Don’t blow everything in the headline

David Ogilvy knew a thing or two about how to tell a story.

As an executive who gave birth to Ogilvy and Mather and the advertising industry, he was a peculiarly honest adman.

One of his favorite techniques for capturing attention and drawing people into an advertisement was to use photographs that arouse a reader’s curiosity.

Something out of the ordinary. Something a little odd, a tad strange, magical.

Something unexpected that opens a back story, or suggests a narrative to in a reader’s mind. Something that can only be satiated by reading the copy. 

Don’t give everything away in a photograph or a headline. Entice a reader’s interest first and then reward them with valuable copy that sets the story straight.


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