Reflection Post 4

This week's tutorial was about the body copy, that is, the follow-up block(s) of text to the headline that elaborates on the headline's hook. There are different forms or types of body copy generally used, the main ones being straight-line/factual, narrative, testimonial/monologue, humorous/offbeat, descriptive, dialogue, and institutional copy.

One of the most famous examples of testimonial copy is probably the Got Milk? series, an American advertising campaign for cow milk consumption in which celebrities/cultural icons are featured with milk mustaches. The campaign has been running since 1993 and has an instantly recognizable format: a full-blown photo of the appropriately milk-mustached subject and testimonial-style (factual in some cases) copy telling readers why milk is so important to him or her as an individual. Subjects can either be real-world examples:

NASCAR racer Danica Patrick

or fictional ones:

the Fantastic Four.

The testimonial form of body copy relies mostly on a conversational style that draws the reader and makes him or her feel included. The mixing of famous subjects with relaxed, down-to-earth body copy makes it seem as if their successes are due to their usage of the advertised product. The idea is that even the average, "ordinary" reader can also be equally successful if they use that product.

Subjects chosen should be instantly recognizable to all, or at least to the target audience. Choosing a celebrity musician would probably not work for an advertisement targeted at sportspeople.

It is especially important that the copy used is not overly formal. Precision is not paramount in this case. The reader needs to be able to understand the message easily and to grasp it in a way that strikes relevant chords -- senior citizens, for example, would not appreciate copy written in overly young language with unfamiliar jargon. The same goes for the reverse.

The exercise our group did during the tutorial was probably a good example of this, as we struggled to find a writing slant that would make a packet of seaweed flavoured crackers attractive to audiences. Relevance was the key issue, and testimonial body copy would have suited the product perfectly ("I buy so-and-so-forth because it is the perfect snack for a person constantly on the move!").