The rules of harmony or rhythm do not stop with the form and arrangement of the advertising space and the matter. Once the eye has been directed to the advertisement, it is necessary to use all possible means to maintain the attention until the story has been told. Our nature craves rhythm, and when the written “copy” corresponds to our feelings in this regard, we respond to the argument and give it our attention willingly.

For maximum effectiveness in print advertising, there are two important facts to keep in mind:

1. Our attention is best used when a period of thought is followed by a period of mental rest. Neither period should be too long, because that would lead to mental exhaustion; not too short, because that is distracting. The balance of these two factors produces rhythm and helps the thinking process.

2. Prayer is the unit of thought and, therefore, its structure and nature determine the rhythm of the composition. By structure we mean the number of words and the grammatical relationships of their parts. By nature is understood the character of his preaching.

In general, it is not known that the sentences of experienced writers will average approximately the same number of words throughout their productions. Similarly, the number of preaching per sentence will be roughly the same. A test made from Macaulay’s “History of England” showed that the author used an average of 23.43 words and 2.30 predications per sentence and that there was an average of 34 simple sentences per 100 sentences. Research has also shown that there is a strong trend toward using simple sentences with few preachings and fewer words.

Greek and Roman orators made frequent use of sixty or more words in a single sentence. Cicero is credited with producing a single 124-word sentence. Examples of today’s best writing indicate that about 25 words is the average number needed to produce the best conditions to hold the reader’s attention. This does not mean that each sentence in the ad should be only about 25 words, but simply a warning against using long and complicated sentences or the opposite, using too short and choppy sentences, which loses attention. by providing too frequent opportunities for distraction from the reader’s thoughts.

While adherence to the principle of balance and unity is essential for ad writing, it is especially important for ads that require many pages to be written. It then assumes the dignity of a pleasant literary style, and a more in-depth discussion of principles and applications would involve the whole subject of the psychology of reading. The technical arrangement of the advertising space, the subdivision of the space into parts, the composition of the different colors and the written phrase, take effect if each characteristic is carried out in accordance with the principles of rhythm. These are commonly called proportion, symmetry, tone, and balance.

Remember, then, that an ad cannot claim more than a few moments of the reader’s time, so make the words count in that short period of time.