Lessons and Better Days
Today Mr. Dev taught me that
one must conceive of an advertisement by imagining how one would convey an idea lucidly to a friend. An ad, he says, must speak to a single, known person. Not to several, anonymous people.
It helps, also, if an ad contains a large and relevant image, with a crisp, supporting caption.
The thirty-or-so captions that I ventured for a real-estate company, whose project's Unique Selling Point was its uncommon height and its (hardly uncommon) plush interiors, had too many words. I was told, in tones of apology, that although it is clear that I have 'writing skills', an ad's caption should have as few words as is possible.
I recalled, in this regard, a quote by the poet Robert Southey:
"It is with words as with sunbeams, the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn."
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Yesterday, a trainee who joined more recently than I, and who hadn't had the forethought to bring along a book in case she got bored, asked me, "Have you learned anything here?"
My answer was rehearsed and came easily, because I had asked myself the same question some days ago:
"I think I know something about what sentries outside ATMs feel."
She thought I was joking.
one must conceive of an advertisement by imagining how one would convey an idea lucidly to a friend. An ad, he says, must speak to a single, known person. Not to several, anonymous people.
It helps, also, if an ad contains a large and relevant image, with a crisp, supporting caption.
The thirty-or-so captions that I ventured for a real-estate company, whose project's Unique Selling Point was its uncommon height and its (hardly uncommon) plush interiors, had too many words. I was told, in tones of apology, that although it is clear that I have 'writing skills', an ad's caption should have as few words as is possible.
I recalled, in this regard, a quote by the poet Robert Southey:
"It is with words as with sunbeams, the more they are condensed, the deeper they burn."
-
Yesterday, a trainee who joined more recently than I, and who hadn't had the forethought to bring along a book in case she got bored, asked me, "Have you learned anything here?"
My answer was rehearsed and came easily, because I had asked myself the same question some days ago:
"I think I know something about what sentries outside ATMs feel."
She thought I was joking.
the exact feeling that the security guards sitting at the hostels feel although their case is better compared to ATM sentries thanks to the entertainment they get from midnight birthday bumps,vague timed footer matches,the loud music they keep hearing now and then in their cellphones(though most of the times i cant figure out which language it is).I guess to feel lonely and bored at the place you work is one of the most unfortunate things that can happen to one.My helpless heart pities them :(
ReplyDeleteNo joy?
ReplyDelete@Abul:
ReplyDeleteI like the examples you cite (midnight birthday bumps, vaguely timed footer matches,etc.). I can just picture our campus life with these images. :)
@Arfi:
I'd like to ask you the same question. :)