Don't Forget To Leave A Gap In Your Storytelling.

Storytelling is at the heart of all ad creation.

Telling a compelling story that is rooted in the product is the most persuasive way of converting potential customers into customers. I learned that lesson early in my career by watching the legendary Hal Riney. Every ad Riney did was entrenched in the product. He never strayed from the product in his storytelling; every ad, every campaign, came right out of the product. He never did a funny unrelated bit then circled back to the product in the announcer section. He never told a joke then tried to link it to the product. No, Riney started talking about the product in the first line of copy. Bartles & Jaymes, Henry Weinhard Beer, Saturn cars, President Ronald Reagan. Riney was a master storyteller.

His ruthless belief that every product has a story worth telling has been my mantra ever since. Tell me a story about the product. Don't use borrowed interest, don't use a bridge moment that begins with "On the other hand..."

Tell me a story about the product.

But in every great story - at the core of every great story - as a matter of fact, the element that makes the story great - is the "Aha" moment. That's the moment a viewer or a reader scratches her head and says, "What!?! I don't get it. I really don't... wait... wait...AHA... I got it!"

In order to have an "Aha" moment in your ad, the story can't be fully told. There has to be a small gap in the storytelling. A small chasm that a listener has to fill in herself. It can't be too big, and it can't be so small as to be insignificant. A great ad tells the viewer a story, takes her on a journey, then just near the end, the writer stops writing. A tiny, important piece of information is held back. But when the reader gets to that gap, she finds herself saying "What!?! I don't get it. I really don't... wait... wait...AHA... I got it!"

The reader fills in the gap herself. That "Aha" moment creates impact. Stories with a perfectly situated AHA moment resonate. Long after the ad has played out.

So if you're writing an ad and contructing your story, don't forget to leave a space for your customer.

And mind the gap.