Head Long Is it too much of a stretch to get your prospect to read a headline the length of your arm?

Typically, good advice on writing advertising headlines is: Theshorter, the better. After all, why smack readers with a longstring of words when it's hard enough getting their attentionwith a short headline? But there are some exceptions to the rule.Especially when the message you think will "sing" to yourtarget market begs dramatization (and if you have the budget for anad big enough to accommodate it). It's a risk, given theimpatience of the average consumer. But sometimes it's a riskworth taking.

That's the case here, in which HealtheTech Inc.,a maker of weight-management products in Golden, Colorado,headlines the lament of the frustrated weight-gainer:"It's not fair. If I even look at food, I gain weight. Andmy sister can eat anything and never put on a pound. Will somebodyplease explain." Whew! Twenty-eight words. End to end, theystretch 2 feet. But it's a set of words that grabs theprospect's attention by strategically highlighting the phrase"gain weight" in orange and placing it at the far right,where it will stick out.

The headline is a setup to explain HealtheTech'smetabolism-measuring device, the BodyGem. By breathing into it,says the manufacturer, you'll get a reading on your metabolicrate and thus know the number of calories you burn on a given day.The figure will let you "finally know how many calories youcan eat and still lose weight."