Who wants to be a Copywriter without billing me like a millionaire?

Who wants to be a Copywriter without billing me like a millionaire?

Required:  A copywriter and /or an art director with or without experience, to work on a pro bono ad for a project on AIDS 

All those interested may present the work as a Spec Ad and email your completed Spec Ad. But first, you may have to go on my page on Facebook. It’s at: 

https://www.facebook.com/rajani.rajanshriram.

Don’t rush. There is no pressing deadline. You have a good month or two to submit your work. The top three entries in either category can pick my brain for a month.

In the meantime, you could, if you like, send me three of your best published work so I can upload some of the best for all to share.

Who am I? The Notes section will brief you on that.

For any further questions, you may contact me at: rajni.shriram@gmail.com and I’ll try to answer all your queries as soon and as well as I can.

Good luck!

How the page works

How the page works

Whatsoever the matter that goes up here, please remember you are being watched by prospective employers, perhaps even clients.

So do take care about what is said on this page and also how you present your work.

You are solely responsible for the material on this page. This page does not take responsibility for how you present your work nor is it responsible for any misrepresentation of ownership of the work.

The page encourages original and good work. Such work may also be recommended to different agencies but it is not binding for the page to recommend every earnest body of work as that may not be possible. 

However, the page will attempt, as far as is possible, to put in a good word on the page itself for your friends to see and appreciate your work.

 You are entitled to pitch and/or apply for a job, but it is at the discretion of the respective authorities to reserve the right to choose anybody without having to explain the grounds of disqualification. They have the final say, and their decision is binding on all parties concerned.

That, in a nutshell, is how it works.

Rajani Rajan Shriram on Facebook

Dear valued readers,

I am about to embark on a venture on Facebook that I hope will provide some succour to the advertising profession in general and the creatives in particular.

To know more, read the post carefully. If you have any other questions, feel free to send me an email. I would be only too happy to clarify any doubts. Hope you find this helpful.

Here then is the meat of the story:

The purpose of the page

Many people from the creative world complain about the rampant plagiarizing within this, and for that matter any creative industry. Indeed, it is a vexing problem without any signs of clear resolution.

The purpose of this page is to give all those creative geniuses a forum where their original work will be given voice and indeed shape leading to fame.

All that separates talent from a trip to the Mecca of Advertising is that the work they publish has to be original and theirs only beyond doubt.

This is your chance. Stake your claim to fame and watch the agencies vie with one another as they scramble for a piece of you.

For here there are no politics. Only a gentle reminder to be kind and helpful to those made of less stern stuff than you.

With malice towards none, and success to all...

...I wish you all good luck!

 

The Big and Small of it All

The Small Idea Coming from the Stables of a Big Agency

Headlines – Part 4

I was just running through a list of great ads and then it struck me: why must I look for anything else when there’s the, by now much overused Bill Bernbach VW classic, “Think Small”? This ad to me is also a classic example of how copy and art ought to go together. But that, on its own, merits to be a worthy subject of another post. And so without much ado let me hasten to proceed with the purpose of this post, which is, the headline must focus on a single big idea.

And I’ll tell you some more reasons why I call this ad a true blue-blooded classic. It delivers on all the relevant elements of a good headline.

In an age when America was besought with big cars (and pretty damsels in the ads suggesting that if you take the car you get the girl as well) came an ugly small car. And Bernback had a difficult problem to solve: to get the consumer to accept a small car. And from the difficult proposition was born the deceptively simple VW ad: a tiny picture of the small ugly car in the middle of a huge stretch of white space. 

Two famous words urged the people to think differently. True to his philosophy, copy and art worked in perfect harmony and how!

Do I need to explain myself more?

What lesson do you take away from this post?

Like I said there are many. That is why it is a classic. But the one I would like to draw your attention to is the single-minded focus with which Bernbach went to address the issue of persuading the consumer to give the small car some thought.

No ad would be worthy of mention if it did not focus on a single big idea.

Headlines - Part 3

“How many times must a man tell the truth, before you can call him a salesman?”

Headlines – Part 3

If you haven’t guessed that already, those aren’t the words, and even if they were, they would certainly not be mine.

So, I’m repeating the point on truth. So what? It merits an emphasis, right? Truth be told, I couldn’t help making the point with another classic as an example, hence the repetition. Sorry, guys.

Here we go...

Which brings us to the third point: the argument - if you can call it that - must be convincing. The reader should nod her head in affirmation as she reads it. If there is some truth in what you are saying, the consumer who is thinking of buying a similar product would give your brand, especially, some thought, because your statement had some truth in it.

If not an emotional hook, your headlines must have some truth in it.

 That would set him/her thinking and you might just get lucky.

Take for example the De Beers slogan: 

“A Diamond is forever”

Just think. Would we women ever share our diamonds or even think of selling or exchanging it? Isn’t it for keeps? So, isn’t it the truth?  In part, at least? Love isn’t forever and we know it. But don’t we want it to be, without exception? So, it makes us a promise that it is, and we are struck by the emotional selling point that love and diamonds are forever, or at least should be... to a lucky few. So by that logic, I, the consumer, am led to believe that if my beau gifts me a De Beers diamond, our love is for keeps. Wow! To my mind, this slogan lives on even to this day.

What is the lesson you take away from this post?

Tell the consumer the truth, even if it is partial, and allow him/her to make an educated decision whether to buy or not.

Headlines - Part 2

“Honesty, is such a lonely word and advertisements are so untrue”

Headlines – Part 2

Okay, that’s not what Billy Joel sang or meant, but you get the drift!

Most ads, at least in our country, lie, and make no mistake about this, the consumer is aware of it. “it’s an ad, yaar, so obviously it’s a lie. They just want us to buy it,” they say. Would you believe it if someone said that long and strong hair could move a standing car, for example? So, if the consumer feels that way then who is to blame?

Yes, our main aim is to sell, and not all products are attractive enough to sell honestly. But the onus is on us to find the right balance between pleasing our client who wants his product sold, and the consumer, who wants value for his money in order to buy. How is this possible? Here’s how.

We have to find a valued benefit, one that will put a smile on the client’s face and the other on the consumer who can relate to the feeling that the product gives him. That’s right, an emotional hook. Take for example, the classic ad of MasterCard, the slogan for which is:

“There are some things money cannot buy, for everything else, there’s MasterCard”

Do I love this ad! And, why is that? Because I know for a fact that there are some things that cannot be bought, like love; and the second half of the headline sells me the promise that I can buy the rest, anything else, with a MasterCard. Wow! Am I sold! Can you forgive me for the naiveté that MasterCard isn’t doing the buying, my bank account is? What a powerful line! So, yes, I’m hooked; sometimes, if the promise is sincere, for a lifetime. And the client is so pleased that he runs the ad for decades without a word changed! A double whammy.

What gyan do you take away from this post? Whatever you have to say, say it with a little honesty. 

Only when the consumer trusts the salesman is there a possibility that a deal will be made.

Something to Chew On?

Something to Chew On?

Dear Reader,

Over the next few weeks, I intend to bring to light certain topics that will be of as much of an interest to you, I hope, as it has been to me. I hope this story, with your inputs, will give you the answers that you have sought to find through this blog. Without your help, I could not have come this far neither will I be able to go much further. I thank you while continuing to seek your continued patronage. Should you want me to write on any other pressing area that I have not touched I would be delighted to be of some help. Do feel free to email me and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

You could find me at: rajni.shriram@gmail.com

I look forward to have an engaging time with you.

Best,

Rajani

My first salvo:

If it’s not in the head, it’s not in his mind

Headlines – Part 1

By which I mean to say, if the eyes of the reader is not on your headline, the chances are that he has not registered the product and that you have lost him forever. Such is the power of a headline.

But first things first. 

If you have to explain the headline, as I just did mine, the headline is a bad one. A headline can make you pause to think, or leave it to the imagination of the reader to visualize it, but having to explain it? A complete no, no.

Whenever you think up something profound to say, ask yourself this:

Is my line self-explanatory enough or do I have to explain myself by way of a body copy, in which case it would be such a waste of your energy, not to speak of the client’s money. And do you really think the consumer is looking for explanations? He needs an answer to his problems, fast. If you have it, go right ahead and tell him or else let him find another. And by the way, if the consumer reading what I thought was a cool line didn’t understand it, it would mean I just lost a customer because I wanted to be clever.

The lesson to be learnt here is you are not writing lines for the appreciation of the ad fraternity. You are writing for the average Joe or Janani who in all probability may have an IQ of a 15 year-old. You should therefore write to sell to the consumer rather than the Cannes jury, every time, all the time.

How did you like this post? Do you agree? Don’t forget to write your comments at the end of the post. And remember, your opinion enlivens this blog. So feel free to comment. There is no good or bad comment, only interesting comments and what you think, dear reader, is of interest to me. So go ahead and send me a thundering volley and let me see if I can answer it with a resounding one of my own!

Until then, adieus!

Comments @: rajni.shriram@gmail.com

Questions to: r_shriram@yahoo.com