Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Here’s what I learned: There are WAY too many copywriting formulas.

The problem, as you’ll see if you click the link, is there are a ton of formulas for crafting good copy. Pretty much anybody who was a good enough copywriter to be successful was also a good enough to make money teaching it. And of course, they all claimed to be teaching something different. In keeping with the unwritten laws of branding, every copywriter has a system and every system has its own unpronounceable acronym.

What’s really striking to me isn’t the sheer volume of copywriting formulas, however. It’s how they’re all exactly the same. It’s particularly obvious when you see them all laid out against one another like this.

So at the risk of adding my own acronym to the pile, let me save you a lot of reading and summarize....

David Ogilvy puts Don Draper to shame. The original “Mad Man” was known as the Father of Advertising, and left quite a lasting impression on the advertising industry.

His books Ogilvy on Advertising and Confessions of an Advertising Man are staples in an advertising education.

The principles inherent in good advertising are very similar to those present in an effective presentation. The message should be delivered with the utmost clarity, and all words used should be concise. And like all great advertising, a great presentation should be memorable. On September 7, 1982, Ogilvy sent an internal memo to all his agency’s employees with some quick tips on writing. Here are several of them, and how we can apply them to our presentations...

[Classic advice to writers all types from David Ogilvy ~ Jeff]