ADVERTISING HEADLINE

A headline is a word or phrase printed in large letters above the advertising message. Headline gives in brief a fair, idea of the contents of the copy. 

A good headline attracts attention and arouses interest. So that the reader would be induced to read the advertisement. 

Normally, the headline finds  the entire copy. Some advertising men believe that 50% to 75% of the performance of an advertisement must be credited to the headline. As people go through a newspaper or a magazine the headline is the only thing that attracts its attention. Thus the headline carriages the heaviest burden of attracting readers to the advertisement. 

 Role of Headline:

A headline plays a significant role in advertise by performing the following important functions :

 a. to attract attention of readers to the ad;

 b. to attract attention of the target consumers easily and quickly and to persuade them to read the whole of the ad; 

c. to create curiosity and interest in the ad;

 d. to make the illustration and the copy more meaningful; 

e. to introduce a unique selling proposition; 

f. to sort out useful ads from useless ads;

g. to serve as the essence of the whole ad copy.

 In the words of David Ogilvy, the advertising guru, “The headline is the most important element in most advertising. It is the telegram, which decides for the reader whether to read the copy”. 

 Essentials of a Good Headline :

1. Original : 

A good headline should be unique and should not be an immitation of any other headline. Originality of headline creates a separate interest in the minds of readers.

 2. Concise : 

A good headline must be brief i.e. it should not have more than 8 to 10 words and should form a maximum of two lines. 

3. Specific : 

The headline should be relevant and appropriate to the copy and illustration. It should convey the advertising message specifically and not vaguely.

4. Provocative : 

A good headline should be forceful enough to induce the readers to go through the copy and the entire advertisement.

 Classification of Headlines 

1. Benefits Headline : Such headlines indicates the benefits of the product or the service advertised. 

2. News Style Headline : It emphasises on the quality, performances, services, advantages of the product list this types, words like „Now‟. „Atleast‟ etc. are added to the headline.

 3. Advice Headline : It advices the customers to purchase a product or avail of a service which will be beneficial to them. e.g. “How to bake better cakes”. 

4. Challenging Type of Headline : This type of headline challenges the customer about the quality service, price, performance etc. Such headlines emphasis on the superiority of the advertisers product.. 

5. Selective Headline : A selective headline is directly appealed to a selected group of customers. It may be specially directed towards children, students, housewives to be used by those selected customers. 

6. Situation Headline : It puts the customer in a situation and enquires whether the prefers to be in such a situation. Such headlines supports the illustration. 

7. Label Headline : A label headline announces not only about the lable of the product but also the selling points. Such headlines are „introducing type‟ or „warning type‟