The shortest distance between a big idea and a memorable ad is a great line.
I love lines and I recently took inventory of lines in our lives:
Punch lines,straight lines, offlines, onlines, blood lines, fault lines, cruise lines, air lines time lines, phone lines, sight lines, party lines, stress lines, tie lines, plot lines, theme lines, laugh lines, headlines, top lines, bottom lines, offensive lines, defensive lines, assembly lines, stream lines, ticket lines, base lines, foul lines, life lines,etc. You could probably think of dozens more and I invite you to do so.
But this piece focuses on the lines that drive advertising, sometimes called theme lines or tag lines and in print, headlines.
Recently several large advertisers admitted that they are not hiring ad agencies to churn out TV commercials and print ads or even the snippets and events that pass for advertising on the Internet. Although this material is important, what advertisers primarily want from their agencies is IDEAS.
Not that agencies ever blew off ideas. Ideas have always been at the heart of all good advertising. But advertisers have suddenly noticed that much of the content they were getting from their agencies was bereft of clear ideas, simply stated, ideas that viewers or readers could understand, relate to and remember. Let's call these selling ideas because when they are well done they help increase business. And what else are agencies in business to do.
Now back to my love affair with the line.
The line is the idea set to words.
The line is host to the idea.
A good line sticks in the mind.
The line is parent to the campaign.
The line often outlasts the execution.
Some years ago we were in a competitive shoot out for the prized Continental Airlines account. When the line, "We Really Move Our Tail for You", surfaced we knew we had a winner. Executions of the advertising flowed naturally from the line. But It was the line that won the account, beating half a dozen other fine agencies. The line had all the right stuff. It was brief. It had the idea. It was catchy. It had a certain edginess. Controversial, yes in some quarters, but not nearly enough to deter passengers from flying Continental. And the notoriety? The night the campaign broke Johnny Carson did five minutes on it in his opening monologue. Best of all, planes were flying full and the client was never happier.
Other lines that have achieved notable selling success over the years:
"When E.F. Hutton Talks People Listen." The strategy, the idea, the ads all wrapped up in one.
Say what you want about Mr. Whipple and "Please Don't Squeeze the Charmin", but that line and the ads that some called corny, catapulted Charmin way over number one Scott to take first place in the toilet tissue category. And toilet tissue is not your most demonstrable product.
" It Even Absorbs the Worry" for Rely tampons. The strategy, the idea, and memorability in one. The line even became part of the package. Unfortunately soon after introduction and the setting of sales records the product ran into medical problems and was withdrawn. Incidentally the line was written by an art director.
"A Diamond is Forever" The line is the campaign.
"Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking". The idea and line that spawned those memorable product demonstrations of Timex watches.
"Don't Leave Home Without It" Do you need to know any more about the American Express card?
"When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best"
"There's Always Room for Jell-O".
"Fly the Friendly Skies".
"Look Ma No Cavities"
"Melts in Your Mouth Not in Your Hand"
"Where's the Beef?" A line that was fortuitously discovered inside a spot for Wendy's and gained nationwide prominence when presidential candidate Walter Mondale quoted it in a debate.
"Great Taste Less Filling."
"Got Milk?"
What all these lines have in common is one big idea simply and briefly stated and a vital part of the campaigns they spawned.
Some will say pour tons of money against any line and it will stick. To borrow a phrase from Hertz, "Not Exactly".
No amount of money will rescue the following lines from the DNR (do not resuscitate) list:
My Life My Card (Amex)
You and Us (UBS)
Beyond Perfection (Buick)
Purely You (Dell)
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit (Cadillac)
The Power of You (Time Warner)
I'm Lovin It (McDonald's)
Now if you want my advice. Don't all raise your hands at once. I'm going to give it to you anyway.
If you're looking for an idea and an advertising campaign, write a line. Write many lines. Throw out the clinkers and there will be many of them. But from that hodgepodge there will emerge an idea encased in a line. There might be several lines that will be keepers. Star them. Put them away for the night. Hit them again the next day and judge them on the basis of how well the idea and the line fit the creative or marketing strategy. Look for lines that have that certain ring to them. humor, alliteration, rhyme, intrusiveness, newsworthiness, characteristics that qualify for memorability. The best lines will pop out and stay relevant. Once you have the idea in a good line, the campaign is almost certain to follow. It now becomes a matter of executing the ads. The line will serve as the anchor for the campaign.
When in need, put your money on the line.
This system worked for me.
At this time I am reminded of a quote from Alan Jay Lerner who wrote "My Fair Lady" and other hit Broadway shows. He was asked why so much time elapsed between his creations. His response: "It's not that I'm slow to write; I'm quick to throw out."
I will leave you with a line that I saw outside a jewelry store in the mall. "Ears pierced while you wait".
