What is Advertising Copy?

An advertising copy, or ad copy, or just copy, is the text form of an advertising message aimed at catching the attention, and persuading the prospective buyer to make purchase, all within a short span of few seconds. A copy in essence describes the ad(irrespective of the medium of advertising) in words.  A copy employs the use of words to promote a product, business, person, or an idea.

Here are few examples of ad copies for Nissan Altima. (Credit to the original poster. Source: internet)Headline: "ACTIVE INGREDIENT XENON ILLUMINATION"Subhead: "The totally new V6 Nissan Altima. The cure for the common car.Lead in: "The Nissan Altima."

Body Copy: "Sedans, like drivers, can experience night blindness. So the new V6 Nissan Altima, unlike other sedans in its class, offers high intensity discharge xenon headlights to help illuminate and clarify everything in your path. And a patented, multi-link rear suspension system to help you elude everything that shouldn’t be in your path." The visual is the car of course. After all, buying a car is a highly aesthetic experience. The idea for this ad? The common cold! The writer has drawn an analogy between the common cold and the common car.

And here is another copy for the same productHeadline: "The Altima Brochure. Read as needed to reduce burning curiosity."Subhead: "Source: NissanDriven.com" Phone: "000-635-5039"Lead in: "The totally new V6 Nissan Altima. The cure for the common car."

Body Copy: "For a more thorough examination of the totally new Nissan Altima and its remarkable healing powers, consult NissanDriven.com or call us at 800-635-5039 for a full-strength, full-color brochure."

For every varying ad there is a different copy. The copywriters, create jingle lyrics, web page content, brochures, postcards, direct mailers, online ads, billboards, radio scripts, press releases, taglines, marketing communications and the like.

Most amateur copywriters ask the question, how long should a copy be? Off late, short copy is becoming popular and widely used. However advertising tycoon David Ogilvy said that a long copy is read by more people if written skillfully. Research has also proved that long copy ads perform much better than short copy ones.