Author Archives: Peter Wise, freelance copywriter
Volkswagen: the most toxic fallout of all?
“The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.” So wrote Bill Bernbach, one of the giants of advertising, and co-founder of the agency Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB). It was his business that was responsible for many of the …
Unique selling points – it’s all a question of perception
I wrote an article on LinkedIn about how two products in the same sector but which are seemingly polar opposites can still claim the same unique selling point. You can view the post at Perceived benefits: a tale of two soaps
Copywriting for eBay
Recently we’ve been selling a few things on eBay, nearly all inherited from or given to me over the years by my dear old late Dad, an antiquarian book dealer and avid auction goer who bought lots, sold little and …
Negativity in copywriting
I’m sometimes asked whether all negativity should be avoided in copywriting, particularly advertisements. I’m not talking about ‘knocking’ ads, where a negative aspect of a competitive product or service is highlighted. Depending on the circumstances, this can either be a …
What was the world’s first long copy direct response letter?
How long do you think direct response letters have been around? A hundred years? A hundred and fifty? And who invented them? Surely it was either us British or the Americans? Wrong on all counts. The first direct response letter …
Copywriting book review: The Craft of Copywriting
Author: Alistair Crompton. Publisher: Business Books Ltd. Originally published 1979, second edition 1987. Are copywriting books from 20, 30 or 40 years ago still worth reading? When I started out in copywriting there were precious few books available to …
How long should your brochure be?
I’m sometimes asked by clients who are looking for me to quote on copywriting their brochure, how long I think the copy should be. To which I always answer that brochures should be as long as they need to be …
The monsters among us – reviews of Timbuktu and An Audience with Jimmy Savile.
Last week I watched the film Timbuktu at the Rio Cinema, Dalston; the following evening I saw the play An Audience with Jimmy Savile at the Park Theatre in North London. Timbuktu is a French film set in the legendary …
What advertising people do when they no longer do advertising
Is there life after advertising? Many people fall into this business by accident, after chequered careers in dead-end and/or unsuitable jobs, or because nothing else really appealed after leaving school/university. (I was in the latter category – I had and still …
Recent projects
A long time since my last work update, and I’ve been working on lots of projects for clients old and new. Projects in the last couple of months have included: A new website for a UK Department of International Development …