Practical English Composition Part 25

[16] When the Greeks were about to set sail for Troy, Artemis, being angry with their commander King Agamemnon, becalmed their s.h.i.+ps at Aulis. The seer Calchas thereupon declared that the G.o.ddess could be propitiated only by the death of Iphigeneia, the daughter of Agamemnon.

This legend forms the theme of tragedies by Euripides, Racine, and Goethe.

CHAPTER XIX

ADVERTIs.e.m.e.nTS (_continued_)

"Discretion of speech is more than eloquence; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal is more than to speak in good words or in good order."--FRANCIS BACON.

I. a.s.signment I

Clip from current newspapers or magazines five advertis.e.m.e.nts which in your opinion have effective attention lines. Pick out five advertis.e.m.e.nts which in your opinion have ineffective attention lines.

Give your reasons for your choice.

II. a.s.signment II

(a) Taking the attention arguments selected in the preceding chapter, set down all the questions that you might ask as a possible customer if you had been attracted by the attention line.

(b) In the five examples of effective advertising selected from newspapers or magazines, set down the questions that are answered in the matter following the attention lines.

III. Coherence in Advertising

An effective advertis.e.m.e.nt must be a logically developed argument leading from the attraction of attention to the point where the reader is convinced that he wants your goods, and beyond that to the point where he will take some definite physical action to get them.

The steps intervening between attention and action may be sketched in the briefest terms, may in some exceptional cases be omitted entirely from the final form of the advertis.e.m.e.nt, but must be carefully worked out in the mind of the writer, no step being omitted that is essential in the chain of reasoning that the ordinary mind must follow.

Obviously the chain of reasoning must start from the attention line. If you have attracted your reader by saying "Prices Cut," you must tell him how much the reduction is and why you have made the reduction. If, on the other hand, you have attracted the attention by saying "Our Goods are the Best," you must explain the reasons why they are the best. That the mind of the reader may be held to the line of the argument from attention to action, all material that has no bearing upon this line of argument must be excluded.

IV. Exercise

Answer the questions about the various articles set down in a.s.signment I, being careful to follow the logical order in which they would occur and to exclude all material that does not relate directly to the argument you have selected.

V. Clinching Results

When you have attracted the attention of your reader and carried him along through a logical argument to the conviction that he wants your goods, one thing more remains. He must be induced to act upon his conviction. Up to this point his part has been pa.s.sive; he has been asked merely to sit in his easy chair and read what you have to say. Now he must be aroused to activity; he must be brought to the point of putting on his hat and coat and going out to buy your goods. The strongest language form at our command is required here, the direct urgent imperative. Involuntarily people tend to obey orders that are given them. The appeal must, of course, be courteous, so as not to offend; but it must be strong enough to induce action. Compare the strength of "Sign here for free booklet" with "If you will sign on this line, we will send you our free booklet."

When your reader has been aroused to action, his way should be made as easy as possible. Every direction that he may need should be plainly before him, every convenience that will reduce his action to a minimum.

He should be told clearly how and where he can get the goods that you have convinced him he wants, your name, your address, your telephone number, and everything else that will enable him to reach you promptly and certainly.

VI. a.s.signment III

Write a compelling sentence for each of the advertis.e.m.e.nts constructed in a.s.signment II (a), adding the necessary conclusion.

Construct a series of five advertis.e.m.e.nts, each dealing with a single attractive feature of one of the articles selected in the preceding work. Each advertis.e.m.e.nt should carry its argument through from attention to action.

VII. Suggested Reading

James Parton's _Captains of Industry_.

VIII. Memorize

THE PULLEY

When G.o.d at first made man, Having a gla.s.s of blessing standing by; Let us (said he) pour on him all we can: Let the world's riches which dispersed lie Contract into a span.

So strength first made a way; Then beauty flow'd, then wisdom, honour, pleasure; When almost all was out, G.o.d made a stay, Perceiving that alone, of all his treasure, Rest in the bottom lay.

For if I should (said he) Bestow this jewel also on my creature, He would adore my gifts instead of me, And rest in Nature, not the G.o.d of Nature; So both should losers be.

Yet let him keep the rest, But keep them with repining restlessness: Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast.

GEORGE HERBERT.

CHAPTER XX

ADVERTIs.e.m.e.nTS (_concluded_)

"Honesty is the best policy."

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

I. a.s.signment I

Pick out in a large advertis.e.m.e.nt for a breakfast food the number of words of one syllable other than prepositions or articles; the words of two syllables; of three syllables; of more than three syllables. Reduce your results to percentages.

Make a similar study of advertis.e.m.e.nts for a set of books, of chewing gum, of an automobile, and of a piece of machinery in some technical publication. Compare results with a similar count in a newspaper paragraph, an encyclopedia paragraph, and paragraphs from Macaulay, d.i.c.kens, Carlyle, and Kipling.

II. Clearness

Clear, simple language, language that will be readily understood by the least intelligent of your possible customers, is an essential of good advertising. Every word that is above the lowest reasonable level of understanding limits the number of possible customers. The railroad attorney who was asked to write a notice that would warn people to be careful at railroad crossings did not dig into his law books for a polysyllabic sentence like this: "Whereas this is the intersection of a public highway with the right-of-way of the ---- Railroad Corporation, each and every individual is hereby advised to exercise extreme caution." He wrote a sentence which is a cla.s.sic in its way "Stop! Look!

Listen! Railroad Crossing."

III. a.s.signment II

In the advertis.e.m.e.nts selected for a.s.signment I, count the number of words in each sentence and strike an average for each. Make a comparison with sentence length in other writings as suggested.