Copy Parts of an Advertisement

subhead, body copy, boxes and panels, slogans, logotypes logos, seals, and signatures”. 1 Headline Arens 2006: 417 states headline is the words in the leading position in the advertisement – the words that will be read first and are situated to draw the most attention. Thus, headlines usually appear in larger type than other parts of the ad in order to be eye-catching. 2 Subheads The size of the subhead is smaller than the headline but larger than the body copy or text. Subhead may appear above the headline or below it. A subhead above the headline is called a kicker or overline and may be underlined. Subheads may also appear in body copy. Like a headline, the subhead transmits key sales points fast. 3 Body copy Body copy or text tells the complete sales story. It is a logical continuation of the headline and subheads. The body copy is set in smaller type than headlines or subheads. 4 Boxes and panels Boxes and panels are usually used in advertisements that contain coupons, special offers, contest rules, and order blanks. The boxes and panels are used to set these features apart from the rest of the advertisement. Specifically, a box is copy around which a line has been drawn. A panel is an elongated box that usually runs the whole length or width of an ad. Boxes and panels are used to draw greater attention to a specific element or message in the advertisement. 5 Slogans Many slogans also called themelines or taglines begin as successful headlines. Through continuous use, they become standard statements, not just in advertising but for salespeople and company employees. Effective slogans are short, easy to understand, memorable, and easy to repeat. Good slogans help set the product apart from its competitors. 6 Seals, logotypes, and signatures Seals are given only when a product meets standards established by the relevant institutions, for example the Good Housekeeping Institute, Underwriters Laboratorics, and Parents Institute. The term seal also refers to the company seal or trademark. These are actually called logotypes. Logotypes logos and signature cuts sig cuts are special designs of the advertiser’s name or product name. They appear in all advertisements and are like trademarks because they give the product individuality and provide quick recognition at the point of purchase.

2. The Language of Advertising

Advertising as an act of communication needs a language in order that its purposes can be conveyed. Its language is persuasive, even in many cases, provocative. It is provocative when it “hypnotizes” people to buy the products advertised, even if they do not need them. This is exactly the role of the advertising language. Advertising is the usage of language in such a way that advertising must be able to grab the readers’ attention.

a. Attention-Seeking Devices

It is not difficult to see why advertisers want to– in fact, should –make their advertisements capture the readers’ attention. The whole aim is to get the readers to register their communication either for purposes of direct action or indirect action. Thus, the copywriters have to find ways to shout at the readers from the page. Below are the attention-seeking devices used by the copywriters according to Angela Goddard 2003: 9-21. 1 Image The startling image is one attention-seeking strategy to increase levels of sophistication. Deciding the best image to be used to present the product advertised can draw some extra attention. 2 Verbal text Just as the way an image is presented can suggest certain ideas, the verbal language can also suggest particular qualities. It is because readers do not simply read images in isolation from the verbal text that accompanies them; nor do they read the verbal text without reference to accompanying images. The variation of verbal text created may be based on handwriting versus typed print, different fonts, different font styles, different font sizes, emboldened fonts or not, upper- case versus lower-case letters, and features of punctuation.