<Copywriting> in Seoul Women’s University, 2021
Copywriting Note
Analyse 30 Lines of Copy
In 2021, through the <Copywriting> course, I had the opportunity to analyse and create copies.
For my first project, I embarked on an analysis of 30 copies from the year 2021, spanning various industries from clothing advertisements to food, automotive, beauty, and so on. Watching and analysing the key copies of advertisements from these diverse sectors, I deeply comprehended the influence of advertising copy on consumer perception and purchase decisions. Analysing advertising copies used across different industries, I developed an eye for how the characteristics of each industry and its target audience connect with the advertising message. Advertisements communicate with consumers using their unique language and style, thereby building the brand's image and stimulating consumer purchase desire.
Particularly, by analysing the key copies of each advertisement, I was able to identify the elements that successful advertising copy must possess. I learned that a balance between emotional appeal and logical information provision, clear and concise message delivery, and the use of creative language play crucial roles in creating effective advertising copies. These elements attract consumer attention, implant a positive impression of the brand, and ultimately lead to purchase decisions.
Furthermore, this activity allowed me to discover my personal interest and passion for advertising copywriting. Through the process of analysing and understanding advertising messages across various industries, I fell in love with the charm of copywriting, which combines creative writing and strategic thinking. This experience provided me with a new direction in exploring future career paths and motivated me to further develop my expertise and skills in the advertising and marketing field.
In conclusion, this project offered me the opportunity to deeply understand the importance and effect of advertising copy. Simultaneously, it confirmed my interest and passion in this field, providing important guidelines for my future learning and career development.
TV Copywriting
The TV copy project involved selecting two school courses to create advertisements and copies for. For the advertisement themed around the School of Media & Communication's "Broadcasting Techniques" course, I used the main copy "Learn to speak, grow your confidence" and the slogan "Learn to Speak, Speak to Learn." The aim of this advertisement was to highlight the intention of creating a turning point in life and laying the foundation for future success through learning how to communicate with the world via the course. The ad concept was set as "Broadcasting Techniques as a stepping stone to success," emphasizing how the course could significantly aid in one's future success. The slogan was inspired by the school's slogan, "Learn to Share, Share to Learn," and was wittily adapted for use.
Another TV copy for the "Humanities of Love" course featured the main copy "A shortcut to earning credits and love, Humanities of Love." This ad was created to promote Seoul Women's University's popular course, "Humanities of Love," which allows students to catch two birds with one stone: credits and love. The slogan "Love is always by our side, Humanities of Love" was set to convey that the course could greatly assist students not only in academic knowledge but also in understanding human relationships and themselves. The ad concept focused on "the class everyone at Seoul Women's University wants, where you can earn both grades and love," highlighting that the course offers students the opportunity to discover and explore significant values in life beyond mere academic knowledge. This advertisement aims to help students succeed in both their academic and personal relationships.
Radio Copywriting
For the radio copy, I created advertisements for a Korean porridge brand, "Bonjuk." There were two versions: "New Employee" and "Ex-Boyfriend." The "New Employee" radio ad was centred around the main copy "May you fall asleep comfortably tonight" and the slogan "The warmest taste of comfort, Bonjuk." The ad concept focused on providing mental and physical comfort to new employees through Bonjuk's products. The advertisement narrative emotionally delivered how Bonjuk could be a source of comfort for new employees experiencing stress and pressure from their superiors at work. This radio ad resonated with the empathy of new employees feeling mental discomfort from their jobs, enhancing Bonjuk's brand image with a message of 'comfort.' Particularly, the ad used a play on words between 'comfort' in one's heart and 'comfort' in one's stomach to emphasize that Bonjuk offers both mental and physical comfort.
The "Ex-Boyfriend" version's main copy was "Even the ex-boyfriend couldn't forget Bonjuk!" with the slogan "The unforgettable taste, once you try, Bonjuk." Inspired by the viral "ex-boyfriend toast" in Korean communities, this ad focused on the concept of "the taste you keep remembering," even to the point of "a taste even the ex-boyfriend couldn't forget," highlighting the quality and taste of Bonjuk. However, a limitation of this radio ad was that if it had been a video ad, it could have delivered its message more effectively through direct visual elements. The limitation of radio ads meant that conveying the desired message was somewhat restricted.
Print Copywriting
The print copy project for Hite Zero, a non-alcoholic beer, was carried out in two versions.
For the "Turn the Fun ON" version, the ad introduced a new way to enjoy without alcohol under the concept of "Turn the Fun ON." It emphasized that although it's non-alcoholic, the fun still exists by highlighting "ZERO."
Head Copy: "Turn the Fun ON with ZERO!" / Lead Copy: "Turn off the alcohol and turn on the fun with ZERO" / Body Copy: "The first non-alcoholic beer in Korea, Hite Zero, not just non-alcoholic in name but truly 0.00%. Now, everyone can enjoy together!" / Slogan: "Drink the fun, Hite ZERO 0.00"
The "Just Choose This One!" version used the witty phrase "Just Choose This One!" to directly suggest to consumers to choose Hite Zero. It emphasized the characteristics of Hite Zero, being 0.00% in alcohol, calories, and sugar, making it a product consumers can enjoy anytime without any burden.
Overhead Copy: "Still hesitating?" / Head Copy: "Just Choose This One!" / Subhead Copy: "Don’t hesitate, go for Hite Zero!" / Body Copy: "True to Zero, alcohol also 0.00%, like Zero, we’ve cut out calories and sugar. Since it’s Zero, enjoy it anytime without burden" / Slogan: "With you today, Hite ZERO 0.00"
Both print ads uniquely highlighted the main features of Hite Zero, aiming to implant a positive impression of the product in consumers.
Online Copywriting
For the online ad, I created an advertisement for "Sangkwaehwan," a Korean hangover cure brand. The online ad for Sangkwaehwan featured the creative and witty copy "Sangkwaehwan Guy, Convenient Guy, Happy Guy," emphasizing the various features of the hangover cure.
The ad was structured as follows:
Head Copy: "Sangkwaehwan Guy, Convenient Guy, Happy Guy" / Sub Copy: "The one for you has arrived" / Body Copy: "Sangkwaehwan Guy" provides freshness the day after drinking, "Convenient Guy" is easy to use, and "Happy Guy" makes your day happy
The ad was produced as a 6-second YouTube bumper ad and a KakaoTalk banner ad, aiming to catch consumers' attention with a strong and fun message in a short time. The use of "Guy Guy Guy" added wit to the copy, but it somewhat deviated from the association with the hangover cure, leaving room for improvement in creating more creative and relevant copy based on the feedback.
Final Project for JobKorea
After practising creating copies for different media each week, the final project involved creating an advertisement for Korea's Recruit site 'JobKorea.' This project extensively covered market situations, problem identification, target & insights, advertising concepts, and slogans. It emphasized JobKorea's market share and the strength of its diverse content offerings. It identified challenges such as competition from new entrants and the shift to rolling recruitment. The target audience focused on self-improvement and career advancement. The advertising concept centred around JobKorea being essential for career building, and the slogan emphasized JobKorea's role in supporting users' career journeys. I proposed various creative strategies to reinforce JobKorea's position as a key tool for career development.
Print Copywriting
Based on this advertising concept, I suggested print ads, outdoor ads, and online ads. For print ads, the goal was to increase target reach by placing ads in magazines popular with the 20-30 age group.
Head Copy: "Prepare for infinite opportunities" / Overhead Copy: "If you're ready, infinite opportunities await" / Lead Copy: "JobKorea will carry your limitless journey" / Body Copy: "Boasting the nation's largest database with 160,000 job postings and offering a variety of employment support services."
The ad associates JobKorea's infinity logo with the 'B' in JOBKOREA, signalling that JobKorea is necessary for employment and career development. This campaign clearly communicates the support JobKorea can provide to job seekers, encouraging them to prepare for a better future.
This advertisement aims to give hope to job seekers and emphasize that JobKorea's services can offer substantial help in their career development journey, thereby positively enhancing JobKorea's brand value and image.
OOH Copywriting
The next ad presented, "The Train to Success, JOBKOREA," was a subway screen door advertisement for JobKorea. This ad utilized the subway screen door to deliver a special visual effect and message. The ad is designed to gradually reveal the copy as the train arrives, capturing the viewers' attention and maximising the message's impact.
Main Copy: "Don't worry, JobKorea will be your pacemaker." / Slogan: "Your success is carried by JobKorea. Carrying careers, JOBKOREA"
This ad emphasises that JobKorea is ready to offer customised services to those preparing for job searches and career development, assuring that with JobKorea, anyone can progress on the path to success. It showcases JobKorea as always being a necessary presence for career advancement and positions it as a companion leading to success with the metaphor of "The Train to Success." It focuses on making the target audience aware of the various opportunities and services JobKorea offers, instilling confidence that they can achieve their career goals with JobKorea.
Online Copywriting
The next proposed online ad, "[Psick University X JobKorea] The Secret to Success by Director Lee Ho Chang (30s)," is a content-based ad created in collaboration with JobKorea and the popular Korean content creator 'Psick University.' This ad creatively shows how JobKorea contributes to users' career success using the character 'Director Lee Ho Chang' from Psick University, who has garnered hot interest and response from the 2030 generation.
Main Copy: "If you want to succeed, seize the opportunity with JobKorea now." / Slogan: "Carrying careers, JOBKOREA"
The ad content follows Director Lee Ho Chang mentioning JobKorea as his secret to success. Lee Ho Chang is set as the strategic director of the future planning office for the fictional company 'Kim Gap Saeng Grandmother Kim,' with a market cap exceeding 500 trillion, and he credits his success to JobKorea. This ad emphasizes the services offered by JobKorea and its role in providing tailored services for job seekers and those preparing for job changes, highlighting the nation's largest job posting database.
The ad leverages the popularity of Psick University and the character Director Lee Ho Chang to make JobKorea's brand image more familiar to the younger generation. The collaboration between JobKorea and Psick University channels aims to increase target reach and powerfully convey the message that success is achievable with JobKorea, demonstrating how JobKorea can assist in various areas of career development. This ad is expected to raise awareness of JobKorea's advantages and increase brand affinity.
Through the projects in this course, I gained invaluable insights and lessons that will undoubtedly shape my future in advertising and marketing. Analysing advertising copies across various industries, I came to understand the significance of comprehending consumer psychology. Recognising how emotional appeal and logical information can influence consumer behaviour and decisions was pivotal. This deep understanding of consumer psychology has enabled me to craft messages that resonate more profoundly with the target audience.
While analysing and creating copies for TV, radio, print, and online advertisements, the importance of clear, concise, and creative messaging in advertising was highlighted. Developing creative strategies for these advertisements was a highlight of this project. Each medium's unique strengths and limitations were considered, enhancing my ability to tailor messages accordingly. This flexibility will be crucial as I navigate the constantly evolving landscape of marketing channels. This creative problem-solving skill would continue to be utilised throughout my career.
The project, especially the final task with JobKorea, required strategic thinking in terms of market analysis, identifying problems, and crafting solutions that align with brand positioning. Understanding the market, competition, and consumer insights laid the foundation for developing effective advertisements. This instilled in me the practice of basing creative efforts on solid research and data, considering not just the immediate impact of an ad but its role within the broader brand narrative.
Learning rhetorical techniques was incredibly helpful, allowing me to improve my message delivery. Moreover, I realised that no matter how good an advertising concept is, the end product seen by consumers must effectively convey the intended message through excellent copy. This lesson will be invaluable as I launch my brand or produce content, offering critical insights for use in various contexts.
Lastly, these projects helped me discover my personal passion for copywriting, advertising, and marketing. They provided a clear direction for my career path and motivated me to further develop my knowledge and skills in this field. These projects were not only about learning advertising but also about understanding myself and my career goals.
Project Outcomes
You can see the learning outcome through these three files. Unfortunately, only the Korean version is available.