Here’s an important ad copywriting lesson of which I first became consciously aware years ago during a conversation with Dick Orkin.
He was telling me about a radio advertising campaign the Famous Radio Ranch had done in South Florida.
The big U.S.P. was the superiority of the client’s service over that of the established market leader: the dominant regional newspaper.
They made that the focus of the entire campaign: how lame the newspaper’s service was compared to their client’s (which was just being introduced to that market).
One of the local radio stations balked at airing the spot, because they didn’t “want to upset the newspaper.”
“How much money does the newspaper spend advertising on your station?” asked Dick.
“Uh…Nothing. They’ve never advertised with us.”
“So what’s the problem?”
The campaign aired as written, and it was hugely successful: Soon the client had a larger market share of that particular service than the newspaper.
As Dick told me the story, I had an aha! experience. When writing copy, I’ve always looked for strong themes and strong lines.
But until that moment I never consciously sought to pounce on them; I viewed them as vehicles to help deliver the sales message.
Ever since then, however, when I find myself writing an “edgy” line that powerfully drives home that message, I’m quite willing to throw away the original script and start all over, with that provocative line as the radio commercial’s focal point.
To use a boxing metaphor: If you discover your fighter has a powerful left jab, don’t just hope that he occasionally throws it; build your fight plan around that left jab.
