This post is affectionately dedicated to the legions of copywriters out there who may be wondering if they’re creative enough.
Every day, we writers create—I hesitate to say “grind out,” though it sometimes feels that way—reams of copy. We write from scratch, or we take what clients throw over the fence and clean it up. At a minimum, we create an acceptable product. And when the gods are with us and the winds favorable, we can look with pride on what we’ve done.
I’ve just begun to re-read Ogilvy on Advertising, a wonderful book that retains much of its relevance 27 years after initial publication. I’m newly encouraged by what this curmudgeon of creativity says.
Ogilvy opines that advertising—and by extension, copywriting—is not “entertainment or an art form.” His standard of excellence is simple, though not necessarily easy to achieve. “When I write an advertisement,” he says, “I don’t want you to tell me that you find it creative. I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product.”
That’s what my colleagues and I do every day. We write the prose that explains what a product (or service) does and why it will make you happy, popular, or successful in your career. We urge you to buy, lease, sign up, become an early adopter, take the plunge. If, as Ogilvy notes, our words move prospects from contemplation to action, we’ve served our clients and our own creative impulses well.
Michael Neuendorff says
Ogilvy was right! If the reader of an ad isn’t moved to action it doesn’t matter how many awards the ad receives for the client still has a lonely cash register. Thanks for the reminder of what it’s all about at the end of the day.