The best part about advertising is that the ‘product’ is all around us. It’s everywhere we look - from the box of cereal on the table, to the billboard on the road, to the flier you received in the mail.
Instead of passively consuming these ads, it's time to activate your "advertising antenna" and become an active observer and critic. Your mission? To rewrite the headlines of poorly crafted ads, either mentally or on paper. By honing your awareness and taking on this challenge, you can enhance your copywriting skills without even writing a word.
Transforming Mediocre Ads into Compelling Copy
Advertising is everywhere so rather than consume passively, dial up your awareness and make it challenge to re-write every headline you see to make it better. There’s plenty of bad ads out there so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding them.
I don’t recommend sending them to the company – people don’t really like being told how bad their ads are – unless they ask for advice of course – so just do it for you. If you really want to use the work for yourself, change the company name to anonymise it, design it up in Canva and your portfolio is ready to go.
Building Your Skills and Potentially Your Portfolio
Enhancing your copywriting skills doesn't always require starting from scratch. By actively engaging with the advertising landscape around you, you can transform bad ads into compelling copy through the power of rewriting. Train your awareness to scrutinise headlines, identify areas for improvement and unleash your creativity to make them better.
By consistently taking on this challenge, you'll refine your copywriting abilities, gain valuable experience and potentially even build a portfolio that highlights your talent.
So, pick up a newspaper or browse online, find an advertisement that could use some improvement and let your skills shine by rewriting it.
Action: Pick an advertisement you see in the newspaper or online you think could be done better and re-write it.
