Advertising stories and texts on pictures. A brief history of images
The first pictures that fall into the category of "images" are painted on the walls of the La Pasiega cave, in Cantabria.
To capture the plot of the composition, the viewer had to move along the walls.
The movement of the pictures was added by trembling shadows cast on the walls by people with torches in their hands, and the lack of oxygen in the cave played an important role in expanding the consciousness of both the author and the viewer.
In addition, in ☞ of the mammoth steppe , which then stretched from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Bering Strait in the northeast, not only grass grew, but also mushrooms.
Time passed, pictures from the sanctuaries of ancient people moved to temples. The caves turned into buildings, on the walls of which scenes from the life of the gods were played out - hunting, feasts, carnal pleasures.
But the viewer still had to move in space to read the story.
Finally, in China, shadow theater was invented, where actors controlled puppets behind a translucent screen. It was ☞ the first ancient cinema .
View, remember, tell
The images gave the viewer a spiritual, mystical experience.
Getting out of his camp or village, overcoming great distances, a person strove to get into the fabulous, beautiful world of temple architecture in order to feel the blessing of the gods or to feel the great spiritual heritage of their ancestors.
Understandably, access to the secret was not free. Gifts and tithes poured into the bins of the clergy.
Therefore, the huge distance between the consumer and the producer of the miracle was a significant problem.
Each pilgrim had to not only solve their own religious issues, but also arm themselves with the truth, which, upon arrival home, relayed to their relatives and neighbors.
The story of the miracle was supposed to give the listener a sense of foreplay.
The plots were lined up in such a way that at the end of each episode of the narrative the phrase sounded: "You have to see it with your own eyes."
The impressions were supposed to be magical, indescribable.
Thus, a proto-media space was organized, in which certain meanings and scenarios were played cyclically.
People were well aware of what awaits them in the temple, what sensations they will experience, and why they need all these experiences.
Such knowledge made their life understandable and predictable, and the priests rich.
Ready-made characters - take and use
Throughout their history, people have tirelessly conquered territories, gods and myths from each other.
But endless replay of the same plots, with the same characters, does not make the stories less interesting.
“There are only seven plots. They are not endless. You are endless, and the number of stories that you draw from your imagination is endless. " (Paraphrasing Danny Budman's words from The Legend of the Pianist)
Seven plots and twelve archetypes. Nothing else is needed to come up with a good story.
Stories in pictures are even easier. You can use not only existing plots and archetypes of characters, even ready-made stories from the classics can be used.
- Children's boots for sale, unworn. (E. Hemingway)
- Due to quarantine, they were delivered with a delay, the child's leg grew.
- The picture shows fat, happy children with little shoes.
We take a tragic story, plunge it into a dramatic situation and get a comedy.
This can only be done by a story in pictures.
The Internet is full of images and vidos on which the author can practice without violating anyone's rights.
Previously, they wrote on the cuffs, the margins of the pages of works, no one will condemn you for adding a few words to someone else's picture.
Selling story begins with murder
Everyone knows that sex and death sell well.
Clickbait headlines are endlessly criticized for being vulgar, but if you count the number of materials with the words: explosion, murder, death, you will be very surprised.
Clickbait headlines are used by everyone.
The reader simply does not react to other headlines, because the task of our brain is to recognize the danger in time.
We are always on the alert, constantly scanning the world around us in search of threats.
Therefore, the saltpeter explosion in the port of Beirut will be exploited by all news agencies until it explodes elsewhere.
The information space is full of messages warning of danger.
But the main task of independent, joint-stock media is to sell.
After analyzing the front page of CNN, you can see that the explosion in Beirut sells real estate well.
Observing the terrible destruction of urban areas, people quickly decide to change their place of residence, for a safer one, even if they are thousands of kilometers from Lebanon.
Therefore, if the advertising story tells about the comfort and safety in a new home, it still starts with a murder, information about which is located in the block next door.
The last phrase is remembered
Stirlitz's words have sunk deeply into the souls of the coaches in rhetoric and oratory. But there is a nuance. The last phrase is rarely heard at all, if the first words were about nothing.
Therefore, in the first picture, show the setting that reflects the uniqueness of the character's world.
It was an old fisherman who traded on the Gulf Stream alone in his boat. (Quote from Ernest Hemingway's book "The Old Man and the Sea")
One line from the story gives the reader an idea of the main character's image: his age, occupation, where events take place.
Without this information, no one will remember anything.
The second picture should tell you about the problem.
The third picture is to show a successful solution to the problem.
This is the classic formula for any story: beginning, middle, end. The difference is that moving the screen can save you a nice paragraph of text.
The viewer has nowhere to rush. ☞ Advertising story lasts thirty seconds and can be repeated an infinite number of times.
The first picture breaks through banner blindness only if it contains the beginning of a good story.
A good story in pictures will make the ad easy to read and remember
In my "Selling Letter" story, I used three images.
- Crucifixion.
- An old lion fighting the hyenas.
- And the rock art of the Sahara.
A story about a crisis caused by a pandemic. She does not sell anything, but simply displays a moment in time in the text.
"Selling letter"
Kirill decided to spend the accumulated emotions little by little.
Suffering is a resource. If you distribute them correctly, you can succeed.
The best example is a god crucified on the cross.
Kirill aimed at a very cheerful startup, and had to impress the founder with one letter.
He knew that people love to watch movies about the old king of beasts trying unsuccessfully to devour hyenas.
The scars on the body humanize the monster.
That is why, when the jackal digs its teeth into the lion's belly, a lump rolls up to the viewer's throat.
Cyril was such a monster.
The crisis tore apart his business. Clients fall off in bundles. "Travel" became a stop word, and he put all his eggs in this basket.
Cyril began the letter with simple words: "business f ** ck".
Then he looked around. He rented this apartment last year. If you buy one today, you have to shell out two million pounds.
Everything around him reflected his essence. Loft style furniture, white, Irish whiskey smell. “Not bad for a suburban kid,” he said aloud.
From a new line, Kirill repeated the first phrase: "To business, p ** ets."
Then he continued: “Where lush grasses grew and fat herds grazed, it is now a desert. You found your bed of the Nile and founded a new civilization. We are left with rock art. But thousands of years will pass, Picasso will be born on Earth, he will see our drawings and say the following words: we have not learned anything during all this time. Don't discount us. Read the sentence. Believe me, chopping with a stone ax is as effective as a bronze one. "