`Toon It Up Tired of the same old ad? Draw on cartoons to add some character.

When the time came for Erik Sundquist, a second-generationcustom-home builder in Redwood City, California, to take over thecompany reins from his father, he took a hard look at thefirm's advertising--and decided it was time for a newgeneration of ads. He couldn't be more right. The current ad isa good start on a Sundquist family coat-of-arms, but it'smissing the salesmanship that elevates it to an effective piece ofadvertising.

So what to do? How do you take a small-space ad and make it ahead-turner for a home builder? And to make the project even morechallenging, how can we give it enough noise for its firstappearance: the game-day program for a Stanford University footballgame, a medium that converts from advertising vehicle to impromptumegaphone within 30 minutes of being purchased?

My idea is to appeal to the short attention span of thespectator (as well as any periodical reader) with cartooncharacters conversing on the subject at hand. It's a respitefrom traditional advertising formats and therefore draws attention.Once pulled in, the reader continues into the short body copy thatoffers some elaboration.

As many readers know, I'm a big believer in cartooning as away to attract the eye to an advertising message. It's fun tolook at. It breaks the mold. It can make an impression. And itdoesn't have to be expensive. The cartoon used here cost about$125--a small sum nowadays to flag down a prospect.

Before:

Although the big"S" gets your attention, it's more a great monogramthan a great advertisement.

1. Avoid stacking theletters of words; doing so makes the ad harder to read.

2. "The Tradition isBuilding" is clever, but will it make people lunge for thephone?

After:

Cartoons are easy on theeye and are likely to draw readers in.

1. Even the mostdisinterested person can't resist reading captions oncartoons.

2. Make sure you pick acartoon style that is both fun and fits your product.

Jerry Fisher is a freelance advertising copywriter in the SanFrancisco Bay area and author of Creating Successful SmallBusiness Advertising(available through Bookmasters,800-247-6553). If you'd like Jerry to consider your materialsfor a makeover in this column, write to him c/o Entrepreneuror e-mail him at jerry228@aol.com