Writing Persuasive Media Copy
Developing and writing
Commercials, Promotions, and
Announcements
Persuasion
• Persuasion is a type of communication that
interests many people
– advertiser
– political candidates and parties
– public organizations such as public health
organizations or MADD
– religious organizations
Spot Lengths
• Generally 30 seconds or 60 seconds
• Estimating time by words
– “dime” spot -20 to 25 words “wall to wall”
– 30 second spot -70 to 80 words “wall to wall”
– split 30 -two 15 second spots
– 60 second -135-145 “wall to wall”
Persuasive Spots
• Commercial Spots
• The Public Service
Announcement -PSA
• Promo or promotional
• Station ID
– You are listening to
W-U-A-G, one-oh-three
point one, Greensboro.
Persuasive Strategies
Strategies
Psychodynamic or Meaning
Socio-cultural
“learn-feel-do” Construction
Audience Analysis
• Demographics • Psychographics
– age, gender, economic – lifestyles, interests,
level, political attitudes, beliefs
orientation, occupation,
education, ethnicity,
geographical location
Audience Analysis
• Affirmative audience
• Dissident audience
• Skeptical audience
• Apathetic audience
Creativity
• Creative people will
make unlikely
combinations to make
a point or draw
attention
• The same is true of
copywriters
Persuasive Creativity
•Writers for Trigon Blue
Cross designed this spot
for television, but the spot
found its way to the
internet, where it is passed
around because it is so
Windows Media Mac QuickTime cute. What a tribute to its
creators.
Notice how two unlikely
things are paired:
•A little boy talking about
a movie
•And health care
Rational and Emotional Appeals
Understanding human motivation
Logical and Emotional Appeals
• Logical Appeals
– persuasion based on
facts or product claims
– product or service fills
practical needs
– economy
– safety
– performance
– maintenance
Logical and Emotional Appeals
• Emotional Appeals
– appeals to
emotional needs
such as power or
prestige
– sex appeal
– patriotism
– family values
– peer acceptance
Appeals and Needs
• Advertisers construct the persuasive
appeals of commercial messages based on
their perceptions of audience needs.
Human Needs
• Abraham Maslow
established the theory
of a hierarchy of
human needs,
believing that human
beings are motivated
to action by
unsatisfied needs.
Maslowe’s Hierarchy
• Certain lower needs
must be realized
before higher needs
can be satisfied, just as
a person must cross
lower stairs in order to
reach the top step.
Abraham Maslow
• According to Maslow,
there are general types
of needs (physiological,
safety, love, and
esteem) that must be
satisfied before a person
can reach self-
actualization (and act
unselfishly).
Satisfying Needs
• Satisfying needs is
healthy, blocking
gratification of needs can
makes us sick or evil. We
are all "needs junkies"
with cravings that must
be satisfied and should
be satisfied. Else, we
become sick and
dysfunctional.
Physiological Needs
• Most Basic
• Air
• Water
• Food
• Sleep
• Clothing
• Shelter
Safety Needs
• Establishing stability
and consistency in a
chaotic world
• Safety can be
Psychological
• Safety needs can
motivate religious belief
–religion can comfort
with the promise of a
secure place after we
die and leave the
insecurity of this world
Love Needs
• Human beings have a
desire to belong to
groups, clubs, families,
couples
• We need nonsexual love
-- to be accepted and
appreciated by others
• We need friends
Esteem Needs
• Peer Esteem
• Self Esteem – Attention and
– Competence and recognition from others
mastery of tasks for our competencies
– Can be related to desire
for power
Self-Actualization
• The desire to reach the
fullest self potential
• Seek knowledge, inner
peace, aesthetic
experiences, oneness
with God, etc.
Audiences and Attitudes
• Need Driven
Audiences
1. Survivors
rooted in poverty
2. Sustainers
fortunes drastically
ebb and flow with the
state of the economy
Outer-Directed Audiences
Belongers –largest and least
wealthy-- being accepted is
extremely important to this group
--tend to prefer heritage brands
Emulators –want to be accepted,
noticed and envied-will sacrifice
economy and maintenance for
looks
Achievers –have acquired success
and economic status but continue
to push for more social prizes
Inner-Directed Audiences
• I-Am-Me Audience –
group in transition –
unpredictable
• Experientials –securely
inner-directed, concerned
with self expression and
personal goals
• Socially conscious –
personal needs defined by
social responsibility
Integrated Audience
• Making up no more than two percent of
the population, this group is so self-
assured they can combine both inner and
outer directed values in their preferences
without self- contradiction.
Logical Appeals
• Advertising appeals to needs at the basic
and middle rungs of the hierarchy of
human needs.
• Appeals to physiological needs
• Safety needs
• Needs for community or belonging
• Tend to involve claims of fact
SIMPLE Logical Appeals
• S afety
• I ndulgence
• M aintenance
• P erformance
• L ooks
• E conomy
Safety
• Listeners and viewers want to
know if a product will make
them sick, ruin their plumbing
or injure the psyches of their
children
• Consumer and industry action
groups have caused the
advertising of tobacco to be
banned for safety reasons
• Advertisers appealing to safety
assure consumers that their
product is safe to use
Indulgence
Traveling first class
may be an indulgence –
more expensive than
economy- but may also
make someone traveling
for business more
productive –arriving
rested and ready to
work.
Maintenance
• Some things involve more
upkeep from the consumer
than others
• A product that is useful
for a long time or a service
with long term benefits
may overcome a higher
sticker price
• A product that must be
replaced, fixed or repaired
often may not command
as high a value.
Performance
• Will the product
or service
function in the
way the
consumer
expects?
• Does it meet a
consumer’s
need?
Looks
• Often considered an
emotional attraction –the
least rational
• Evaluates on how
appealing something is to
the eye
• For example, it is
rationally important that
paint look good –its
primary function is visual.
Economy
• Deals directly
with costs
• If something is
expensive, is it
worth what you
pay for?
• Is an activity
wasteful?
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Rational Appeal: Supercuts
Emotional Appeals
• Deal with needs on
the middle to upper
rungs of the
hierarchy.
• Human desire for
amusement and
pleasure.
Emotional Appeals
• PLEASURE
• P eople Interest
• L aughter
• E nlightenment
• A llurement
• S ensation
• U niqueness
• R ivalry
• E steem
Emotional Appeals
• People Interest –nosiness, human curiosity about others
• Laughter –human enjoyment of humor
• Enlightenment –need for information
• Allurement –sex appeal
• Sensation –senses --sight, sound, taste, smell, touch
• Uniqueness -novelty
• Rivalry –the drama of conflict
• Esteem –snob appeal
Emotional Appeal: Fruit of the Loom
Emotional Appeal: Fruit of the Loom
Emotional Appeal: Fruit of the Loom
Emotional Appeal: Fruit of the Loom
Emotional Appeal: Fruit of the Loom
Emotional Appeal: Fruit of the Loom
Commercial Noncopy Data
Block
• A standardized
memorandum –keeps
track of scripted
messages and their
scheduling
• Dates
– Submitted for
review
– Revision submitted
– Revision approved
– production
Noncopy data block
• Agency
• Client line –firm’s official corporate designation
• Product line- specific product/service being advertised
• Spot title
• Length –run time of the spot
• Specific script number –for specific ID and
correspondence –can id the originating agency, client or
company for which the spot is written, location in the total
number of spots that agency produced for that client, year
aired, medium, length
• Example BE-167-04R (B&E chemicals, 167 treatment for
that client, aired in 2004, radio)
Types of Radio Commercials
• Univoice (straight) commercial
• Multivoice commercial
– Both voices speak directly to the listener-
not each other
• Dialogue Commercial
– little radio drama
• Musical Commercial
– Pseudo-sound effect
– Slogan/sales point enhancer
– Backdrop
– Lyric vehicle
Ad-lib spot
• Use only with known talent, strong on-air
personality or DJ with a wide listener
following
• Writer prepares not copy but a fact sheet
• Radio stations that have top D-Js ad-lib
copy often charge a premium for that
service
The Music Spot as Pseudo-SFX
– MUSIC: IMPRESSIVE DRUM ROLL
– ANNCR: In 1985, an old American soft drink
changed its formula.
– MUSIC: BRASSY FANFARE STARTS,
WINDS DOWN TO A PITIFUL STOP
– ANNCR: You were not amused.
Musical Spots
• Slogan or sales point enhancement
• Music “bed” or backdrop
• Lyric Spot
– open donut --spot begins with lyric followed by
announcer copy, lyric is not reintroduced
– closed donut --spot begins with lyric, followed
by announcer copy, lyric concludes the spot.
Tenets of good radio copy
• Stay conversational
• Remain present and active
• Keep humor in bounds
• Stress sponsor identification
• Conclude with energy
• Call for action
Things to Avoid
• Question Lead-ins
• Clichés
• Superlatives
• Talking down to audience
• Confusing statements
• Offensive
language/visuals
Question lead-ins
• Avoid lead-in questions that invite a yes or
no answer or invite audiences to mentally
argue with you.
– POOR: Are you looking for an inexpensive
way to cool your home?
– BETTER: Here’s an inexpensive way to cool
your home.
Avoid Clichés and Superlatives
• Clichés • Superlatives
– Conveniently located... – fantastic
– Stop in soon... – unbelievable savings
– The next time you’re in – lowest possible prices
the mood for… – outstanding
– But wait! There’s – tremendous
more!
– super
– For all your ___needs.
Political Persuasion
• Political advertising has
become a critical part of
any candidates campaign
• Here is Robert Goodman,
who specializes in
Republican candidates,
discussing two of his
successful spots
• A successful spot is one
that gets your candidate
Windows Media Mac QuickTime
(client) elected.
Political Persuasion
• Political advertising
has become a critical
part of any candidates
campaign
• A successful spot is
one that gets your
candidate (client)
elected.
Windows Media Mac QuickTime
Production in Advertising
• This spot has all the
production values of a
Hollywood film,
though produced in
Europe.
• What gives the spot its
impact?
Windows Media Mac QuickTime
Humor in Advertising
As you might tell from
the examples used in
this presentation,
humor can play a
powerful role in
advertising. But the
joke must never
Windows Media Mac QuickTime interfere with the
message. What is the
message of this spot?
Persuasion
• To induce someone to
act by argument,
entreaty, appeal.
• To develop or change
an opinion