1. Vertical thinking
Vertical thinking is also called direct thinking or logical thinking. This is a very rational way of thinking. It is a way of thinking in depth (vertical direction) within a fixed range, using logical thinking in a certain direction and route. This way of thinking is the traditional way of thinking, and it is still the most frequently used and basic way of thinking when we are engaged in creative copywriting. The focus of vertical thinking is the depth of thinking rather than the breadth of thinking. It requires people who think about problems to be focused and single-minded.
(1) Scientific logic of vertical thinking. To write scientifically logical copywriting using vertical thinking, you can refer to the copywriting of Smartisan Technology: “It takes 8 minutes for us to see the light from the sun; 4 hours to see the light reflected from Neptune; at least 24,000 years to see the light from the edge of the Milky Way; and it takes 13.9 billion years for us to see the light from the farthest star in the universe. All light takes time to be seen.”
(2) The logic of vertical thinking. Lao She wrote in “Black and White Li”: “Black Li is not black, but he has a big black mole on his left eyebrow, so he is ‘Black Li’; his younger brother does not have such a mark, so he is ‘White Li’. This is very logical to the middle school students who gave them nicknames.”
Copywriting written using vertical thinking is not necessarily scientific, but it is persuasive. A typical example is the copywriting of “National Geographic”, which has won the Best Copywriting Award from the International Television Promotion and Marketing Federation and the Television Designers Federation. In addition, the recruitment copywriting (translation) of the US Army during World War I also adopted this writing method.
2. Horizontal thinking method
Unlike the method of vertical thinking, which has a high degree of thinking inertia, writing copywriting using horizontal thinking method is based on horizontal thinking.
Horizontal thinking is not a fixed thinking pattern for each of us. What is horizontal thinking? Horizontal thinking is not upward or downward logical thinking, but analyzing and comparing other things related to a certain thing (these “other things” may not even have anything to do with you), finding a new way and a breakthrough. It is a multi-directional and multi-export thinking.
3. Mixed method
Vertical thinking and horizontal thinking are two basic and effective methods in copywriting. In recent years, SK2, Momo, and some travel company copywriters particularly like to mix vertical and horizontal methods. This is what we call the mixed method. For example, a copy (translation) of the Philippine National Tourism Company was written using the mixed method.