Ads that stop readers in their tracks.

Outstanding Newspaper Advertising 13 Creative Principles

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O U T S TA N D I N G N E W S PA P E R A D V E R T I S I N G

Creative Principles

Newspapers are the daily diary of our society. Every day they tell stories of
good and evil and victory and gross ineptitude.They reflect who we are by
telling us about each other.
Great ads do the same thing. Sure they sell something. But the very best of
them, the very few among the many, give us little insights into ourselves and
our varying cultures. Great newspaper ads are as immediate, as vivid, as
provocative, as involving as the editorial surrounding them.
They have to be.
It’s the editorial that ads are competing with for the reader’s attention. But
great newspaper ads have an advantage.They don’t have to be so serious.
They can be funnier, more satiric, more playful, or just plain nastier than the
editorial.
- John Farquhar, Judging Chair, Extra Awards 2000

Research shows that strong creative is the key to successful

newspaper advertising - even more important than positioning
within the paper.
With this in mind, the Canadian Newspaper Association has sourced
research studies, and drawn from award-winning creatives and
newspaper advertisers to compile these thirteen Newspaper Creative
Principles that demonstrate the power of good creative.We hope
they will serve as guidelines for the creation of outstanding
newspaper ads (because there are no rules).

Compile d Spring 20 03
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P R I N C I P L E NO

Keep it simple
“Keep it simple, keep it stripped down, really look at the visual impact and always think
of the newspaper ad in context.”
-Trevor McConnell, President Christopher Finn Productions (formerly Creative Director at
Palmer Jarvis DDB Vancouver)

IPSO-ASI, a company that specializes is testing creative, supports this notion as

they also recommend simplicity in message and style.

One Idea
Resist the temptation to say everything in one
ad. Research supports communicating one idea
clearly. Shoppers Drug Mart is effective with its
ad “Menopause Day”.
Source: Starch Research

Short Headlines
Keeping headlines short is more
effective. As headlines grow,
readership scores sink.
Source: Starch Research

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P R I N C I P L E NO

Make it topical

Current News
Since the news is fresh every day, the advertising can be as
well. Advertising can respond to current news and events
just as this newspaper ad did. Days after September 11,
2001, this award winning ad was created for the Catholic
Church. In it, the Lord’s prayer is repeated over and over
again in two columns of copy.The relevance of the message
and the use of the newspaper column design make this a
strong newspaper ad.

Sports News
Given the different
newspaper sections, there is
an opportunity to have the
advertising interact with the
elements within the paper.
These ads for AGF Financial
were placed appropriately in
the sports section.

Copy: Eventually everyone retires. Copy: Eventually everyone retires.

Congratulations Ray Bourke. Congratulations Cal Ripkin.

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Principle N o Two | Make it Topical

Weather Triggered Campaigns

Ads reflecting a season can be placed near the weather.

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P R I N C I P L E NO

Visuals make an impact

“Present something that’s going to stop people,”

- Ian Grais, Partner, Rethink

This ad has stopping power as the

communication is all in the visual. Something
is missing and the eye goes to the only copy,
which in this case is the logo, which reveals
the ad is for literacy.
Research supports the use of visuals:
■ The long term memory has an almost

unlimited capacity for the storage of visuals *

■ Photos and illustrations are noticed 20-25%

more than no visuals or line art ^

■ Visuals that occupy half of the ad space,

attract 30% more readers (compared with

no visual) ^
■ Visuals that occupy 3/4 of ad space, attract

48% more readers (compared with no

visual). ^
Source: * Advertising Effectiveness, Giep Franzen, 1994
^ 10-Market study of 671 newspaper ads conducted for
the Newspaper Association of America by Roper
Starch Worldwide, 1999

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Principle N o Three | Visuals Make an Impact

Improving Impact
Place the headline under the visual as the
eye moves to the picture first and then
moves down.
Source: Starch Research

Improving Impact
One dominant visual
generates higher
readership scores than
many small ones.
Source: Starch Research

Copy: “Official Wine Sponsor of the

Toronto International film festival.”

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Principle N o Three | Visuals Make an Impact

Improving Impact
Provide context (e.g. a
vehicle in front of building
or on a country road rather
than one shown with no
background).
Source: Starch Research

Improving Impact
Use sideways ads with caution.You get the
width of a spread for just more than half the
price but they perform well below standard
pages.There are exceptions - those that
effectively use implied movement, colour
or a sense a mystery (enough to entice the
reader to turn the page).
Source: Starch Research

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Principle N o Three | Visuals Make an Impact

What Works
Food has a powerful visceral appeal.
Source: Starch Research

What Works
Children, celebrities, and animals *
contribute to likeability and attention but
are only effective in influencing brand
choice if there is a clear connection with
the brand and message.^
Source:
* Starch Research
^ Advertising Effectiveness, Giep Franzen, 1994

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P R I N C I P L E NO

Appeal to readers
Our creative panel of award-winning advertising creatives from across the
country highlight that unlike other media, newspapers are a reading medium and
there is an opportunity to create very readable ads. But…
Respect the readers intelligence. Don’t talk down to them… People don’t like to be talked to
that way in their personal lives, why would they want advertisers to talk to them like that?
- Jack Neary, President & Chief Creative Officer, BBDO
Source: Great Newspaper Ads”, Marketing Magazine, February 5, 2001

Have a strong headline Build curiosity

Grab attention and draw in the reader in so Present a human drama or an unexpected
they want to know more. explanation.
Source: Starch Research

Newspaper readers are information seekers.This is borne out in research:

■ Ads including sale prices are noticed 23% more often than ads without^

■ Ads with recipes generally earn higher read most scores*

■ As the amount of copy increases, read most scores drop but when people are in the market,

especially for high ticket items, not only do they notice the ads, they seem to study them.*
Source:
^ 10-Market study of 671 newspaper ads conducted for the Newspaper Association of America by Roper Starch Worldwide, 1999
* Starch Research

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Principle N o Four | Appeal to Readers

Proven Tips
A headline is more likely to be read if placed
on an illustration rather than a black, white or
coloured background.
Source: Starch Research

Proven Tips
No more than three type faces.
Source: “Maximize Your Advertising Impact:
NAA Elements of Newspaper
Advertising”, 1999

Proven Tips
Reverse type works as well as
regular type.
Source: 10-Market study of 671 newspaper
ads conducted for the Newspaper
Association of America by Roper
Starch Worldwide, 1999

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P R I N C I P L E NO

Colour grabs attention

“When you strive to stand out, use colour.”
- Peter Male,VP Sales and Marketing for Playland and the Pacific National Exhibition
Playland’s newspaper ads used a postcard theme targeted at teens. Mr. Male
indicates newspapers are perfect for targeting teens who are looking for what to
do on the weekend. His colour ads and surprising visuals help his campaign
stand out!

Black and White

Black & white ads work best
when emphasizing end
benefits, offering dramatic
situations and appealing to
the intellect.
Source: Starch Research

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Principle N o Five | Colour Grabs Attention

Colour
Colour (and by the way, giantism - when a
product illustration is larger than life) worked
best when it emphasized something humans
crave – food, sex or beauty, to name a few. ^
Research finds colour:
■ draws readers to ads and keeps them more

involved in the advertising message.*

■ boosts in-depth reading by:

• 60% vs black and white ads;

• 40% vs two colour ads.*
■ has a greater effect on the extent that ads are

noted than size. Research indicates that the

difference in readership is greater between
black and white and four colour ads than
between one and two page colour ads. ^
Source: ^ Starch Research
* 10-Market study of 671 newspaper ads conducted for
the Newspaper Association of America by Roper
Starch Worldwide, 1999

This ad for the Art Gallery of

Ontario started with the full
page ad in gold.When the
reader turned the page, a full-
colour double page spread of
art made a strong impact.

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P R I N C I P L E NO

Design big or small

In newspaper, advertisers are not limited in terms of time (:30)

or space - an ad can be big or small, tall or wide, on one page
or over many. Both newspaper ads shown below are award
winning.The one on the right won for best use of a small space
and the one below for its appeal as a double-page spread.

When to go Larger
■ Impact: the best 1 page ads
outperformed the best
fractional ads by 33% on a
noted basis.
■ Category: low interest
categories have more to
gain from creating a larger
ad than a high interest
category.
Source: Starch Research

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Principle N o Six | Design Big or Small

“ A good ad will get noticed

irrespective of its position
within the newspaper.
”
Source: 10-Market study of
671 newspaper ads
conducted for the
Successful Small Ads Newspaper Association of
Successful small space ads exploited their America by Roper Starch
unusual shapes to enhance the depiction of the Worldwide, 1999
product. Poor ones tried to pack too much
information into their ads and too little
attention was paid to drawing in the reader in
the first place.
Source:
“Great Newspaper Ads”, Marketing Magazine, February 5, 2001

Design
In designing ads, consider the Gutenberg principle. It states that
when we are taught to read, we start in the top left and our
eyes move left to right to the bottom right.Top right and
bottom left corners are considered “dead” corners.The eye
resists backward movement such as moving up or right to left.
Research provides further design findings:
■ use judgment with white space - when it dominates at the

expense of other elements, it is less effective;^

■ ads with high contrast such as colour or content (e.g. short vs

tall) get more attention - note that black backgrounds (which

make objects in the foreground stand out) are relatively rare
but, when employed (as in the second Stoli ad), they earn
considerably higher than average noted scores.*
Source:
* Starch Research
^ 10-Market study of 671 newspaper ads conducted for the Newspaper Association of
America by Roper Starch, 1999

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P R I N C I P L E NO

Be distinctive
Research recommends creating ads that are different from
competition and instantly recognizable.* Young & Rubicam
advertising agree and add that ads should:
■ demand participation and create a desire to know more;

■ surprise the reader;

■ expose expected information in an unexpected way;

■ break with the personality and rules of the category.^

Source:
* Starch Research
^ Young “Seven Principles of Stopping Power”,The Young & Rubicam Traveling
Creative Workshop

“I love this work. It’s fresh, it’s cool. It has a completely unique voice. For
a change, it’s truthful to say no else could have done it. It makes me
want to listen to the station. Heck it makes me want to get an afro.”
-Janet Kestin, Co-creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather

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Principle N o Seven | Be Distinctive

Stand Out from the Competition

Create ads that are different and instantly
recognizable. In studying what makes a good
print ad, research finds “something new and
fresh” in the headline or picture makes higher
read most scores.
Source: Starch Research

Build the Brand

This newspaper ad ran in Quebec where
“Urgel Bourgie” is well known funeral home.
This tombstone ad is clearly different than
most other ads in this category which generally
provide soothing words, a symbolic picture (the
sky, doves or flowers) and contact information.
This ad is designed to build the brand and
reinforce the advertiser’s position as a leading
funeral home.
Our creative panel recommends newspaper for
brand building. In particular, when competitors
are advertising elsewhere, there is an opportunity
to be distinctive and break-through.

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P R I N C I P L E NO

Create an emotional response

“The most common pitfall of marketing communications is to assume that the more facts
you communicate, the more believable they become, but opposite is the case. People buy
things that they feel good about. Frequently, in technical and business-to-business markets,
one hears the comment that their customers want the facts and the price… everyone buys,
or doesn’t buy, based on feelings.”
-Tom Beakbane, President of Beakbane Marketing

People buy because of emotion and justify

with logic. Force an emotional response by
touching on a basic want or need.
Source:“Seven Principles of Stopping Power”,The Young &
Rubicam Traveling Creative Workshop

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Principle N o Eight | Create an Emotional Response

“ Consumers read
newspapers as much for
the advertising as for the
editorial content!
”
Source: Readership Institute
(US), “Consumers, Media
and Newspapers,” 2002

This ad doesn’t ask for a

donation but rather it creates
heartache for children on the
street. It touches a basic need,
the need for shelter.

The Journal of Advertising Research highlight research which

found that creating feelings is more important than thought to
building brand attitude and intention.
Source: “Predicting Intention”, Journal of Advertising Research, May/June 2002

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P R I N C I P L E NO

Humour works
“Wars. Spiraling markets. Corruption… Newspaper editorial has the market
cornered when it comes to evoking emotions like dread, depression, sadness
and anger. So how does an advertiser get noticed in this setting? A good bet
is to make the newspaper reader smile. Get them to smile (or, god forbid,
laugh) and you might just get them to drop their defenses and allow you into
their head with your selling message.”
- Marc Stoiber, Executive Creative Director, Grey Worldwide,Toronto

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Principle N o Nine | Humour Works

Humourous ads are more effective

McGill researchers created 3 ads for fictitious Sail
sunscreen: a frightening skin cancer ad, a mildly
funny cartoon and a funny cartoon.The people
who saw the cartoons used more sunscreen.
Source: National Post Newspaper, July 22, 2002

The Singapore Newspaper Association found that humour works.They launched XO - a fictitious,
high alcohol beer – in newspapers.Their creative idea was “take it lying down” (because it’s so strong)
and, to make it exclusive, it would only be in bars with nice comfortable floors (so drinkers could lie
down).They researched the performance of their visual and copy ads.They found their humorous
visual ads outscored the copy ones by 10%. But the humourous copy (even though it was purposely
written in difficult to read script) was remembered word for word.

Copy: X.O. Beer is 12%, 100% lethal, and available only in

Copy: 12% alcohol and available soon in selected bars with nice selected bars with nice comfortable floors. X.O. Beer.Take
comfortable floors. X.O. Beer.Take it lying down. it lying down.

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10 P R I N C I P L E NO

Make the ad likeable

The Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) found that there is a strong correlation between
likeability and persuasion.

Factors Contributing to Likeability

According to research, five key factors
contribute to likeability (in order of
importance):
■ meaningful (believable, informative);

■ energy (lively, appealing);

■ ingenuity (amusing, clever);

■ does not rub me the wrong way (irritating,

silly, worn out);

■ warmth.

Source: Biel and Bridgewater, 1990 in Advertising Effectiveness,

Giep Franzen, 1994

Recall Improved
ARF cites that in 87% of cases, likeable scores
can be used to predict winning ads. In 1991,
Dutch research with 218 print ads found that
if the ad was likeable, it had higher
spontaneous recall (30% vs 10% for irritating
and 8% for not likable).
Source: Advertising Effectiveness, Giep Franzen, 1994

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 11 P R I N C I P L E NO

Highlight benefits not features

Consumers buy based on what product will

do for them not what ingredients it has.* This
Harry Rosen newspaper ad suggests that you
can make a statement with your words, actions
and clothes. This is stronger and more
effective than listing all the types of clothing
available at the store.
* Source:“Maximize Your Advertising Impact: NAA Elements
of Newspaper Advertising”, 1999

People buy things to solve a problem (e.g. fix a car)

or make themselves feel good (e.g. nails done).
Focus on the customer benefit. In this example,
you can’t get lost as the car had a new navigational
system built in – that’s a customer benefit.
Source: “Newspaper ads that work”, Mitch Henderson’s Ad Magic

Corporate ads tend to earn low readership scores

because they are not oriented towards benefits.
Copy: Never Get Lost Again.The new
G35 with 3-D navigational Source: Starch Research
system. Infiniti.

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 12 P R I N C I P L E NO

Link brand with creative

IPSOS-ASI Research, who specialize in creative testing, state that there should be no confusion
over who the advertiser is – make sure there is strong brand presence.

Cohesive Whole
Readers must be able to link the brand with
the ad – with newspaper advertising the better
the headline, visual and brand form a cohesive
whole the greater the chance of brand linkage.
In this example, who else but IKEA could be
the “Self Assembly Party”.
Source: Advertising Effectiveness, Giep Franzen, 1994

Link the Creative Visually

A double page spread which integrates visual
and headline on the same pages has earned
read most scores that are twice as high as those
in divided format (picture on one page, copy
on next page).This SuperPages ad is a good
example – the book is uniquely used as the
visual helping to link the message (i.e. you can
find lots of stuff in this book including hair
stylists) to the brand.
Source: Advertising Effectiveness, Giep Franzen, 1994 &
Starch Research

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13 P R I N C I P L E NO

Build brand across media

Advertising across various media need to look, feel and sound the same to
leverage brand recall and break through. Bud Light did exactly that by leveraging
the same characters and stories on TV and in the newspaper.
Source: IPSOS- ASI Canada, 2002

Media Multiplier research recommends adding Print to a TV buy for the

following reasons:
■ Newspaper adds extra information;

■ Newspaper leads people to see TV ad in new ways and look for details;

■ Consumers remembered the TV creative but not the brand, newspaper helped

consumers focus on what brand was being advertised.

Source: How print and TV Interact:The media multiplier”, Admap published by the World Advertising
Research Centre, May 1990

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 design
for the medium

“What makes a good magazine ad doesn’t necessarily make a good newspaper ad.”
- Jeaneal Rohrback,Creative Director, DDB Auckland.

While newspapers and magazines are both print media, each one has different advantages.
Creative can be designed to take advantage of these unique newspaper elements.

Bigger
Make an impact with a
double page spread.

Local Copy:Wishing you a safe and happy Immediacy

Ads can comment on the
local events.This ad ran in
Melbourne newspapers after
Jerry Seinfeld claimed
“Melbourne was the anus of
the world.”
New Year’s Eve.
Ads can seize the moment.
Specific days The day after President Bush
choked on a pretzel, this
Ads can be planned for a
brand had a newspaper ad
specific day.
commenting on it.

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Why Newspapers?

Credible
Clarity about the source of bottled water,
combined with the Walkerton scandal, has
made Canadians leery about the safety of their
water. Newspapers are the credible ad medium
needed to help build this brand.

“ Excellence is a better
teacher than mediocrity.
The lessons of the ordinary
are everywhere. Truly
profound and original
insights are to be found
only in studying the
exemplary.
”
Warren G. Bennis (b. 1925),
American writer, educator,
University of Southern
California sociologist

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Great creative makes the difference

A hitchhiker at the side of the

road with a sign that reads
“To Vancouver”

A hitchhiker at the side of the

road with a sign that reads
“I want to get home to Mom for
Christmas”

890 Yonge Street, Suite 200

Toronto, Ontario M4W 3P4
Tel: 416-923-3567
Fax: 416-923-7206
www.cna-acj.ca
creative gallery: www.extraextra.ca