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29-DEC-2024 | Excerpt from Tom McElligott’s Ad on Advertising

Author

Dan Bogachek
December 29, 2024

Excerpt from Tom McElligott’s Ad on Advertising

For the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

Your reactions to advertising are tabulated by highly sophisticated equipment.

Every time you shop, you have the opportunity to express your exact feelings about advertising. Not just by talking about them. But by putting your money where your mouth is.

Look at it this way. Whenever you go to the store, you make a cartload of buying decisions. And you’re free to base those decisions on anything you choose. Including the advertising you’ve seen.

If you like a product’s advertising — if you find it informative, honest and interesting — we suggest that you buy.

If you don’t like the advertising — if it’s misleading, tasteless or just plain boring — we suggest that you not buy. 🏁

  • Heavy on the “you.” Talk to your reader.

  • Complete ideas >> complete sentences. We see multiple places where sentences are split to present one idea at a time. They could have easily been a single but longer sentence, but it’s easier to understand with the separation.

  • Repetition with contrast: “If you like… if you don’t like.” Pleasant symmetry while reaffirming the reader’s agency as a consumer to establish trust.

You glance at your watch.

It’s 6:28. You’ve been at it since 3.
Crap. Your hot date is at 7. Running late. Sink shower it is.
Nowhere close to done editing…

“…at least all the ideas are laid out, so there’s that. Did I miss anything? I don’t think so? Ok, but how do I make it flow? I need to get the final draft to Stacey for design asap, team cutoff is at noon Thursday…”

You’ve spent dinner completely distracted. Your date just took off. You go home exhausted, plod to your desk, and flip open the laptop.

Or… what if:

5:41 — you’re out of the shower and lip-syncing.
6:17 — dressed to the nines and zenned out.
7:03 — the sunset glints off your aviators as you smile hello.
8:36 — it actually feels like you’re hitting it off. Not just hot, funny to boot.
Next morning, 9:27 — final draft ready in your inbox.
10:31 — Stacey messages back, “thanks, looks good!”

The difference?

Copygloss handled it. Before you left for the date, actually.

For help with editing, email Dan:
[email protected].