A good ad is a marvelous, magical thing. An
object of emotion as well as intellect. A work
of art.
Once you’ve done one, you know what a good ad
can do. Turn nerves taut. Make fellows mellow.
Raise eyebrows or raise hopes. Inspire or
intimidate or influence. Impart information that
motivates action.
A great copywriter once wrote, “A good ad is
like a good sermon: It not only comforts the
afflicted, it also inflicts the comfortable.”
But the question of the moment is this: How do
you know — before a single living colleague,
client or consumer has laid eyes on it — that
you’ve done a good ad? That it’s the right time
to stop all the thinking, talking, writing,
doodling and designing. The right time to click
on “save” and call a meeting?
It ain’t easy, knowing that moment. Because a
good ad isn’t like the 99-yard run kickoff
return that everybody in the stadium can follow
as it turns into a touchdown. Or the 4th of July
fireworks display that gets everyone oohing and
aahing in unison.
A good ad is hard to recognize. Often because
it’s hiding in blah advertising meetings and
windy memos. Lost in dim product descriptions
and lengthy creative briefs. Or even gone
missing inside another ad.
A good ad is difficult to get your hands on.
Like a glob of mercury on a glass tabletop.
Slippery and elusive. (On the other hand, Leo
Burnett said, “I have learned that any fool can
write a bad ad, but it takes a real genius to
keep his hands off a good one.”)
A good ad will sometimes show itself when you
least expect it. While you’re in the shower, at
a movie, listening to the latest from Eminem, or
having a couple of quiet beers. Sometimes, even
when you’re working on something else.
Every now and then, a good ad will sneak up on
you from out of the blue. Or from within
yourself. A dream, a hunch, a personal
experience. David Ogilvy, in The Art of Writing
Advertising, wrote: “Some of the good (ads) I
have done have really come out of the real
experience of my life, and somehow this has come
over as true and valid and persuasive.”
A good ad is a subject about which you’ll hear a
lot of views. A lot of people will tell you an
ad is good if it wins awards. Some will say a
good ad is one that “sells product.” Others will
say an ad is good only if it “tests well.” And
more cynical others will say a good ad is “any
ad the client buys.”
John Caples, who created enough good ads in his
career to get him into the Copywriters’ Hall of
Fame and the Advertising Hall of Fame, opined
that “… you’re almost sure to have a good ad,
if you come up with a good headline.” And Bill
Bernbach of Volkswagen “Lemon” fame believed
that good ads are often the ones that “take
chances.”
Still, while all the preceding identifiers may
be interesting, they are all descriptors after
the fact. None of them tells you how to know, at
the moment you’ve done it, that you have done a
good ad. How do you decide when to take this
beast you’ve created and lock it up in a cage
for all the rest of the world to see?
Two little words: Your gut.
Intangible, unsupportable, unprovable. But
unbeatable.
You may be suspicious of it, but you know it’s
never failed you. You can’t evaluate it easily
or readily define it but, deep down, you know
you can’t ignore it.
You know a good ad when you know it in your gut.
And that’s an easy thing to know.
Walter is a professional advertising copywriter
who writes, edits and publishes “Words @ Work”,
a FREE bimonthly newsletter of advice and
information about writing that works. To view
his award-winning portfolio and to subscribe
visit http://www.walterburek.com. You may also
subscribe by mail to: WordsAtWork@comcast.net
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