Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Tuesday Tip - Dicketts' Finger

Dicketts' Finger sounds like a real ale, or a medical condition.

But it isn't. It's a technique I've named for long-time Saatchi creative director Simon Dicketts.


When I was at Saatchi's, if ever I showed a headline to Simon Dicketts, he would automatically get out his finger and start covering up words.

The idea is that if you don't miss a word you've covered over, then you don't need it.

Let me demonstrate using a classic ad by Dicketts himself (I've changed the layout a bit for clarity).




Fewer words is better, right? I still use this technique nearly every day.

Tip No.4
Tip No.3
Tip No.2
Tip No.1

5 comments:

copyranter said...

No words is best. but yes, the fewer the better.

Anonymous said...

The fewer words the better? Epiphanic. Thanks, Copyranter, I'll try and remember that.

Anonymous said...

My CD usually crumples up the layout in front of me. That’s when I know it’s not working.

But the finger thing works too.

Charles Edward Frith said...

Of course Orwell had the same feeling about this too. But Dickett's law works for me.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GFRC,GFRC:2007-09,GFRC:en&q=orwell+leave+a+word+out

Anonymous said...

Or 'Brevity is the soul of wit', as some Stratford geezer said.