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ADVERTISING: How To Write the Kind That Works by David & John W. Nason Malickson

ADVERTISING: How To Write the Kind That Works

By

Pub Date: Jan. 1st, 1976
Publisher: Scribners

A beginner's manual that details writing principles for print and broadcasting copy and also mentions a host of related items. Nason, a J. Walter Thomson vice-president, and Malickson, ""father of the mass-merchandised wig,"" have been around corporate corridors long enough to know specifics, and they provide cautionary advice on a variety of subjects. They recommend a basic formula, AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action), in the construction of any ad after the copywriter has isolated the USP (unique selling proposition), the most promotable feature of the product. Also included are marketing and merchandising practices, information on mechanical aspects such as the format for submission of work, and reliable tips for crisper copy--avoiding weak negatives, using present tense and active voice verbs, opting for style over grammar (remember Winston cigarettes). Although clearly knowledgeable, the authors tend to soft-pedal the more competitive aspects of the industry and they completely ignore the double entendres and teasing innuendoes that sell so well and are so prevalent. Still, what's here is direct and useful--ask the man who owns one.