Junior: Writing Your Way Ahead In Advertising by Kemeny, Thomas

———-

Headlines

1. Make headlines grand, about bigger truths. 

2. Remove words “like,” “stuff,” and “things,” out of headlines.

3. Break the language. Never let people guess your next word.

4. Write body copy, then headline.

5. Reference literature for metaphors. Use well-known sayings.

6. Be bland, then add sparkles.

7. Make line from brief cute.

8. Big/Small, High/Low (e.g. Pay little, Get loads”)

9. Duck Duck Goose

10. Verb a noun (e.g. Feather past, Hammer away, Anchor in)

Body Copy

1. Start in the middle. Get rid of the first sentence, or para.

2. Think structural, not linear.

3. For a good cause. Controversy. Celebrity support.

4. Make the solution more interesting than the problem.

5. No need to reiterate something known.

Communicate

1. Take a breath.

2. Talk slowly.

3. Use the word “smart”, not “cool”.

4. Perform, rather than present. 

5. Don’t wait for someone else to hand you an opportunity. 

General Advice

1. Weasel your way in.

2. Learning is part of your role.

3. Nobody knows or cares who you are.

4. Let people lift, influence, and inspire you.

5. Learn to take a punch.

6. You are uniquely qualified. There’s a reason you got hired.

7. Find your spokesperson, someone you will never disappoint. 

8. Top that one piece of your work that doesn’t suck.

9. Be a little smarter, and a little more persistent than others.

10. Give recruiters a reason to say “this is why I brought this person in,”.