VertigoOne OP t1_itppn6x wrote
Reply to comment by Wendals87 in ELI5: Why do book adverts so often use review quotes rather than plot/character/setting detail? by VertigoOne
>there isn't much room on the front cover
That I understand, but I'm more talking about actual adverts. Things you see online etc.
>For actual adverts, it needs to be short, sharp and to the point.
Right, but "to the point" also means it has to tell you something. No one learns nothing from these words.
>Not many people would watch an advert where it had a small wall of text that explained what it was about.
A wall of text I get, but something short and sharp can give you actual information too. I don't mean a whole exposition dump. Just a tagline that gives you some insight, the way that films do.
Here's some good example of what I'm trying to get at.
"On Thursday morning, the world was destroyed. Best get a towel."
"In Regency England, can love really cross classes?"
"When the state makes truth fiction, what can you know?"
That would be my interpretation of how you'd do something like this if you were selling the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and 1984 by George Orwell.
>For most people, the cover artwork, title and a quick one sentence positive can capture their attention and they can then read the blurb in the book or look up more information about it
Really? All these adverts look the same. How can they get attention when they're so interchangeable while the books themselves are so different.
casualstrawberry t1_itpr3ce wrote
You're absolutely right. As with most things like this, I believe the reason comes down to, money, time (which is money) and laziness, (which is time * money).
Wendals87 t1_itpuju3 wrote
I understand your point and it's hard to know what it is about based on adverts only. I guess this where the saying, Don't judge a book by its cover " comes from
It's all about appealing to the most people as quickly and cheaply as possible, without drowning in too much information. I am no marketer, but I know that advertising firms don't charge big dollars for no reason. They know what sells the most and unfortunately it cant work for everyone
>On Thursday morning, the world was destroyed. Best get a towel."
>In Regency England, can love really cross classes?"
>"When the state makes truth fiction, what can you know?"
If I have never heard of, or read those books, those lines mean nothing to me. It gives me no information about what the book is about, characters etc.
A quick "this book is great!" doesn't either, but I can gather that someone at least the review found it good!
VertigoOne OP t1_itpvijz wrote
>It's all about appealing to the most people as quickly and cheaply as possible
But if you learn actually nothing, how can you appeal to anyone?
>If I have never heard or read those books, those lines mean nothing to me. It gives me no information about what the book is aboutx characters etc.
That's not true.
The first one tells you that it's most likely some form of sci-fi (post apocalypse - world being destroyed) and that it's slightly irreverent or at least weird (what do towels have to do with this?)
The second one literally tells you that it's set in Regency England and is a novel centered around romance and social class.
The third one strongly implies dystopia of a specifically authoritarian nature.
The point is that this is all vastly more information than saying "this book is good" gives you.
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