Picture Perfect An unusual illustration or photograph stops scanning readers in their tracks.

As a copywriter who has always chauvinistically maintained thatwords are the most important part of advertising, I neverthelesshave to concede the following: Before there was the written word,there were pictures for communication (as in drawings on cavewalls). Pictures are a faster "read" than words have everbeen. And finally, as the oft quoted saying goes, a picture isworth a thousand words.

So, while I usually harp on the kind of verbiage advertisingshould have, this month I want to give the visual element itsdue.

It's no great revelation that an unusual illustration orphoto has the power to draw scanning prospects to an ad. But it maycome as a surprise that a "nice" or "pretty"visual doesn't qualify.

Ads must truly interrupt the passerby, not be a mild diversion.A unique visual, combined with a strong headline, will be the speedbump that grabs a reader's attention and causes him or her todo the unorthodox--read the text.

Since reading an ad is hardly an obligation, people can bepretty indifferent about it. One study a few years ago glumlyreported that the average person reads the text of only about fourads in any periodical. Some read more, others none. And even ifthat statistic is a bit off, think of the challenge that sets up increating a compelling ad.

Of course, some special-interest publications may get moreactual ad readership because subscribers tend to shop the ads. Inthese instances, copy is still king. But in most publications,visuals must be part of the hook. Without them, you'd be hardpressed to find anyone who'd pay any attention at all to ads,especially for those promoting commodities such as toothpaste,coffee, gasoline, cars or detergent. And even then, most ads withvisuals contain little more than mundane "beauty shots"of the product, making the ads almost invisible to us as we flipthrough a magazine or newspaper.

In the last few years, however, the manufacturer of at least onecommodity has overachieved in the picture department to get you topay attention to its advertising. I'm speaking of the highlyvisible "milk moustache" ads created for the NationalFluid Milk Processor Promotion Board. Who among us hasn'tstopped to look at one or more of those ads featuring well-knowncelebrities with their carefully applied leche lips? I have doubtsabout just how much such a campaign actually influences greaterconsumption of the product (the copy-is-king part of me thinks aword-heavy ad titled "How Milk Contributes to YourLongevity" would have more clout), but I surely can'tquestion the impact of the visual.

And that's the point I'm trying to make. Come up with ahigh-impact picture, combined with a solid headline, and you'llget your copy read--and, hopefully, responded to.

That's my message to Robert Lembersky, M.D., a Knoxville,Tennessee, physician specializing in pediatric emergency medicine,who wrote recently. Lembersky and a nurse partner have started aventure called Kidcare Inc., a 900-number hotline that parents cancall 24 hours a day to get recorded medical advice on commonchildren's ailments like fevers, coughs or sore throats as wellas injuries. But as Lembersky says in his letter, "I [have]ventured into a world physicians notoriously know nothing about,the world of business."

The doctor may be a neophyte as an BIZ Experiences, but hecertainly seems to know a marketable idea when he sees one. Hisfirst attempt at a small ad has promise, including a good headline,but it needs a little outpatient treatment to give it more visualappeal and impact to attract readers.

Déjà Vu

As I started writing this column, I remembered that nearly fiveyears ago in this space, I wrote not only about this samesubject--advertising visuals--but I also used nearly the same kindof business example, a service by nurses that helps new parentswith baby questions. Looking back at that makeover, I decided ithad a lot to teach the Kidcare ad visually. So I dusted off theillustration of that previous ad and slotted it into the newone.

As you can see, it gives the ad an arresting new dimension. Thenew visual communicates a child in distress just about as quicklyas the ubiquitous red strike-through symbol conveys "no."That's why I think it obviates the need for the originalheadline, "Mommy, I Don't Feel Good," which, althoughunexpected and strong, doesn't leap out visually in a smallspace ad.

Instead, I suggest using a headline that gets right to thepoint: "Pediatric 24-Hour Advice Line." This set of wordscommunicates immediately to parents. The word "pediatric"conveys that a children's medical specialist is available. Thephrase "24-Hour" says available any time, especially inthe middle of the night when kids are always complaining"Mommy, I don't feel good." The word"advice" conjures up personal guidance andrecommendations, not just generic information.

A few more suggestions: Somewhere the ad should say "Underthe direction of physicians specializing in Pediatric EmergencyMedicine." This establishes the credibility and legitimacy ofthe service. Also, I suggest changing the border of the original adfrom a solid black line to the dashed lines of a coupon, along withincluding the copy "Please clip and place near yourphone." Getting parents to take such action makes them farmore likely to use the service. Otherwise, unless they have animmediate need upon seeing the ad (highly unlikely), they couldeasily forget the number, if not the service, in a matter ofhours.

Finally, the value and credibility of Kidcare would also begreatly enhanced by some BODYimonials from parents and endorsementsfrom professionals. These might be hard to splice into a small,already-crammed ad, but a slightly larger ad could be worth thecost if the plaudits are impressive.

Lembersky also mentioned he's launching a mini-publicrelations campaign to try to get publicity in parenting magazines.Good move. Such free advertising can be powerful and far-reaching.Also, attaching the label "As seen in Parentsmagazine" or another such publication to the ad can burnishKidcare's image and reputation.

The only question I have about this service is its viability forthe future. More and more managed care organizations already offertheir members such over-the-phone help, both recorded and live, 24hours a day. My wife and I regularly phoned an "advicenurse" at our HMO during our child's infant years, and itwas nice to hear the calm voice of assurance and assistance on theother end of the line. And, of course, there was no extra chargefor the service, while the average cost of a Kidcare call,according to the advertising, is $10.

On the other hand, there are many thousands of uninsuredfamilies out there, and for them, this service could be a prettyinexpensive form of immediate medical advice. Also, perhapsLembersky could solicit HMOs or hospitals that don't alreadyhave such a service in place to offer Kidcare as a membershipbenefit.

Contact Sources

Kidcare Inc., 4437 Kingston Pike, #2204-153, Knoxville,TN 37919-5226, (900) 622-2273.