Advertising & IMC: Principles and Practice, 11e (Moriarty et al.)
Chapter 10 Promotional Writing
1) What is the most important word selection in marketing communication?
A) headline
B) slogan
C) brand or corporate name
D) mission statement
E) display copy
2) Letters with a hard edge, such as T and K, suggest ________.
A) relaxation
B) innovation
C) effectiveness
D) speed
E) calm
3) A short phrase that wraps up the key idea or creative concept and that usually appears at the
end of the body copy is known as a(n) ________.
A) caption
B) overline
C) underline
D) call-out
E) tagline
4) A distinctive catch phrase that serves as a motto for a campaign, brand, or company is known
as a(n) ________.
A) caption
B) overline
C) underline
D) call-out
E) slogan
5) According to research reported in the text, which of the following letters have a calming or
relaxing effect?
A) T and K
B) X and Z
C) C and S
D) P and K
E) S and Z
6) Which of the following literary techniques used to enhance the memorability of slogans refers
to the repetition of the structure of a sentence or phrase?
A) direct address
B) parallel construction
C) startling phrase
D) rhyme, rhythm, alliteration
E) cue the product
7) Which of the following literary techniques used to enhance the memorability of slogans refers
to the repetition of specific sounds?
A) direct address
B) parallel construction
C) startling phrase
D) rhyme, rhythm, alliteration
E) cue the product
8) The slogan “Have it your way” is an example of which of the following literary techniques
used by advertisers?
A) direct address
B) parallel construction
C) music
D) rhyme
E) cliché
9) Which of the following is an example of a corporate publication?
A) newsletter
B) public service advertisement
C) banner ad
D) news release
E) testimonial
10) An advertisement for an exercise bike states, “Get fit as a fiddle fast!” Which of the
following literary techniques is used in this advertisement?
A) a startling phrase
B) alliteration
C) combination
D) parallel construction
E) cue the product
11) The Microsoft slogan “Where do you want to go today?” is an example of which of the
following literary techniques?
A) a startling phrase
B) rhyme
C) combination
D) parallel construction
E) direct address
12) For several years, Nike included the phrase “Just Do It” in all of its advertisements, print and
television. This phrase is an example of a(n) ________.
A) caption
B) underline
C) slogan
D) call-out
E) copyright
13) The person who shapes and sculpts the words in marketing communication is called a(n)
________.
A) account planner
B) art director
C) copywriter
D) creative director
E) account manager
14) A type of formula writing that is full of clichés, superlatives, stock phrases, and vague
generalities is known as ________.
A) hyperbole
B) display copy
C) key copy
D) adese
E) news copy
15) Which of the following can be described as “we” copy, written from the company’s point of
view in a pompous tone?
A) hyperbole
B) display copy
C) key copy
D) brag-and-boast copy
E) your-name-here copy
16) According to creative professionals, which type of audience member responds best to humor
in advertising copy?
A) younger male
B) younger female
C) middle-aged male
D) middle-aged female
E) retired adult
17) According to creative professionals, humor in advertisements works best when the
________.
A) audience has a high need for cognition
B) product is high-involvement
C) ad appears in print media rather than broadcast
D) product is high-risk
E) audience has a low need for cognition
18) Public relations news and feature stories are written and distributed to external media in a
ready-to-publish format called a ________.
A) creative brief
B) news release
C) script
D) storyboard
E) press kit
19) Which of the following can most likely be individually targeted and personalized?
A) news releases
B) collateral materials
C) direct-response messages
D) directory ads
E) print magazine ads
20) A television advertisement for Chick-fil-a shows several cows eating grass in a large field.
The camera zooms out to show that the cows have eaten a pattern into the grass that reads “Eat
more chikin.” The message closes with the lines, “We didn’t invent the chicken, just the chicken
sandwich.” This commercial best demonstrates which characteristic of effective copy?
A) using news
B) using imaginative description
C) providing product information
D) being original
E) being general
21) Gwen, an English major in college, took a job at an advertising agency after she graduated.
She knows the meanings and derivations, as well as the moods and feelings, of words and the
images and associations they create in a reader’s mind. Her job is to select, shape and sculpt the
words in an advertisement. Gwen works as a(n) ________.
A) art director
B) creative director
C) copywriter
D) wordsmith
E) proofreader
22) Howard Computers is a manufacturer of portable medical laptop computers, which are more
technical than a typical laptop computer. Howard Computers will be advertising in trade and
medical professional publications. Which approach to writing copy would be most appropriate
for this product and target market?
A) being conversational
B) being funny
C) being specific
D) using alliteration
E) using adese
23) Which of the following is the primary criterion for judging the value of a news story?
A) appeal
B) originality
C) creativity
D) newsworthiness
E) tone of voice
24) Which of the following are the two categories of copy that print advertising uses?
A) display and body
B) headline and text
C) tagline and slogan
D) overlines and underlines
E) headlines and subheads
25) ________ include(s) all elements that readers see in their initial scanning; these elements are
set in larger type size than other elements of a print ad.
A) Body copy
B) Display copy
C) Adese
D) Headlines
E) Subheads
26) ________ includes the elements in a print ad that are designed to be read and absorbed.
A) Body copy
B) Display copy
C) Adese
D) Brag-and-boast copy
E) News copy
27) All of the following are most likely considered display copy EXCEPT which one?
A) lead paragraph
B) headline
C) subhead
D) tagline
E) slogan
28) Which element in print advertising conveys the main message so that people get the point of
the ad?
A) headline
B) overline
C) body copy
D) subhead
E) call to action
29) The text of the ad is known as the ________.
A) headline
B) overline
C) body copy
D) subhead
E) tagline
30) Which of the following is NOT considered one of the copywriter’s tools?
A) adese
B) overlines
C) body copy
D) call-outs
E) calls to action
31) Phrases or sentences that either lead into the headline or follow up on the thought in the
headline are known as ________.
A) overlines and underlines
B) heads and subheads
C) display and body copy
D) call-outs and calls to action
E) taglines and slogans
32) Which of the following copy elements in a print ad is a sentence that floats around the visual,
usually with a line or arrow pointing to some specific element in the visual that it names and
explains?
A) caption
B) overline
C) underline
D) call-out
E) tagline
33) A sentence or short piece of copy that explains what the viewer is looking at in a photo or
illustration is known as a(n) ________.
A) caption
B) overline
C) underline
D) call-out
E) tagline
34) A line at the end of an ad that encourages people to respond and gives information on how to
respond is called a(n) ________.
A) underline
B) caption
C) call to action
D) overline
E) call-out
35) According to researchers, how many readers who read the headline go on to actually read the
body copy?
A) 5 percent
B) 20 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 70 percent
E) 90 percent
36) Copy tests of headlines using two versions of the same ad are known as ________ tests.
A) end-run
B) tag
C) split-run
D) dual
E) direct
37) Headlines can be grouped into which two general categories?
A) call-outs and calls to action
B) overlines and underlines
C) taglines and slogans
D) direct action and indirect action
E) display and body
38) Which type of headline is straightforward and informative?
A) call-out
B) call to action
C) overline
D) indirect action
E) direct action
39) Which of the following is a type of direct-action headline?
A) news announcement
B) puzzle
C) association
D) question
E) provocation
40) Which type of direct-action headline states a claim or a promise that will motivate someone
to try the product?
A) assertion
B) command
C) how-to head
D) association
E) provocation
41) Which of the following is a type of indirect-action headline?
A) assertion
B) command
C) how-to head
D) association
E) news announcement
42) Which type of indirect-action headline is strictly used for curiosity and provocative power?
A) assertion
B) puzzle
C) how-to head
D) association
E) news announcement
43) Which type of indirect-action headline uses image and lifestyle to get attention and build
interest?
A) assertion
B) puzzle
C) how-to head
D) association
E) news announcement
44) Indirect-action headlines that give little information but attempt to compel readers to read on
to find out the point of the message are known as ________.
A) blind headlines
B) blank headlines
C) assertion headlines
D) taglines
E) commands
45) After the headline, which copy element has the second-highest readership?
A) overlines
B) underlines
C) call-outs
D) captions
E) taglines
46) ________ are sectional headlines that can be used to break up a mass of “gray” type in a
large block of copy.
A) Captions
B) Subheads
C) Taglines
D) Slogans
E) Direct headlines
47) Which copy element develops the sales message, states the argument, summarizes the proof,
and provides an explanation?
A) headline
B) subhead
C) caption
D) body copy
E) display copy
48) Most ________ is brief, straightforward, and informative, providing critical information
about styles, sizes, and prices of merchandise.
A) direct-response copy
B) newspaper advertising copy
C) directory advertising copy
D) news release copy
E) outdoor advertising
49) Which of the following media rely most heavily on visuals?
A) direct-response messages
B) newsletters
C) newspapers
D) directories
E) outdoor boards
50) Which paragraph or combination of paragraphs in body copy are most likely to be read?
A) lead only
B) middle and closing
C) lead, middle, and closing
D) lead and closing
E) lead and middle
51) Which of the following is another name for the first paragraph of the body copy?
A) tagline
B) lead
C) underline
D) overline
E) headline
52) What is the purpose of the closing paragraph in body copy?
A) to give readers interesting information so that they go back and read the full body copy
B) to provide specific information such as price and warranty
C) to highlight the required disclaimers
D) to draw the reader’s attention to the selling premise
E) to refer back to the creative concept and wrap up the Big Idea
53) In which print medium can ads be more informative and carry longer copy?
A) newspapers
B) magazines
C) directories
D) posters
E) outdoor advertising
54) What is the most important characteristic of copywriting for outdoor advertising?
A) rhythm
B) adese
C) call to action
D) brevity
E) alliteration
55) Brochures and pamphlets that provide details about a product, company, or event are known
as ________.
A) add-on materials
B) service materials
C) collateral materials
D) overlines
E) underlines
56) Radio’s special advantage, referred to as ________, is that the story is visualized in the
listener’s imagination.
A) theater of the mind
B) emotional resonance
C) image enhancement
D) abstract theater
E) synthesis
57) Which of the following is a tool of radio advertising?
A) headline
B) body copy
C) theater
D) motion
E) voice
58) Which of the following is considered the most important element in radio advertising?
A) human voice
B) instrumental music
C) sound effects
D) jingle
E) copy
59) Commercials in song are known as ________.
A) jingles
B) musicals
C) lyricals
D) sound effects
E) voice-overs
60) Which of the following is NOT a guideline for writing effective radio commercials?
A) Keep it impersonal.
B) Wake up the inattentive.
C) Speak to listeners’ interests.
D) Make it memorable.
E) Include a call to action.
61) ________ occurs in a radio commercial when the visuals from the TV version of an ad are
re-created in a listener’s mind by the use of key phrases and ideas from the TV commercial.
A) Theater of the mind
B) Memorability
C) Call to action
D) Image transfer
E) Recognition
62) Copywriters working on a radio commercial use a standard ________ format to write the
copy to certain time blocks, including all the words, dialogue, lyrics, sound effects, instructions,
and descriptions.
A) storyboard
B) radio script
C) transcript
D) dialogue
E) dual-column
63) Which of the following is NOT a technique used in television copy?
A) action
B) demonstration
C) storytelling
D) emotion
E) underline
64) What are the two primary toolkits available to television copywriters?
A) voice-over and on-camera
B) voice and sound effects
C) visual and audio
D) on- and off-location
E) script and storyboard
65) Which of the following involves an announcer, who is not visible, describing some kind of
action taking place on the screen?
A) voice-over
B) remote-voice
C) off-location
D) ghost-voice
E) monologue
66) In a television ad, where does the action take place?
A) storyboard
B) script
C) cast
D) set
E) frame
67) Commercials shot outside the studio are said to be filmed ________, which means the entire
crew and cast are transported somewhere away from the studio.
A) off frame
B) on camera
C) on location
D) off location
E) off camera
68) Which of the following is NOT a role for which people can be cast in a television
commercial?
A) announcer
B) director
C) spokesperson
D) character type
E) celebrity
69) A commercial’s ________ refers to how fast or slowly the action progresses.
A) storytelling
B) action
C) direction
D) key frame
E) pace