Diving Into A New Medium: A Novel Writer’s Outside Take On Advertising

Being a writer is a craft. I get to author strings of sentences that paint a mental image for readers. I take ideas and feelings others have trouble expressing and I bring them to fruition. I want to use this skill for something more. With a degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment, I want to do more than just craft stories. I want to dive into a new medium expanding my knowledge. Advertising has always been the enticing pin on the map of creativity I’ve yet to conquer. Everyone has to start somewhere, and that somewhere is here because if you don’t challenge yourself, you’ll never know what you are fully capable of. So, here I am, diving headfirst into a medium that I’m not all that familiar with. In my opinion, advertising is the way companies and brands captivate your interest into their product or service. Personally, it’s an art form. Human beings take many courses on how to motivate other human beings into expressing interest in whatever it is that you/your company is offering. As a novel writer, advertising is like writing a story in which success is solely dependent on how well you can “sell” it. So, what does a novelwriter with not much experience bring to the advertising table? Simple. I bring what this company is all about; divergent mindsets. Thinking outside the box. A fresh perspective, if you will.

When it comes to advertisements, there are always a few that have stuck in my brain. The Puppy Chow commercial with the man and tiny pup really plays on my heart strings. It’s effective. It evokes emotion, ties it to the product, and really brings you in. When a Geico commercial comes on, your initial thought is “this is going to be funny.” Pedigree does a print ad about how life is better with a dog. It shows a man on a beach alone, and next to it is the same man on a beach with a dog. It sounds like it wouldn’t evoke much feeling but it makes you think about how lonely the man must feel in the first picture and how happy he is in the second. It’s heartwarming. Advertising, no matter the medium, revolves around human emotion and the connection a company can bring with the consumers they wish to obtain. To me, the advertising world has always been an interesting one. I’ve always been curious about the methods and the guidelines copywriters use to create these advertisements and why they are, and are not successful. Because when it comes down to it, all ads nowadays have started to resemble each other in one way or another. From a novel writer’s perspective, there are a few things that could benefit the advertising community by bringing on more diverse writers. A trained copywriter, be it ad copy or the like, is seasoned in one type of discipline. A traditional, all-around creative writer, has a whole different point of view. This can benefit the company by bringing forth new ideas that wouldn’t usually fit the mold most traditional ad agencies follow. Shed a new light on the world and look at things from various non-traditional angles. There’s been a set way one writes an advertisement that has been relatively successful through history. And due to that success, there has been little deviation from that specific process. Now, would approaching ads differently ultimately fail due to the unknown? 

That’s why I am here; that is why this is important. 

When it comes to advertisements, the things you take with you are the little snippets that evoke emotion. One of the most important being trust. You build trust with your consumers and that itself helps you build your brand. I do believe one can build a brand, but also step out of the comfort zone they’re adjusted to. And that is what I feel this company will embody. The idea that stepping out of the box is the best thing to really appeal to the vastly different humans of the world. While one way has “worked” for ages, who is to say that stepping out of the traditional and into something different won't be the best thing to happen to the community? I want to be a part of that, and I want to help that thrive. Advertising to me is this new and exciting stretch of land I have yet to explore. A part of the writing world I want to know, and I want to experience. Bringing on writers will break the humdrum cycle that has been advertising for ages. It will broaden the horizons and bring forth new possibilities. I may not know much now, but I definitely know that with open minds and eager hearts we can do a whole lot. 

I’m my own brand. With this experience, I’m able to learn to grow myself as well as the company for which I write for. To me, this is a win win. Let’s open the world’s mind to a fresh perspective.