Film Genres

In film theory  genre  refers to the method based on similarities in the narrative elements from which films are constructed. Films were not really subjected to genre analysis by film historians until the 1970s. All films have at least one major genre.

Film genres can be categorized in several ways. They are 

1.    The  environment or setting where the story and action takes place, 

2.    The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around. 

3.    The mood is the emotional tone of the film. 

4.    The Format refers to the way the film was shot or the manner of presentation (e.g.: 35 mm,16 mm or 8 mm).  and 

5.    The target audience. 

Listed below are some of the most common and identifiable film genre categories, / type or category.

Action films 
Action films usually include high energy, big-budget physical stunts and chases, possibly with rescues, battles, fights, escapes, destructive crises floods, explosions, natural disasters, fires, etc. A major sub-genre is the disaster film.

Adventure films
Adventure films are usually exciting stories, with new experiences or exotic locales, very similar to or often paired with the action film genre. 

Thriller

Thriller and suspense films are  types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wracking tension. The acclaimed Master of Suspense is Alfred Hitchcock. 

Dramatic films

Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre, with many subsets. Melodramas,epics,historical dramas or romantic  genres. Dramas are serious, plot-driven presentations, portraying realistic characters, settings, life situations, and stories involving intense character development and interaction.

Horror films
 Horror films feature a wide range of styles, from  CGI monsters to deranged humans. The fantasy and super natural  film genres are not usually synonymous with the horror genre. There are many sub-genres of horror: teen terror, serial killers, Satanic, etc. Horror films are designed to frighten and to invoke our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale, while captivating and entertaining us at the same time in a purifying experience.

Crime (gangster)

Crime (gangster) films are developed around the sinister actions of criminals or mobsters, particularly bank robbers, underworld figures, or ruthless hood who operate outside the law, stealing and murdering their way through life.  This category includes a description of various 'serial killer' films.

Comedies

Comedies are light-hearted plots consistently and deliberately designed to amuse and provoke laughter jokes, etc. by exaggerating the situation, the language, action, relationships and characters. This section describes various forms of comedy    including slapstick,   and parodies, romantic comedies, black comedy, and more

                                      

Biopics
Biopics' is a term derived from the combination of the words "biography" and "pictures." They are a sub-genre of the larger drama and epic film genres, These films depict the life of an important historical personage (or group) from the past or present era

Sci-fi films

Sci-fi films are often quasi-scientific, visionary and imaginative - complete with heroes, aliens, distant planets, impossible quests, improbable settings, fantastic places, unknown and unknowable forces, and extraordinary monsters, either created by mad scientists or by nuclear havoc. Science fiction often expresses the potential of technology to destroy humankind

 Film noir 

Film noir (meaning 'black film') is a distinct branch of the crime or gangster  the crime/gangster sagas from the 1930s. Strictly speaking, film noir is not a genre, but rather the mood, style or tone of various American films that evolved in the 1940s, and lasted in a classic period until about 1960.  film noir, or suspense or thriller films that focus on the unsolved crime usually the murder or disappearance of one or more of the characters, or a theft, and on the central character - the hard-boiled detective-hero, as he/she meets various adventures and challenges in the cold and methodical pursuit of the criminal or the solution to the crime.

Fantasy films
Fantasy films, usually considered a sub-genre, are most likely to overlap with the film genres of science fiction and horror, although they are distinct. They often have an element of magic, myth, wonder, and the extraordinary. One of the major categories of fantasy-action films are the super-hero movies, based quite often on an original comic-strip or comic book character. They may appeal to both children and adults, depending upon the particular film.

Road films

The on-the-road plot was used at the birth of American cinema but blossomed in the years after World War II, reflecting a boom in automobile production and the growth of youth culture. Even so, awareness of the "road picture" as a genre came only in the 1960s A road film is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. The genre has its roots in spoken and written tales of epic journeys.

The Motorcycle Diaries:The Motorcycle Diaries  is a 2004 biopic about the journey and written memoir of the 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara, who would several years later become internationally known as the iconic Marxist guerrilla commander and revolutionary Che Guevara.

War and Anti-War Films
War and Anti-War Films provide the primary plot or background for the action of the film. Typical elements in the action-oriented war plots include  camp experiences and escapes,  personal heroism . Themes explored in war films include combat, survivor and escape stories, tales of gallant sacrifice and struggle, studies of the futility and inhumanity of battle, the effects of war on society, and intelligent and profound explorations of the moral and human issues.

War films can also make political statements - unpopular wars (such as the Vietnam War and the Iraq War), have generated both supportive and critical films about the conflict  

Holocaust Films:

Steven Spielberg's award-winning epic   Schindler's List (1993) presented the devastating story of the Holocaust through the actions of womanizing German industrialist/war profiteer Oscar Schindler (Liam Neeson) who saved a thousand Jewish lives. Spielberg And exiled Best Director Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002), with a Best Actor Oscar for lead actor Adrien Brody, was the harrowing story of survival for Jewish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman during the Holocaust.

War films are often paired with other genres, such s romance, comedy (black), and suspense-thrillers.  War films as a major film genre emerged after the outbreak of World War I

 

Musical/dance films

Musical/dance films are cinematic forms that emphasize full-scale scores or song and dance routines in a significant way. This films are centered on combinations of music, dance, song or choreography. Major sub genres include the musical comedy or the concert film. 

Sports Films
Sports Films are those that have a sports setting (football or baseball stadium, arena, or the Olympics, etc.), competitive event or athlete that are central and predominant in the story. 

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Layout of Ad Copy (Six Layouts) - ADVERTISEMENTS

An ad copy consists of various parts, elements, or ingredients. Which parts and how many parts should be included depend on the media through which the advertising message is to be communicated?   It includes headlines, slogans, test, illustrations, pictures, sponsor, and logotype.

It is a physical arrangement of presenting the message. It is like a map, design, or structure of advertising message. It is a technical job that requires a high degree of expertise, skills, and experience. All ingredients are presented in such a way that attracts the reader, listener, and/or viewer to attend the advertisement.

Order must be decided carefully.

Practically, an advertising copy includes one or more of the following parts:

1. Headlines:

 Headlines are crucial for print advertisements. They include attractive description written in colorful bold letters at the top or anywhere in the advertisement. Attractive fonts are used to make the headline eye-catching. Headlines may contain slogans. For example, More Smile per Mile by TVS Victor, Japanese quality, at Chinese price, available in India by Orpat Home Appliances, Elora Times Ltd. Mostly, headlines are written in bold letters. Headlines suggest major benefits, offers, or time limit. For example, special offers open only for two days.

 2. Slogans:

Slogans are made of words and sentences. They are expressed in a rhythmic manner. Slogans are used for every type of advertisement such as TV, radio, outdoor, and print media. Slogans are presented or written at the beginning, at the middle, or at the end of advertisement.

In audio-visual media, a slogan is presented with musical effect by using persons or cartoon characters. Slogans have popularized some brands and companies.  Slogans are indicative of key themes the advertiser insists to appeal the audience.

3. Text:

The text is the central part of ad copy. It contains a description. It is prepared with reference to advertising objectives. For example, a company gives more description if company’s objective is to provide more information. Text should neither be too lengthy nor be too short. Text includes theme or appeal to the customers.

It describes major benefits of products. The claim must suggest an absolute or a comparative superiority of the products. Most text shows product benefits, special offers, time, availability, quality, etc. Text is prepared differently for different media. For example, space is important for print media; time is important for audio-visual media; size is important for outdoor media.

 4. Illustration:

Illustrations are used to make the advertising claim clear and attractive. Here picture, character, cartoons, charts, etc., are used to illustrate an use of the product. In the illustration, claims are made through celebrities. In many cases, they are shown using the products. TV advertisement uses film stars, artists, or cricketers to illustrate the use of the product.

5. Pictures:

Use of pictures is more or less similar to illustration. However, pictures are more relevant to print media. Pictures include products, brands, persons, etc., presented in systematic manner. Here, also, products and brands are associated with film stars, cricketers, and well-known cartoon characters.

6. Sponsor and logotype:

 Ad copy also includes name of company, sponsor, brand or logotype to assist customers recognize the name of producers and/or marketers. Name of producer or logotype is kept either at the beginning or at the end of advertisement. Some advertisements include full name and address of company, including registered office, regional offices, its website, e-mail, phone, fax, etc. Use of sponsor or logotype popularizes name of a company along with products and brands. In audio-visual advertisements, the name of company is shown and/or spoken.

 

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IMPORTANCE & CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING

 IMPORTANCE OF ADVERTISING

 Advertising has become an essential marketing activity in the modern era of large-scale production and serve competition in the market. It performs the following functions:

1. Promotion of Sales: It promotes the sale of goods and services by informing and persuading the people to buy them. A good advertising campaign helps in winning new customers both in the national as wet as in the international markets.

 2. Introduction of New Product: It helps the introduction of new products in the market. A business enterprise can introduce itself and its product to the public through advertising. A new enterprise can't make an impact on the prospective customers without the help of advertising. Advertising enables quick publicity in the market.

3. Creation of Good Public Image: It builds up the reputation of the advertiser. Advertising enables a business firm to communicate its achievements in an effort to satisfy the customers' needs. This increases the goodwill and reputation of the firm which is necessary to fight against competition in the market.

4. Mass Production: Advertising facilitates large-scale production. Advertising encourages production of goods in large-scale because the business firm knows that it will be able to sell on large-scale with the help of advertising. Mass production reduces the cost of production per unit by the economical use of various factors of production.

 5. Research: Advertising stimulates research and development activities. Advertising has become a competitive marketing activity. Every firm tries to differentiate its product from the substitutes available in the market through advertising. This compels every 5 business firm to do more and more research to find new products and their new uses. If a firm does not engage in research and development activities, it will be out of the market in the near future.

6. Education of People: Advertising educate the people about new products and their uses. Advertising message about the utility of a product enables the people to widen their knowledge. It is advertising which has helped people in adopting new ways of life and giving-up old habits. It has contributed a lot towards the betterment of the standard of living of the society.

7. Support to Press: Advertising provides an important source of revenue to the publishers and magazines. It enables to increase the circulation of their publication by selling them at lower rates. People are also benefited because they get publications at cheaper rates. Advertising is also a source of revenue for TV network. For instance, Doordarshan and ZeeTV insert ads before, in between and after various programmes and earn millions of rupees through ads. Such income could be used for increasing the quality of programmes and extending coverage.

 7. CHARACTERISTICS OF ADVERTISING

 · Paid Form: Advertising requires the advertiser (also called sponsor) to pay to create an advertising message, to buy advertising media slot, and to monitor advertising efforts.

 · Tool for Promotion: Advertising is an element of promotion mix of an organization. Advertising and Sales Promotion Page 6

· One Way Communication: Advertising is a one way communication where a brands communicate to the customers through different mediums.

· Personal Or Non-Personal: Advertising can be non-personal as in the case of TV, radio, or newspaper advertisements, or highly personal as in the case of social media and other cookie based advertisements.

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OBJECTIVES OF ADVERTISING

 The fundamental purpose of advertising is to sell something - a product, a service or an idea. 

OBJECTIVES OF ADVERTISING

There are 3 main objectives of advertising. These are:

 

TO INFORM: Advertisements are used to increase the brand awareness and brand exposure in the target market. Informing the potential customers about the brand and its products is the first step towards attaining business goals.

 

TO PERSUADE: Persuading customers to perform a particular task is a prominent objective of advertising. The tasks may involve buying or trying the products and services offered, to from Advertising and Sales Promotion Page 5 a brand image, develop a favourable attitude towards the brand etc.

 

TO REMIND:  Another objective of advertising is to reinforce the brand message and to reassure the existing and potential customers about the brand vision. Advertising helps the brand to maintain top of mind awareness and to avoid competitors stealing the customers. This also helps in the word of mouth marketing.

 

In addition to this general objective, advertising is also used by the modern business enterprises for certain specific objectives which are listed below :

1. To introduce a new product by creating interest for it among the prospective customers.

2. To support personal selling programme.

 3. To reach people inaccessible to salesman.

 4. To enter a new market or attract a new group of customers.

5. To light competition in the market.

 6. To enhance the goodwill of the enterprise by promising better-quality products and services.

 7. To improve dealer relations.

 8. To warn the public against imitation of an enterprise's products.

These subsets are:

· Brand Building

 · Increasing Sales

 · Creating Demand

· Engagement

· Expanding Customer Base

· Changing Customers’ attitudes, etc

 

The basic objectives of an advertising programme may be listed as below:

(i)                To stimulate sales amongst present, former and future consumers. It involves decision regarding the media, e.g., TV versus Print.

(ii)              To communicate with consumers. This involves decision regarding copy.

(iii)           To retain the loyalty of present and former consumers. Advertising may be used to reassure buyers that they have made the best purchase, thus building loyalty to the brand name or the firm.

(iv)            To increase support. Advertising impliedly bolsters the morale of the sales force and of distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, to instill confidence in organization.

(v)              To project an image. Advertising is used to promote an overall image of respect and trust for an organization. This message is aimed not only at consumers, but also at the government, shareholders, and the general public.

 

 

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A Copywriter, COPYWRITING &types of copywriting

COPYWRITING

 In advertising, Copy refers to the text, or words, used in an advertisement. 

The Body copy is the actual paragraphs of supporting text adding additional facts and benefits to the headline and greater concept.

Copywriting, in the first instance, is the creative process of conceptualizing advertisements and marketing devices such as events and other platforms promoting brands or services.

Copywriting basically means, taking powerful, emotion evoking word pictures and showing the reader that his or her life would be more complete - better, easier, more productive, more profitable, happier, whatever - if that reader owned what it is that owner are selling.

Who Is A Copywriter?

The best copywriters in the world are those who are curious about life, read a great deal, have many hobbies, like to travel, have a variety of interests, often master many skills, get bored and then look for other skills to master. They hunger for experience and knowledge and find other people interesting. They are very good listeners 

Edward de Bono, one of the great creative thinkers of our time, came up with the term "lateral thinking" to describe the process of coming up with ideas by not focusing or thinking of just the problem. Often, by relating the problem to something that has nothing to do with the problem, a new idea emerges

Probably one of the most important keys in copywriting and conceptualizing is the ability to relate totally divergent concepts to create a new concept. Once again, the more data you have to work with from your life experiences and the more your mind can relate this data to a problem, the better you are going to be at coming up with that really great idea.

the definition of good copywriting

Copywriting is a mental process the successful execution of which reflects the sum total of all your experiences, your specific knowledge and your ability to mentally process that information and transfer it onto a sheet of paper for the purpose of selling a product or service.

Copywriting is simply a written form of communicating facts and emotions. It is a mental process.Copywriting is the key to any successful direct marketing venture.

copywriting is primarily the mental process of first getting your thoughts organrzed in your mind and then eventually transferring them onto paper.

Don'l Worry about lhe First Draft 

Another fact to reahze about writing copy is that the first draft of an ad is often terrible and the real skill in copywriting is taking that rough draft and polishing it. You might add words, delete entire sentences, change the order of sentences or even paragraph.

Copy is never too long if the reader takes the action you request. Therefore, it can't be dull, it must be compelling, it must relate to the reader and, finally, it's got to be about something the reader is interested in. What we're talking about here is the

Long Enough but Shorf Enough 

The copy should cover the amount of time you need to create the selling environment, develop interest in the product, relate to the prospect's needs and make the sale. The copy has to be long enough to tell the entire story or make the entire sales pitch. No longer and no shorter.  Copy should be long enough to cause the reader to take the action you request.

Flowing in Logical Sequence

The ideas presented in your copy should flow in a logical fashion, anticipating your prospect's questions and answering them as if the questions were asked face-to-face. 

Try Patterning Your Ad 

Another approach is called "patterning." Simply pick an ad written by somebody you admire and whose product or service is similar to yours and use their ad as a pattern or style from which to write. If they use a long headline, make your headline long. If they use a lot of captions, then you create a number of captions. Capture the feel of the ad, but be careful. Do not copy the person's layout too closely so that people reading the ad might think at first glance it was from the company you were copying. This exercise is only to give you a format or guide from which to write. If you copy the layout too closely, you are violating the rights of the person who wrote the ad.

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FUNCTIONS OF THE HEADLINE

  Headline can perform four different tasks:

1. Get attention.

2. Select the audience.

3. Deliver a complete message.

 4. Draw the reader into the body copy. 

 

1.GETTING ATTENTION

We’ve already seen how headlines get attention by appealing to the reader’s self-interest.

Here are a few more examples of this type of headline:

1.      Headlines that give news often use words such as new, discover, introducing, announcing, now, it’s here, at last, and just arrived

2.      If you can legitimately use the word free in your headline, do so. Free is the most powerful word in the copywriter’s vocabulary. Everybody wants to get something for free.

3.      Other powerful attention getting words include how to, why, sale, quick, easy, bargain, last chance, guarantee, results, proven, and save. Do not avoid these words because other copywriters use them with such frequency. Other copywriters use these words because they work

2. SELECTING THE AUDIENCE:

The headline can select the right audience for advertisement and screen out those readers who are not potential customers. A headline that does a good job of selecting the right audience for the product:

3.DELIVERING A COMPLETE MESSAGE

According to David Ogilvy, four out of five readers will read the headline and skip the rest of the ad. If this is the case, it pays to make a complete statement in your headline. That way, the ad can do some selling to those 80 percent of readers who read headlines only.

4.DRAWING THE READER INTO THE BODY COPY

Many products—automobiles, computers, books, records, home study programs, life insurance, and investments —require that the reader be given a lot of information. That information appears in the body copy, and for the ad to be effective, the headline must   compel the reader to read this copy. To draw the reader into the body copy, you must arouse his or her curiosity. You can do this with humour, or intrigue, or mystery. You can ask a question or make a provocative statement. You can promise a reward, news, or useful information.

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The First Impression Of Advertising

 

In all forms of advertising, the “first impression” is very essential for the success of an advertisement. The first impression will win the reader’s attention and attract the audience prospect.

 “FIRST IMPRESSION”

1.      In a print advertisement, it is the headline and the visual.

2.      In a brochure, it’s the cover.

3.      In a radio or TV commercial, it’s the first few seconds of the commercial.

4.      In a direct-mail package, it’s the copy on the outer envelope or the first few sentences in the letter.

5.      In a press release, it’s the lead paragraph.

6.      In a sales brochure or catalog, it’s the front cover.

7.      In a sales presentation, it’s the first few slides or flip charts.

8.      On a Web site, it’s the first screen of the home page.

9.      In an e-mail marketing message, it’s the Fromline and the Subject line.

 

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TYPES / FORMS OF MEDIA ADVERTISING

Advertising is the promotion of a company’s products and services though different mediums to increase the sales of the product and services. It works by making the customer aware of the product and by focusing on customer’s need to buy the product.

Globally, advertising has become an essential part of the corporate world. Therefore, companies allot a huge part of their revenues to the advertising budget. Advertising also serves to build a brand of the product which goes a long way to make effective sales.

There are several branches or types of advertising which can be used by the companies. Let us discuss them in detail.

DIRECT MAIL

This is one of the oldest types of advertising media. Under this method message is sent to the prospective buyers by post. A mailing list is prepared for this purpose. Circular letters, folders, calendars, booklets and catalogues are sent under this type of advertising. In the sales letter an appeal is made to the buyers separately.

 PRINT ADVERTISING –

The print media has been used for advertising since long. The newspapers and magazines are quite popular modes of advertising for different companies all over the world. Using the print media, the companies can also promote their products through brochures and fliers.

The newspaper and magazines sell the advertising space and the cost depends on several factors. The quantity of space, the page of the publication, and the type of paper decide the cost of the advertisement. So, an ad on the front page would be costlier than on inside pages.

Similarly, an ad in the glossy supplement of the paper would be more expensive than in a mediocre quality paper.

NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES ADVERTISING

These are the important forms of press advertising; newspapers are the most effective and powerful medium of advertising. Newspapers contain valuable information with regard to different current events. It may be referred to as ‘a store house of information’. There are daily, bi-weekly and weekly newspapers. Newspapers have widest circulation and read by many people. The newspapers may be local, provincial or national.

 

MAGAZINES ADVERTISING

Magazines or periodicals are other important media of communication. Magazines may be released weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual. These are read with more interest by the readers as compared to newspapers. Advertisements given in magazines are more descriptive and attractive. They are usually in coloured form which depicts the product nicely and gives lasting impression to the reader. There are magazines or journals meant for general public and special class of people. The magazines have longer life and are very suitable for advertising specific goods.

 

BROADCAST ADVERTISING 

This type of advertising is very popular all around the world. It consists of television, radio, or Internet advertising. The ads on the television have a large Advertising and Sales Promotion. The cost of the advertisement depends on the length of the ad and the time at which the ad would be appearing.

 

TELEVISION ADVERTISING

This is the latest and the fast-developing medium of advertising and is getting increased popularity these days. It is more effective as compared to radio as it has the advantages of sound and sight. On account of pictorial presentation, it is more effective and impressive and leaves ever lasting impression on the mind of the viewer. It is a very costly medium which can be employed by big concerns only; it has a shorter life span and limited coverage. Back reference to the advertisement cannot be made after its presentation. The duration of the advertisement is very limited.

For example, the prime-time ads would be more costly than the regular ones.

 

RADIO ADVERTISING

Radio advertising is very popular these days. The advertisements are broadcasted from different stations of All India Radio. Radio advertising can be explained as “word of mouth advertising on a wholesale scale”. The advertising messages can be in different regional Advertising and 23 languages.

 The most important advantage derived from radio advertising is that it covers every type of listener whether illiterate or educated. It is a very effective medium for popularizing on mass scale various consumer articles. The coverage of this medium is wider extending to a large number of listeners.

It ensures quicker repetition. Radio advertising is not what it used to be after the advent of television and Internet, but still there is specific audience for the radio ads too. The radio jingles are quite popular in sections of society and help to sell the products.

FILM ADVERTISING

 This is also known as cinema advertising. This also provides sight and hearing facilities like television. Short advertisement films are not prepared by big business houses which are sent to different cinema houses to be shown to the audience before the regular shows or during the intermission. It has more repetitive value but not to the same viewers. Its coverage is limited which benefits the local population only It is a very costly medium involving higher distribution and film making costs. Only big organizations can afford to produce advertisement films. It ensures more flexibility at larger costs. Its effectiveness cannot be measured properly. Film making is a time-consuming process.

  

This is a unique way of advertising in which the product or the message is subtly included in a movie or TV serial. There is no actual ad, just the mention of the product in the movie. For example, Tom Cruise used the Nokia phone in the movie Minority Report.

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING

This type of advertising includes different media like posters, placards, electric displays or neon signs, sandwich men, sky writing, bus, train and tram advertising. This is also known as ‘Mural advertising’. The main aim of outdoor advertising is to catch the attention of passerby within twinkling of an eye. This is the most effective medium of advertising. This is very suitable in the case of consumable and household articles like soaps, medicines, fans, shoes and pens etc.

 

PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISING –

As evident from the title itself, such advertising is for the public causes. There are a host of important matters such as AIDS, political integrity, energy conservation, illiteracy, poverty and so on all of which need more awareness as far as general public is concerned.

 

WINDOW DISPLAY-

It is a common method which is usually undertaken by retailers who display their products in the shop windows in order to attract the customers. This is also known as exterior display. It is the most effective and direct method of influencing the people. Window display has direct appeal to the onlookers. It is instrumental in arousing the desire to purchase in the prospective customers. It acts as a silent salesman. This type of advertising has gained much importance in recent times and is an effective tool to convey the message.

FAIRS AND EXHIBITION

A trade exhibition or a fair is organized on extensive scale which is attended by different manufacturers and traders along with their products to be sold to the large number of people who visit the exhibition. The exhibition may be either organized on local, provincial or international basis. The manufacturers also distribute the sales literature and sometimes free samples of goods to the people. Facilities of practical demonstration are also provided to the customers. The customers clearly understand the method of operation and use of the product.

 

SPECIALLY ADVERTISING

 Most of the business houses in order to increase their sales, advertise their products, give free gifts like diaries, purses, paper weights and calendars to the customers. The name of the firm or the dealer is inscribed on the articles presented.

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Advertising - 4 U’s” FOR WRITING EFFECTIVE HEADLINES and HEADLINE TYPES

  

When see an advertisement, people make a quick decision, usually in a couple of seconds, to read it or turn the page, based largely on the subject line. But given the flood of commercial messages today, how a busy prospect—in just a few words can you convince that ad is worthy of attention.

The “4 U’s” copywriting formula— which stands for

1.      urgent,

2.      unique,

3.      ultra-specific, and

4.      useful

 The 4 U’s formula states that strong headlines are:

 1. Urgent. There is no urgency or sense of timeliness. Urgency gives the reader a reason to act now instead of later. advertiser can create a sense of urgency in their headline by incorporating a time element. For instance, A sense of urgency can also be created with a time-limited special offer, such as a discount or premium if customer order by a certain date.

 2. Unique. The powerful headline either says something new, or if it says something the reader has heard before, says it in a new and fresh way. This is different than the typical. Not every marketer offers a free special report, but a lot of them do. So “Free Special Report” rates only a 2 in terms of uniqueness

3. Ultra-specific. The ultra-specific bullets, known as “fascinations,” that tease the reader into reading further and ordering the product. Examples:

4. Useful. The strong subject line appeals to the reader’s self-interest by offering a benefit.. When you have written your headline, ask yourself how strong it is in each of the 4 U’s

EIGHT BASIC HEADLINE TYPES

1.      Direct Headlines: Direct headlines state the selling proposition directly, with no wordplay, hidden meanings, or puns. Most retailers use newspaper advertisemets with direct headlines to announce sales and bring customers into their stores.

2.      Indirect Headlines: The indirect headline makes its point in a roundabout way. It arouses curiosity, and the questions it raises are answered in the body copy. The headline has a double meaning, and you have to read the copy to get the real message.

3.      News Headlines: This news can be the introduction of a new product, an improvement of an existing product.

4.      How-to Headlines: The words how to are pure magic in advertising headlines, magazine articles, and book titles. How-to headlines offer the promise of solid information, sound advice, and solutions to problems.

 5.      Question Headlines: To be effective, the question headline must ask a question that the reader can empathize with or would like to see answered.

6.      Command Headlines: Command headlines generate sales by telling your prospects what to do. Here are a few command headlines that the first word in the command headline is a strong verb demanding action on the part of the reader.

7.      Reason-Why Headlines: One easy and effective way of writing body copy is to list the sales features of product in simple If write an  ad this way, can use a reason-why headline to introduce the list.

 8.      Testimonial Headlines: In a testimonial advertisement, your customers do your selling for you. An example of a testimonial is the Publishers Clearinghouse commercial in which past winners tell us how they won big prize money in the sweepstakes. Testimonials work because they offer proof that a business satisfies its customers. In print ad testimonials, the copy is written as if spoken by the customer, who is usually pictured in the ad. Quotation marks around the headline and the body copy signal the reader that the ad is a testimonial. When writing testimonial copy, use the customer’s own words as much as possible. Don’t polish his statements; a natural, conversational tone adds believability to the testimonial.

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