ADVERTISING

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 108, 9 May 1930, Page 15

ADVERTISING

SANER METHODS IN USE

' Comment on technique in advertising was made by Mr. Will Appleton, who recently returned from a trip abroad, when speaking at the annual meeting of the Wellington Advertising Club last evening.

Mr. Appleton said he was pleased to notice not only in America and in Canada, but in England and on the Continent as well, that the tendency was now to switch back to saner methods in illustration and lay-out.

"The bizarre effects which have been so prevalent in magazines and newspapers during the last year or so are giving way to more sensible treatment in the presentation of picture and story," he said. "The keynote to-day is simplicity and directness of appeal—short, terse 'copy' with a 'punch' in it. The best forms of advertising, too, have a definite tie-up1 between the picture and the heading. Heavy black illustrations are being discarded, and once again advertisers are reverting to a greater use of 'white' space. While the application, of good advertising moves from one cycle of advancement to another, its fundamentals never . change. Publicity that commands the reader's notice starts with head-lines that invite. It does not depend on trick working or trick lettering for its power. An advertisement can be over-dressed, just as a salesman can be overdressed. Unfortunately, the sole idea of some advertisers' is to command attention, and conviction is apt to be forgotten. A huge sign •on a man's back is just about as effective. Men inexperienced in advertising yield to this lure, and at times even those who might be considered to be seasoned and experienced give way, but with the maturity of results to guide them, men who really know the advertising business turn to simple words and clear-cut type faces to win a reading for their 'copy.' A great weakness in advertising to-day is the use of too many glittering generalities, and that factor is being recognised more and more by those who are spending big money on advertising and who want to get adequate returns for their outlay. It is the simple, pointed 'copy' that claims attention to the solid foundation of facts. It ia the word or phrase or sentence in an advertisement which gives the thrill of conviction and makes the reader feel that the advertiser knows what he is talking about."

Mr. Appleton said he did not wish it to be understood .that he advocated crudity, but rather the elegance of simplicity. There was 'a danger, however, of publicity becoming too "arty," too "tricky," too far-fetched for its audience. The golden rule in advertising was to apply it in a simple coinmonsense way.