Seeing the StrawberryFrog ad that has 3 paragraphs of body copy made me flash back to every client I ever had that would demand to see bullet points instead of sentences. And the Creative Circus student who presented me an ad with two paragraphs and dubbed it a “long copy” ad.
So are people reading anymore? If the Harry Potter books are any indication, people still read. But as an industry, are we giving them anything worth reading? Are clients the ones who don’t have any patience?
Combined, the books in the Harry Potter series have sold over 250 million copies worldwide. Somebody’s reading all those words. Words that are typeset on pages. Pages that are bound in book form.
So why the hell do my clients think a paragraph with 3 sentences of copy is “too long” for their audience?
It’s not consumers who have the short attention spans. It’s the clients. Because today’s clients aren’t concerned with brand equity, customer relationships, or long-term initiatives. It’s a project-to-project, deliverable-to-deliverable existence. They’re worried about their jobs—and surviving in those jobs for one more month.
It’s the focus of my new column on Talent Zoo. Enjoy.
