Creating Ads

List of Advertising Principles from Persuasive Advertising (PDF)

The development of an advertisement is a complex task. I think that a checklist can aid even experienced advertisers (as an analogy, even experienced pilots must use a checklist before taking off.) So, I have been developing a checklist since 1993. It keeps changing... for the better.

Here is a comprehensive listing of guidelines for how to develop persuasive advertisements. For example, there are over 300 principles that could possibly be used to develop a persuasive print ad. Each principle depends on the situation.

The principles are presented by starting with strategy issues:

• information
• influence
• emotions
• mere exposure

Then tactical principles are presented, divided into those that focus on:

• reducing resistance
• gaining acceptance
• crafting the message
• attracting attention

Then there are principles that are specific to media, grouped as

• still media: print (e.g. magazines, newspapers, flyers, billbiards)
• motion and sound media: TV, streaming video and radio

I also provide the conditions that relate to a set of principles in a given catagory (such as "humor"). Actions and conditions are closely paired. When the conditions apply to a set of principles, they immediately precede the actions. When the conditions apply to a single action in a set, the condition follows the action. Key aspects of the conditions are in italics.

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