Ad with good headline -- Boca Maldita Beer Ad

Image credit: http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/boca_maldita_beer_instagram

Type/Benefit of the ad

The above advertisement is an ad made for Boca Maldita Beer. The selling point featured is that it has high content of alcohol, enough to "make you forget". This ad is a part of a series released by the company with an apparent theme -- the downfalls that one might face in terms of using social media (Instagram, Facebook, Tinder, Whatsapp, etc.).

Ad's appeal

The ad is presented in a simplistic way that makes it easy for the audience to take in the message, and it includes an attention-grabbing headline. The headline makes the viewers picture a hypothetical real-life scenario that appeals to its target audience, mainly youths or middle-aged consumers that actively use social media.

In this particular ad, the focus is on Instagram, putting the viewer in a situation in which a problem arises (i.e: "Your boyfriend commented on his ex's photo on Instagram") and pushing forward the product as the solution through its sub-headline, "Some days you just want to forget", paired with an image of product itself and the alcohol content as a testimony to the strong effect of the drink.

What I like about the ad

The headline is very relevant to society in this modern era, thus creating somewhat of an emotional appeal to the audience. It drives the point home in a very effective way as it is straightforward -- the audience understands that if they are faced with a similar problem presented in the ad, they can turn to the product to help them through it. One can argue that it is unethical for a company to advocate drinking "to forget", thus indirectly promoting unhealthy behaviour to overcome everyday problems, but at the end of the day it does aim to accomplish the very goal of advertising -- to create action by persuading consumers to buy the product.

Others

This ad features a headline that inspires curiosity from the get-go, and the point is to give an indirect command for the audience to buy the product as a solution to their problems. However, the ad fails to emphasises on its uniqueness. There is no selling point that makes it different from other high-content alcoholic drinks. According to Clark (2006), a good headline should incorporate The Four U's approach: it has to be Useful to the reader, provide them with a sense of Urgency, convey that the main benefit is Unique and do it all in an Ultra-specific way.

(Source: http://www.copyblogger.com/writing-headlines-that-get-results/)