The Components of an Advertisement

We can factor an advertisement into seven important components;

1. The Headline

The Headline is the most read part of an advertisement. So advertisers try to tell maximum
part of the product story through the headline. A headline will introduce the product or makes
the promise statement or puts a question. It basically tries to attract the attention of the
readers and create curiosity so the audience or reader sees further. The major types of
headlines are:

 Direct promise of benefit

 News about the product
 Curiosity or provocative, and
 Command headlines

Direct headlines make a direct promise about how the product will benefit the readers.
Readers are often interested in what is new in the product so the words ‘new’, ‘improved’,
etc. are often used in headlines. Such headlines provide some new ‘information’ and are
called news headline.

Sometimes the promise or benefit is not offered in the headline. Instead an indirect approach
is adopted by either posing a question or making a provocative statement, the headline tries to
create a lot of curiosity about the product. It also forces the readers or the audience to see the
copy and the promise is made in the copy of the Ad. In command headlines, the readers are
urged to buy the product by promising a reward. For example, ‘buy one, get one free’ or ‘buy
for the price of two’. Usually they command or ask the consumers to buy.

Another type of headline is the select headline. This is directed at the headline scanners. Such
a headline selects it own audience and can reach selected groups by either addressing them
directly or by discussing their specific problems.

2. The Sub-Headline

This is not always used in ads. However, when the advertiser wants to say a lot at the
beginning but the headline cannot do the job, then the subheading is used. The headline and
subheading together can contain a longer message. The subheading usually spells out or
elaborates the promise made in the headline or it stresses on the product’s unique features.

3. Slogan

It is a phrase or a sentence that describes the benefit derived from the product or one of the
product’s most important attributes. The term slogan comes from the Gaelic words sluagh
gairm, meaning battle cry. These days it is the battle cry in the field of sales and marketing. It
consists of a single phrase by which an advertiser conveys an important idea, which will
presumably lead readers or audience to remember and think favorably of this company.
Slogan is thus a short and catchy phrase that gets the attention of the audience, is easy to
remember and comes off the tongue easily. Slogan can of different types:
  Slogan that emphasizes product or reward- every product has some reward to offer
consumers. It may have some hidden quality that differentiates a product from the
competitors.
 Slogans that emphasizes action to be taken- the slogan might urge directly that you
use the product or service.

4. Body Copy

When the headline usually makes a claim, the body copy elaborates upon it and provides
supporting proof. When the headline poses a question, the subheading answers it. The amount
of detail in an advertisement should be sufficient to answer the questions arising in the minds
of a prospective buyer. And if the consumers require more details or information, then they
can be requested to come back to the company for information booklets or can be invited to
come to the retailer or dealer for more information or demonstration.

Sometimes the consumer wants a proof or evidence of the claims made in the advertisement.
So proofs about quality, performance, durability, etc. are provided through arguments, proofs
by experts, testimonials by users or through demonstrations in the body copy.

5. Visualization

The headline is a major attraction —getting device. Another device is the visual impact of the
ad. This is the combination of the visuals used in the advertisements and the visual treatment
given to other elements of the ad. This visual impact becomes strong if the idea has been
properly visualized.

Visualization means to think in terms of visuals or pictures. And one need not be an artist or
painter to be able to visualize as all it require is thinking.

For example think about the picture, which comes to your mind when you think the word
‘flower’. It could be a bouquet of flower or a garden full of beautiful flowers. These kind of
perceptions need to be portrayed in the advertisements. A visualizer need not draw or paint
these things but can just describe these and leave the drawing to the artists.

Visuals and pictures help people dream and project themselves in to another time, place, or
situation. Pictures appeal to our hidden and suppressed emotions. Also pictures communicate
ideas quickly and easily and also there is no chance of misinterpretation. Visuals not only
attract attention, they hold the interest and often tell maximum part of the story. Visuals also
identify the product, arouse interest, create a favorable impression of the product or the
advertiser, clarify claims made in the copy, make demonstrations, emphasize the unique
features of the product. And finally the visuals provide continuity for all advertisements in
the campaign through the use of similar visuals.

6. Layout

Advertisement layout has two meanings. One means the total appearance of the
advertisement, its design, the composition of the various elements. The other meaning is the
act or process of placing the elements of advertisement (copy, visuals, etc) together.
A layout could be the first pencil sketch, which puts the idea on paper or could also be the
final piece after finishing touches. Good layouts are unimaginative. The various stages of
designing a layout are:

 Thumbnail sketches– Advertising people usually work in pairs. A copywriter and a

visualizer sit together and create ideas. The first thing they do is to come up with as
many ideas as possible. And as they get the ideas they put them on paper, which is
called thinking on paper. This helps in many ways-it records all the ideas options on
paper, it gives some kind of a shape to the idea without using any expensive color,
wasting much paper, etc. and without spending much time and efforts. In the
thumbnail sketch the various elements of the advertisement are just schematically or
diagrammatically represented. For example, a thick serrated line represents the
headline. Thinner serrated lines represent the subheading and the slogan. Straight
lines or dotted lines represent body copy. Boxes crossed inside represent visuals. Also
thumbnail sketches are very small in size. Only the shape is proper-being
proportionately smaller.
 Rough sketches– in the rough stage, bigger layouts are made so that more details can
be accommodated. Hand lettering is done for the headlines and other copy parts that
are to be composed in bigger type sizes. A rough sketch of the visual is pasted. These
rough layouts are presented to the agency creative director for approval. Then the
rough layout is further polished.
 Comprehensive stage– the rough layout is still small in size, with no color, with no
proper borders and no proper lettering and visuals. Now it is enlarged to its actual
size. All the copy is lettered or composed. Proper borders and other marks are put on
the layout. Photographs and other visual are cut from other places or Photostatted and
pasted. Some coloring-particularly using crayons, water colors, etc is done. This stage
is called the comprehensive stage. As the name suggests this layout is easy to
understand. This layout is presented to the client for approval. Once the client
approves the layout, it is then ready for the final finishing touches.
 Art work-this is the final stage of layout. Here care is taken to look into each minute
detail. The copy is properly composed or lettered. Proper photographs, paintings,
sketches, or graphics are used. Other elements like borders etc are properly places.
Coloring is done. Finishing artists give the final touches. This stage is now ready to be
printed. All these various stages of preparing the layout are beneficial in a many ways.
First these stages save time, money and efforts. If you prepare a final layout without
taking the approval and it gets rejected, then all the material used, efforts and time
spend are wasted. Also working on only one idea curtails the various other possible
options.

An advertisement layout starts with a blank piece of paper. What the layout artist does is to
place the copy, visuals and other elements on it. This placing of elements of advertisement
layout is not just mere decoration. What is required is a good, clear vision and interpretation
of the selling concept of the story. A good layout allows all its elements-visuals, headlines,
subheadings, body copy, charts, maps, logo, borders and other elements-to work together to
do the job of telling the product story.

A good layout takes into consideration the principles of balance, proportion, unity, contrast,
harmony, rhythm, and direction. And finally a good advertisement layout must be attractive,
must create an appropriated mood or feeling, must have individually to stand out from the
clutter of advertisements.
7. Trademark

The term trademark includes any word, symbol or device or any combination there of
adopted and used by a manufacturer or merchant to identify his goods and distinguish them
from those manufactured or sold by others in the market. Trademarks are important because
of two reasons:

 It increases the credibility of the firm because the buyer buys the product only after
looking at the brand name.
 Registration of trademarks prohibits duplication.

Principles of Design and Layout

It is not necessary that all elements of advertisement copy must form part of the copy. They
appear in today €Ÿs ads with varying degree of frequency. The components of the
advertisement copy must be decorated or positioned on the basis of certain basic principles
regardless of the number of elements in an add. The following five principles of good
composition are important to anyone who creates or evaluates the advertisement:

1. Balance — A layout may be called balanced if equal weight or forces are equidistant from a
reference point or a light weight is placed at a greater distance from the reference point than a
heavy weight. Balance is the law of nature. The reference point or fulcrum is the optical
center of the advertisement. The artists with a given area or space, are to place all the
elements with in this space. Optical center of fulcrum of the ad is often a point approximately
two — thirds of the distance forms the bottom. It is the reference of the advertisement layout.
2. Proportion– Proportion is closely related to balance since it refers to the division of space
among layout elements for a pleasing optical effect. Good proportion in an advertisement
requires a desired emphasis on each element in terms of size and position. If the major appeal
in an advertisement is product’s price. The price should be displayed in proportionate space
position.
3. Contrast and Emphasis — Contrast means variety. It gives life to the whole composition
and adds emphasis to selected important elements. An advertiser always looks to
advertisements from completion point of view and desires the policy of the most important
elements to attract the attention of the people. An advertisement with good contrast may
attract the attention of customers Contrast maybe visible in a number of ways. It may be
witnessed through sizes, shapes and colors. Different colors sizes and shapes of elements in
an advertisement add contrast. The varying directions, of design elements (Vertical trees,
horizontal pavements arched rainbows) add contrast; too there must be sales communication
purpose behind every layout decision made.
4. Eye Movement — Eye movement is the design principle which helps move the eyes of the
readers from element to element in the order given in the hierarchy of effects model for
effective communication of the message in advertising. An effective ad uses movement to
lead its reading audience from initial message awareness through product knowledge and
brand preference, to ultimate action (intent to purchase). Direction and sequence are two
terms for the same element and artists may perform it in many ways. Mechanical eye
direction may be created by devices such as pointing fingers lines arrows or even a bouncing
ball that moves from unit to unit. Planned eye movement should follow the established
reading patterns too, such as the tendency to start to top left corner of a page and read through
to the lower right corner. The eyes also moves naturally from large items to small from dark
to light and from colors to not — colors.
 5. Unity or Harmony — Unity or harmony is another important design principle. Although
each element should be considered as a separate unit in striving for balance, proportion,
contrast and eye movement. The complete layout or design should appear as a unified
composition. Common methods of securing unity in layouts are (i) use of consistent
typographical design. (ii) repetition of the same shapes and motifs, (iii) the overlapping of
elements (iv) use of a boarder to hold elements together and (v) avoidance of too much which
space between various element.

Although unity and contrast seem conflicting but they function quite smoothly together if
they operate at cross purposes — if the artists strive for balance here too as well as in the
advertisement layout overall. Unity contributes orderliness to elements — a state of
coherence. And if they are properly placed. Contrasting Size shapes colors and directions can
flow together beautifully.