This is a subscriber-only article.

Save 20% on Entrepreneur+ during our Spring Growth Flash Sale

Use code SPRING20 at checkout.

Subscribe Now

Already have an account?

Sign in
Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

Face the Facts Smacking the reader with the cold, hard truth can give your ad a strong punch.

By Jerry Fisher

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

We've all seen the in-your-face TV commercials on the perilsof substance abuse, falling down and not getting up, and even thedisastrous effects of yellowed teeth on your social life.There's no better way to get an apathetic prospect to bolt toattention than to expose the consequences of any life-changingmalady.

That's part of the idea behind the ad shown here, developedby OneSource Marketing for Novartis Ophthalmics Inc. of Duluth,Georgia. The ad promotes the company's treatment for maculardegeneration, a devastating vision ailment that blinds more peopleover 65 than cataracts or glaucoma.

Theheadline gets an A+ for two reasons. First, it compels the passerbyto ponder the question in the beginning: "How scary is losingyour sight to Macular Degeneration?" The secondpart-"Spend a few minutes with Bob, here, and findout"-forces you to dig into the body copy for theanswer, but not before glancing at the haunting photo. The readercan't help but be drawn into Bob's diseased eyes, and thephoto is made even more dramatic by being cropped at the bridge ofhis nose.