Headlines: The long and the short of it

When shorter is better. And when it’s not. A treatise on headline length.

Most people, amateurs in regard to advertising, but also many advertising creatives, are deeply convinced that in ads, short copy is always better than longer copy, even when it comes to headlines. But is it??

Why most advertisers demand short copy and headlines

The main reason most people think headlines (and copy in general) have to be as short as possible is, of course, their deeply held belief that “people don’t read anymore”. They don’t have the time. They don’t have the motivation. They don’t have the “attention span” to read more than the briefest sentence. So is it true?

As you can imagine, my answer is: No. At the very least, I’d say: It depends. ?

Although such arguments sound logical at first sight, they aren’t based on much more than the own beliefs, mostly heavily influenced by popular belief (it’s kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy; the more people hear others say that people won’t read long copy, the more they believe it and spread that believe, and so even more people hear and believe it without ever questioning that narrative). The rise of an online bookstore to a global force should give people food for thought, one would think, but as I said, most simply don’t give much thought to that subject.

Short headlines vs long(er) headlines

While it is of course admirable, sometimes very practical and often helpful to say something very briefly, it is not always possible or advisable to do so. I came up with my fair share of “one-word-headlines” and also with ads that didn’t use any words at all (some examples later). But, having been brought up in direct marketing, I know about the power of the written (or spoken) word. And, especially, of long copy.

I could experience first hand that longer copy would outsell shorter copy more often than not (if it’s good copy, of course). And that longer headlines that said something worked better than short headlines that said nothing.

Not only can more words convey more information if that’s the goal (and sometimes it is), more words can also more precisely, and effectively, create the desired atmosphere. Of course, you’ll have to use the right words (which reminds me of this immortal quote from Mark Twain):?

Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words. —Mark Twain

When shorter is better. And when it’s not.

Let me give you an example.?

Here are some recent ads which are part of a little campaign I did as a favor for a small knife shop I sometimes visit (I’m kind of a knife enthusiast). I translated the ads to English as good as I could.?The first two ads both talk to the woman, something rather unusual in the category, by proposing something her man might appreciate. But they also talk to the man, indirectly, by demonstrating an understanding of his desires (regarding to knives, and in general…).

Here’s ad No. 1:

The headline of this ad consists of only four words, and the (somewhat humorous and maybe a bit exaggerated) message is clear: Buy your man a knife, and he’ll be extra-nice to you. (Which, by the way, will prove true more often than not).?

Since most people know the (practical) benefits of owning a Swiss Army Knife (which is quite identifiable through the visual), I could take that as a given and add another, even bigger, emotional benefit (i.e. the satisfaction of showing love through a thoughtful gift, and that of being loved back for it).

The idea to convey this visually was to show the opened gift package of a knife, very similar to an opened jewelry box with a ring in it that would appeal to women. This makes the (verbal) message easily comprehensible—visual and copy work together to communicate the benefit.

A variation of this ad uses a headline that’s a bit more lengthy—it consists of 14 words—that’s ten more than the previous ad. Most would regard this headline as a “long copy headline”, and many will say it’s just too long.

Here is ad No. 2:?

Now, while hopefully both ads are not bad (and could run), and both ads get their message across nicely (one reason being that they’re not the typical knife ads you’d expect), I think the second one is even a little more persuasive, despite its lengthiness. Or, better put, because of it. Why??

About the benefits of longer headlines

Well, when you read this headline, at first you don’t know where it will take you. All you notice is the surprising contrast between the picture of a knife and a message that talks to you as a lady and, next, about a romantic evening—and this is quite unusual for the category. (Normally, knife ads talk to men, and in rather practical ways only.)

So only when you have finished the sentence and maybe have taken another quick look at the visual is when the message finally becomes clear to you. This small span of time that the ad gives you (or takes, depending on the way you look at it), and the way it guides your thinking, and also the fact that it took a small effort on your side to decode the ad—that’s what makes it make you smile. It’s what makes the ad likable.

In short, this longer copy sets the stage differently—by (slowly-er) conjuring up images of a romantic evening and then tying it very closely and naturally and logically to the profanity of the purchase of a small pocket knife.

“Dear Ladies” identifies the target group immediately, and gives a personal touch. Talking about “romantic evenings” that “sometimes” open with “rather practical considerations” takes space—letters, words, yes—but this is also exactly what creates the (desired) imagery, or atmosphere. Also, the word “open” (instead of a more profane “start”) seems especially fitting because it unfolds a nice double-meaning in that it reflects the image of the opening knife-box.

Is shorter better?

Cross out words like these—and that imagery before your eyes, the atmosphere those words created—will disappear like a shadow in the night. If you think about it, it’s simply logical: Less isn’t always more. Less is often simply less. …

Shorten Shakespeare’s plays—and rob them of their magic. Cut Melville’s “Moby Dick” in half—and get less than half the thrill. Tell a journalist to use only one-word headlines—and miss the story.

Less isn’t always more. Less is often simply less. —Thomas Braun

Dear reader, if by now you should have no idea of what I am talking about here, then maybe this article is not for you. Which would not be surprising, as very few managers and even very few marketing people can relate to the “art part” of marketing, the part that doesn’t deal with numbers and KPI’s, but with feelings, style and taste.

However, since you have read this far, I think you are one of those who know very well what I mean. I’m glad you do. Because this indicates you’re either a professional yourself—or someone with taste and an open mind who will know how to make use of this, once learned.

Now, as I said, I think both ads that I have shown above are doing a decent job in getting attention for this little knife store (and its merchandise), and in attracting potential buyers to it. But when it comes to preferences, and if there was only money for one ad, I’d personally go for the long copy version (ad No. 2).

I subscribe to the theory that the more time a reader spends with an ad, the more familiar and connected it feels, and the more memorable it will be. —Thomas Braun

On the longevity of long headlines (and long copy)

All in all, I like the way this ad talks to women in a charming, but more long-winded way, and thus involves them into a “longer conversation” very naturally. It’s an ad that grabs a little more of the readers time, and I subscribe to the theory that the more time the reader spends with an ad, the more familiar and connected it feels, and the more memorable it will be.

I like to call this “the longevity of long copy”—and I’d be happy to see proof for this theory sometime.

Practical considerations on headline length

In the case of this small store, the ad isn’t even a real “ad”, it is simply displayed in the store window, inside the shop and/or put on a stand display in front of it—all at no or very little cost. This is important here: If this ad was a billboard which would have to work for passers-by in car-traffic, I’d probably opt for the short-copy version. So media and placement affects copy length (among other things).

On the shortcomings of short headlines

Now, talking of short copy, let’s see if we can think up a headline for this same subject that is even shorter than that of ad 1—ideally just a one-word or a two-word ad. And that’s as good or better at the same time.

After some tries, I arrived at this one.

Here’s ad No. 3:

As you may sense, while this version is even shorter, it is also more prone to misinterpretation. First, it isn’t clear that this ad wants to speak to women. Quite the contrary, most would interpret a knife ad as speaking to men. As such, it is questionable if the intended message is coming across as intended, as in the former ads. If you asked me, I’d say, no, it isn’t—which is why I wouldn’t present such an ad to a client. Let’s see if we can find another idea. What about this one:

Ad No. 4:

A little better (not as prone to misinterpretation), but still not overwhelming. A bit lame, isn’t it?, though better than the usual and totally boring “The XY knife” kind of headline.* I guess you’ll agree that this ad as well isn’t as strong as ad No. 2, my favored “long headline” version. Nothing to show to the client.

* What’s that? You say the days of these type of ads are over—the type of ad that Rosser Reeves fittingly called “show-window-advertising”? Of just showing the product and writing a “headline” that is basically the name of the product? I urge you to look at any automobile ad in social media. It still seems to be the standard way of making ads there. Here’s one I just looked up:

Just in case you may think that’s coincidence, here’s another one:

And here’s yet another one, from BMW:

Perhaps you might argue that, in social media, this kind of ad would be sufficient, or even perfect. But isn’t this an ad too, with (hopefully) the same ambitious goals, namely to attract, interest, persuade and move people to buy or lease the car? If so, then why should it not have to use the same principles of effective communication, and copy, as a traditional print ad, for example?

Just for the contrast, I am going to show a few old Volkswagen ads below. You tell me which have more impact—the old ones, or the one above.

Making the decision

Well, back to our little knife store. Of course, I didn’t invest too much time in this “hobby project” here for the sake of this article, and if I did, I might indeed come up with a killer one-word headline that says it all. But at this moment, I’d doubt that I could find one that would do much better than my “long headline” version as seen in ad No. 2 within a reasonable amount of time.

Always let the better headline win, regardless of its length. —Thomas Braun

And that’s exactly the point. There may or may not be a better short headline as an alternative to your longer headline. If there is one, great. Go with it. But if there isn’t one (meaning that at least you couldn’t find one), run with the longer version. Let the better headline win, regardless of its length.

Short headlines can work

Just for fun, I’m inserting another ad for a similar Swiss Army Knife here, one that utilizes just a two-word headline (one word in German).

Here’s ad No. 5:

As you can see, it works a bit better here. This ultra-short headline (just one word in German) can hardly be misinterpreted and practically says it all. So, don’t get me wrong: Short headlines can of course work.

Yet even here, a longer headline could possibly be more exciting and as effective—or even more effective—but this very brief headline is already good. (“How To Survive:” could also work nicely).

To repeat, my point is that sometimes a little longer headline will communicate more effectively, and more exactly, or subtly, what you are trying to communicate. In which case you should go for it, and not care about word-count. Except, of course, in cases where “practical considerations” lead you to very brief copy and a fast-communicating ad, as in the case of a billboard, or poster in places where people can only catch a hasty glimpse.

Leveraging long headlines—when is it suitable?

But if you’re using a medium like an ad (whether a classic print ad or a social media* ad) or a store-window display (or web banner, in digital), you usually have all the time you need. You “just” have to make sure you stop people in their tracks with your combination of headline and visual.

* By the way, in social media especially you will have to decide whether you should bring out your headline as written word, or as spoken word. Videos with spoken messages are headlines, too. And of course, they can be very effective in media that lends itself to this format.

Anyway, once you’ve got your readers (or listeners) attention and they sense it could be worthwhile reading your whole ad, they’ll do exactly that—even if it’s a long copy ad. Of course, that’s easier said than done. To try and proof my point, here’s a long copy ad for this same store.

Here’s Ad No. 6:

This ad uses a very intriguing headline that COULD be misunderstood (which, in this case, is exactly why it gets read), but clears matters in a matter of seconds (but not before it drew you in to read some paragraphs). Many people who stopped at the store-window of the shop would indeed read such long ads—and some of them would be persuaded to buy pricey little knifes afterwards.

Try to understand that there is no such thing as the typical “2-second-ad”. Research may tell us that an ad is given no more than about two seconds. But that’s only because most ads are not interesting enough to be worth more time and engagement on side of the reader (or because they indeed say it all in two seconds). In any case, it’s important to be aware that that’s just an average.

It is in our hands, as creatives, to make ads that are so interesting, so intriguing that people will take the time it takes to read them. Even if it takes two minutes (instead of just two seconds), like in the ad shown above. ?

Which leads me to late adman Howard Gossage’s wise and immortal words:

People don’t read ads. People read what interests them. And sometimes, it’s an ad. —Howard Gossage (1917–1969)

Really long headlines. Should you use them?

Here are some 15 ads from a campaign of about 70 that I wrote a few years ago for a LinkedIn friend of mine who happened to be in the branding and naming business. Being an experienced professional herself, she wanted “to get a fresh point of view from a fresh pair of eyes”. Those were some of the ads I sent her. You’ll notice that most use relatively long headlines. The shortest one has eleven words, the longest uses 25 (!) words. I found that her naming, branding and trademarking service was a business that lent itself to longer headlines rather than short ones.

If you think they’re too long, just try and write shorter ones that work better:

If you found these ads relatively easy to read, despite their lengthy headlines, that’s because they’re typeset for legibility. This is an important point: Apt art direction can make even long copy look relatively short; it can make it more digestible. Bad typesetting on the other hand, can make such ads almost unreadable.

In any way, I am convinced that long copy can help to explain, convince, seduce and sell, and often better than short copy. Long copy is sometimes even more effective than visuals. Again, if you doubt that, just try to come up with visuals for the ads above that are more convincing, and as clear, as the headlines used in communicating the message?

Try it now. I’ll wait.

…

Didn’t find something great? — You’re not to blame. Words were created to describe more than meets the eye. As I like to say, “A picture may be worth a thousand words, but try to say this with a picture.”

Some more headline examples

Here are some effective one-word headlines:

By the way, here’s an interesting story about the Volkswagen (Lemon) ad Paul Feldwick made me aware of. He wrote: “Did you also know that the original headline for ‘Lemon’ was going to be ‘This Volkswagen Missed the Boat’? It was Rita Selden who saw it on Helmut Krone's wall and told Julian Koenig it should be ‘Lemon’. (Source: ibid)”.

The original headline then became the first sentence of the ad. This is a case where brevity made the headline even stronger—in fact, it made it the ad with the most famous one-word-headline of all times.

However, as I pointed out, the opposing case can also occur (making a headline stronger by making it longer), although that’s probably less popular.

Ok, here are some great two-word headlines:

Here come some powerful three-word-headlines:

Here’s a four-word-headline for an ad advertising legend Brian Watson sent me that he created for Volkswagen when working for the great Bill Bernbach:

Here’s an ad I created that uses a five-word-headline:

Finally, here are some famous long headlines—and I mean very long ones:

Ok, here’s one last ad with a really long headline. It’s one of my all-time favorites.

I think what this small collection and my article (hopefully) demonstrated is that short headlines can be great. But long headlines can be great as well. And while shortness is often preferable, the fear and rejection long headlines receive from the outset just because they’re long is often rather foolish and unjustified.

Reportedly, when Abraham Lincoln was asked, “How long do you think a man’s legs should be?” he replied, “Long enough to reach the ground.” So likewise, when asked “How long should a headline be?” one could reply: “Long enough to reach the goal.”

To cut a long story short:

Short headlines are desirable. But if your good headline happens to be the short one and your great headline happens to be the long one, if I were you, I’d skip the good one and run with the great. Good. I think I went to great lengths?to convince you of the advantages of lengthiness. I hope I succeeded. You tell me.

About the author:?

Thomas M. Braun?is a marketing communications consultant and advertising creative; he’s also a lecturer and seminar trainer for marketing and advertising topics.

He has been in charge of worldwide marketing for the global leader in industrial protective plastic packaging, and before that led the marketing and product management teams at a consumer brand that pioneered the handicraft business in Germany.

Prior to this, Thomas headed his own advertising agency with focus on strategy and creative development, serving several well-known brands and reputable companies.

Among his all-time marketing heroes are David Ogilvy, Bill Bernbach, Rosser Reeves,?Hans-Dieter Maier?and Jack Trout and?Al Ries, authors of “Positioning”.

?2023, Thomas Braun

If you liked this, you might also be interested in my article?“Is the USP dead? — No, but it’s surely an endangered animal…”?In it, I explain the importance of a strong USP for your marketing and advertising.

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