The best copywriting draws in those readers who are likely to be interested, rather than seeking attention from everyone.
A pitfall of writing marketing copy is to try too hard to grab attention. The idea is that once people are attracted or intrigued, they'll read the rest of the message and buy the product.
Unfortunately, this just isn't the case. If it was, we'd all be buying random goods against our will because we'd seen them advertised on buses or in newspapers, emerging later from our trance with yet another unwanted pair of shoes.
If we're honest, we all know from our own experience that momentary distraction doesn't translate into a sale. But somehow, when it comes to writing our marketing materials, wishful thinking sets in and we fall into the trap of trying to get attention.
I once walked past a clothes shop, outside which was a model skeleton sitting at a table and a sign saying 'Clothes to die for'. It raised a smile, but would it actually make you want to buy clothes? The slogan links the skeleton and the clothes, but only through a play on words. There is no real connection. So it functions as an attention-grabber, but nothing more.
It's a mistake to pursue originality or creativity for their own sake
What really draws the reader in? In a word, benefits: the good things that will happen as a result of buying what you're selling. Even something as lame as 'look hot this summer' would be better than the skeleton, because it communicates a benefit, however generic. It's always a mistake to pursue originality or creativity for their own sake - what you're looking for is interest. Now, what interests your customer may not excite you at all,. If you've been working in one area for many years, the benefits of your product or service can seem depressingly familiar. If you don't use the product yourself, you may even find customers' interest in it risible or embarrassing. But cutomers' interests, rather than your own, should nevertheless form the basis of your marketing message.
A product as sensually rich as clothes will sell itself. The garment rails should have been out on the street, instead of the irrelevant skeleton. But it's not so easy when your subject can't be touched or even seen - because it's a service, for example. Many print ads for B2B services get stuck at this point. Feeling that they should include some kind of visual content, the advertisers lose the plot completely, opting for jokey, obscure or downright irrelevant picture/headline combinations that say nothing about what's being sold. The quest for attention leads to pointless displays of what Edward de Bono calls 'crazytivity'.
It would be far better for them to choose a headline that communicates a key benefit and use images purely as illustration or decoration - if at all. A strong benefit, simply expressed, will always sell better than an attention-grabbing stunt. It might not be arresting, but it will attract the right kind of readers - those who are interested in buying.
There's no point in grabbing irrelevant attention
In some situations, it may also be worth considering a simple positioning statement - 'IT support services' or 'Facilities management' - at the top/beginning of the ad. This orients the reader and tells them what the ad's about, while freeing you up from having to use such clunky language in your main headline.
Rather than trying to 'convert' readers, remember you can only sell to people who are interested. There's no point in grabbing irrelevant attention that can't be converted into sales. If you believe that willing customers are out there, your task is simply to reach them with the right message.