This ad for Rodney Strong Vineyards Merlot does a number of things well when it comes to selling its product to consumers. The first is to make their copy into a sales pitch, without making it too wordy or blocky, and in other words, throwing up a red flag for the reader. It starts out using a light, funny, conversational tone that goes a long way towards making the reader comfortable and engaged. The beginning line “You can take the Merlot out of Sonoma county---in fact it’s highly recommended,” makes the reader feel amused and warm, and doesn’t over sell its product.
“When copy sounds conversational, then the reader feels you’re striking up a conversation, rather than pounding her over the head with a sales pitch.” (Landa, p. 151) It’s followed up by the line “Place Matters. Try ours.” A gentle nudge in the right direction.
The second element is the use of place. This ad tends to strike a pretty good balance between being visually and copy driven. There is a fair amount of copy at the top, but the main focus of the ad is drawn downward towards the beautiful black and white scene of the idyllic Sonoma county (an obviously perfect place to make great wine), accented by the colored bottle of Rodney Strong Wine in the foreground. “An ad that relies on the visual to communicate most of the ad message is visually driven.” (Landa, p. 159). This ad falls into both categories by relying on a specific verbal message, but then shifting the focus downward and allowing the strong visuals of the landscape and the wine bottle to tell the rest of the story/advertisement. The reader is left with a single thing to consider after seeing this message and visuals, “Place Matters. Try Ours.” Well, maybe they should.
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