your illustration is all important. If you don’t have a remarkable idea for it, not even a great photographer can save you.
• Photographs that work hardest are those that arouse the reader’s curiosity.
• When you don’t have a story to tell, it is often a good thing to make your package the subject of your illustration.
• It pays to illustrate the end-result of using your product. “Before” and “after” photographs seem to fascinate readers.
• Photographs attract more readers than drawings, are more believable and better remembered.
• Keep your illustrations as simple as possible with the focus of attention on one person [or product]. Crowd scenes don’t pull.

• Don’t show human faces enlarged bigger than life size. They seem to repel readers.
• Historical subjects bore the majority of readers.
• Do not assume that subjects which interest you will necessarily interest consumers.
• When you use a photograph of a woman, men ignore your ad. [Arrow’s note—we’re not too sure about that one, Mr. Ogilvy.]
• Color ads cost more than black and white, but on the average, they are 100% more memorable resulting in a good bargain.
• When the client moans and sighs, make his logo twice the size. If he still should prove refractory, show a picture of his factory. Only in the gravest cases should you show the clients’ faces. [ha!]

3. Body Copy

• Pretend you are writing each of your readers a letter on behalf of your client—one human being to another, second person singular.
• It pays to write short sentences and short paragraphs and to avoid difficult words.
• Copy should be written in the language people use in everyday conversation.
• Tell your reader what your product will do for him or her and tell it with specifics.