Writing copy for advertisements is closer to writing poetry than prose.
Why this is may not be apparent at first. After all, most copy does read like a paragraph from the newspaper. Most poetry seeks after truth or beauty, but in contrast, the end purpose of prose, excluding literary fiction, is communication. Copy shares this end purpose. If people ignore or misunderstand its message, then it has failed. Of course, people themselves represent so many uncontrollable variables that neither the copy nor copywriter is always at fault.
Though good copy is intended to grab attention and communicate, it conveys its message the same way as poetry. A poem is always more than the sum of its parts. A dog is never just a dog. A tree is more than a tree. Nothing in a poem is what it seems. The red wheelbarrow in William Carlos Williams’s well-known poem signified more than “farm implement.”
Each word in a poem and the images they create together must carry its share of the message. Even those words that don’t seem to make meaning or help build a poem’s mood or tone may by their very blandness or vacuity provide another texture or layer. Think about the way negative space in a photograph or graphic makes the focal points more powerful. A rest in a piano concerto has the same purpose.
Too much text in an advertisement leaves no room for the “negative space” that amplifies the core message. A good tagline distills that core message into its most basic and powerful elements. Less is more. We know we’re supposed to read between the lines of these elements. A tagline has a vehicle—the words themselves—and a tenor—what the writer hopes his or her carefully chosen words will convey, the deeper meaning of the message.
Take, for example, Nike’s famous slogan, “Just Do It.” The folks at Wieden & Kennedy were saying more than “Carpe diem.” They wanted to capture Nike’s brand and to communicate its mission, values and unique value proposition at the same time. “Just Do It” evokes an attitude or posture towards life that Nike wanted to “own.”
Like poetry, good copy endures and becomes a part of popular culture and the public consciousness because it carries a tenor: invisible cargo that separates the Wall Street Journal from Macbeth, “Just Do It” from that athletic shoe company that you never choose.
Morris Creative Group offers a spectrum of copywriting, advertising, marketing and branding services. Let us know if you need some invisible cargo.