Writing your way ahead in advertising

by Kemeny, Thomas

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Headlines

• Make headlines grand, about bigger truths. 
• Remove words “like,” “stuff,” and “things,” out of headlines.
• Break the language. Never let people guess your next word.
• Write body copy, then headline.
• Reference literature for metaphors. Use well-known sayings.
• Be bland, then add sparkles.
• Make line from brief cute.
• Big/Small, High/Low (e.g. Pay little, Get loads”)
• Duck Duck Goose
• Verb a noun (e.g. Feather past, Hammer away, Anchor in)

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Body Copy

• Start in the middle. Get rid of the first sentence, or para.
• Think structural, not linear.
• For a good cause. Controversy. Celebrity support.
• Make the solution more interesting than the problem.
• No need to reiterate something known.

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Communicate

• Take a breath.
• Talk slowly.
• Use the word “smart”, not “cool”.
• Perform, rather than present. 
• Don’t wait for someone else to hand you an opportunity. 

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General Advice

• Weasel your way in.
• Learning is part of your role.
• Nobody knows or cares who you are.
• Let people lift, influence, and inspire you.
• Learn to take a punch.
• You are uniquely qualified. There’s a reason you got hired.
• Find your spokesperson, someone you will never disappoint. 
• Top that one piece of your work that doesn’t suck.
• Be a little smarter, and a little more persistent than others.
• Give recruiters a reason to say “this is why I brought this person in,”.

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