What happened to the newspaper ad?

This was the title of talk given by Graham Warsop, the group chairman of Jupiter Drawing Room, at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg, on Wednesday 4 April 2007.

The event was co-ordinated and organised by Johnnic Communications, the publishers of Sunday Times, Sunday World and Sowetan, among others. Warsop first delivered the paper at the World Association of Newspapers in Zurich, Switzerland, in February 2007.

Persuasive rich copy

From the 1950s to the early 1990s, newspapers contained persuasive rich copy advertising [full of words and modest pictures] for a range of major brands, Warsop remarked, drawing a comparison between the ads of that era and today's award-winning newspaper ads, which he said are characterised by an arresting big image and pack shot.

“From 1987 to today, we have seen that the body-rich ads have died, murdered by agencies in favour of the ‘Print ads as Posters',” Warsop said regretfully.

He also said agencies are no longer training people to write a good advert, adding that ad writing is a craft that one needs to learn and write.

“Newspapers always had the high ground as the best medium to deliver copy rich persuasive advertising. This high ground has not been surrendered, but it has been abandoned. This is tragic because words have always been among the most powerful tools in an advertiser's arsenal.”

People won't stop reading

But many would definitely argue that people have no time to read, or are mostly interested in images of the product than a litany of ‘boring' words. In addition, defenders of the ‘print ads as posters' might assert that writing a long ad can be time and energy-consuming that can be dedicated to do ‘something more useful'. Warsop is ready to counterattack both theories, saying: “The truth of the matter is that people won't stop reading and newspapers will never get thin and people still read what actually interests them.

“A powerful full page ad, with a strong concept and well-written copy [even with 400 words] will be as powerful today as it was in the untroubled days of press advertising.”

While he acknowledged that writing a good ad can be time-consuming, he however said that at the end of the day, the ad, if it is well written, can be very rewarding and make a big impact.

Warsop's presentation was seen as very interesting and resourceful by the audience, but because of the sensitivity of the subject, his theory is expected to generate a heated debate, which surely could be taken as far as the companies' boardrooms.

During the Q&A session, he was even more straight-forward and convincingly rational, replying with determination and verve to support his theory, which he believes is an answer to turning things around in an industry branded by critics as becoming dangerously ‘fake', ‘shallow' and full of ‘who cares' practitioners determined to make a quick profit at the expense of naïve consumers and clients.

Better off in magazines

Perhaps in Warsop's thinking, sharp ad posters will be better off printed in magazines, which he said is a very different medium from a newspaper.

“A magazine is a glossy and elegant environment, where you cannot put up any cheap picture, but a newspaper is by definition less glossy and less famous,” he said.

“Newspapers should be positioning themselves away from magazines as they present unique opportunities for advertising. Use them to do interesting and tactical things,” he advised the audience.

“Encourage agencies and clients to produce newspapers advertising, recognising newspapers' unique advantage. Be price competitive, encourage full page advert and sell packages. Advertising is not just advertising, the quality of advertising spaces lowers or raises the tone of the editorial,” he concluded.