I’m a writer, whether other writers appreciate me saying so or not. I’m also a sucker for a good headline. Something concise, punchy, and usually a nice play on words will have me wryly grinning and nodding my head to an ad for dishwashing detergent. Headlines do a lot of heavy lifting, and when paired with strong art, can really make a Good Ad. But that’s just the issue–a nifty headline is only half the battle.
What separates the good from the great, ads and their writers alike, is the ability to develop the concept from which a headline is the naturally occurring result.
In short, headlines are the immediate message your audience is seeing. Headlines, usually, work to answer questions like “What is this thing? What does it do? What action should I take?” The concept, on the other hand, is the why. It’s the big idea. Concepts marry the strategic insights we rely on with the ambiguous intangibles that drive emotions and memories.
“I’d like to buy the world a Coke” is a clear, actionable headline that answers one of those “what” questions, but it’s not the reason we remember that ad 50-some years later. The concept, bringing together people from all around the world, across ethnicities and backgrounds, to share in a happy moment of global harmony after years of strife, is the reason. The concept is why that headline feels so natural. The concept is why it’s one of the great ads of the twentieth century.
