MAKING THE ADVERTISEMENT UNDERSTOOD 1. advertisement must not only attract the reader's attention and secure his interest but, to get results, it must also be so clear that the reader will understand exactly what it is all about.
If the reader is confused as to what the goods ad vertised really are and what they are to be used for, he will not be stimulated to decide and act. Sim plicity, which of course implies clearness, is partic ularly necessary in advertising a new product or a new use of a known product. Simplicity means also economy of time and energy. The usual advertise ment is read rapidly; the eye runs down the page or sign. and catches the words and phrases that stand out plainly as a key to the meaning of the whole.
Of all kinds of writing, advertising matter should be the least intricate, cumbersome or involved. Sim plicity of style makes for sustained interest, and any thing that sustains the interest in an advertisement leads the reader to decision and action.
2. Clear sentence write clear sen tences, the advertiser should know definitely what he wants to say. If he is muddled and is not sure ground, he cannot make things clear to the reader.
Again, the explanation must be adapted to the thing advertised. Simple, familiar products admit of brief and simple explanation, while new, unfamiliar and intricate products require greater elaboration.
The third consideration is the choice, number and arrangement of words. The choice of words will be considered in detail in a later chapter. The manner
of expressing the thought must be so simple that the reader need spend no time on anything but the thought itself. A sentence should contain every word neces sary to convey the idea of the advertiser but not one word more. Each sentence must have unity ; that is, there must be one central thought and the subor dinate ideas must be related closely to the main thought.
3. Length of eye has its own pe culiar construction which permits it to perform its functions easily within certain limits, but with increas ing effort beyond these limits. If the eye finds that the length of sentences is 'such that it requires a maxi mum of effort to focus upon them, it will turn away and select an advertisement which will allow it to function more readily.
Examples of the best prose writing today indicate that to hold the reader's attention the average sen tence should not eXceed twenty-five words. Varia tions, however, are permissible. In fact, variation is necessary in order to produce a pleasing and natural effect.
Compare the following sentences taken from recent advertisements as regards their power of holding at tention and the effort required to read them: I.—Out of a realization of the tremendous an nual waste of money in freight shipments on the part of the railroads and the shippers due to ineffi ciency and lack of knowledge came a new era in freight transportation.