BRAND: CANDEREL
Copywriting, typography & artwork

The headline is the most important part of any ad because, quite simply, it has the most important role to play.

A headline has one major function - and that's to grab the attention of your Target Audience.

As I've said elsewhere on this site, people do NOT search for your ads. They are quite happily reading their newspaper or magazine, or sitting on a train minding their own business, or driving along a busy road (carefully, of course!) and your ad is out there somewhere - together with thousands of others.

It may be excellent, aesthetically and strategically, but if it doesn't grab their attention it's absolutely pointless, literally a waste of space!

A certain Mr David Ogilvy once said "On average, five times as many people read the headlines than read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells the product, you have wasted 90% of your money"

A bit harsh perhaps, and I can't work out his monetary calculation, but he was probably right, of course, (he usually was).

I think it's fairly well accepted that the best and the strongest headlines are short and simple. They must grab attention quickly and as soon as they become too complicated the reader mentally clicks off and moves on, so the ad has become next to useless.

They can be amusing, they can be punny, they need not be too clever and they certainly shouldn't be contrived (meaning trying to be clever in a very unclever way).

Perhaps one of the most famous headlines ever in a British newspaper (it has the same role as in an ad) although extremely tasteless, was just one simple word. 'GOTCHA!'
(The Sun, May 4th 1982, on the sinking of the Argentinian ship, Belgrano).