George Gribbin suggested that a good copywriter should get to know a great deal about the product he is advertising. When he mentioned 'understanding of a product,' what he really meant actually included knowledge of the characteristics of the product, peole who buy the product and their purposes of purchasing it.
He believed that the attributes of product as well as consumer are two critical elements in developing good advertising copy. Mr. Gribbin said that product and problem had set certain ground rules for the copywriter. And a copywriter should know how to "have [his] ground rules set by having to offer to the reader a benefit of some sort in the product or service [he]'s advertising(Higgins 1987, p.63)."
Mr. Gribbin also emphasized the importance of working with art man when think about advertising copy. "We would think of what kind of picture we wanted, what situation. It wasn't pictures separate from copy, it was all mixed together. (Higgins 1987, p.56)."
Mr. Gribbin said that he used to dreaming up picture situations and headlines with Jack Anthony, an artist of Y&R, during his "days of copywriting." After becoming the president of Y&R, Mr. Gribbin still believed that thinking up picture that will attract attention was very a critical factor affecting copywriting. Using an example of how Y&R dealt with advertising, Mr. Gribbin proposed a way to do a better advertising: "We went through and thought of everyone you could think of as having a particularized reaction to this ad and saw whether it was right for them. Now there were certain things that weren't exactly right for them but they needed to be said; but you didn't do it carelessly and sloppily. You went through this from the reaction of a linotype operator, a man who delivered the newspapers on the trucks, the reporter, the editorial writers, the competitors- you name it."(Higgins 1987, p.60).
Being thorough was what Mr. Gribbin insisted when working on advertising copy. Mr. Gribbin agreed that brevity was one of the most hard parts in copywriting. However, he believed that it was more difficult to draw upon your experience in living and what you have read, so that you are able to by association, by something you know will interest people, to get that product into field of association.
Mr. Gribbin was an advertising practitioner, but he always served as a teacher in advertising and developed his own theory that actually benefits the beginners in the industry. For example, he proposed a guideline for writing magazine copy as the following (Norrins 1966, p.181):
1. With the help of your art-director, create a picture that will make a prospect look at the headline.
2. Write a headline that you are sure will make the prospect read the first sentence of copy.
3. Write a first sentence of copy that you are sure will make the prospect read the second sentence.
4. Continue this process until you are sure that the prospect will read the final word of the ad.
5. Make sure that the picture and all these words add up to a story that will make the prospect's mouth water for the product.
In a meeting of the American Association of Advertising Agency, Mr. Gribbin revealed his secret of being successful in copywriting. "I make it a point to compare ads to people. I say to myself, would I like a man or woman to act the way this ad does? Would I choose this ad-if I were alive-for a friend?" (Madden, Cooper & Cole 1994, p.175).
Gribbin blamed the industry's notorious reputation on the misuse and ultimate corruption of English by the practitioners. He argued that advertising should be based on the Òpower of words. "Only with respect for language can the industry gain the good reputation it deserves."(Advertising: 'Trade Longo' 1962).
eorge
