Copywriting is dead? No; for better or worse, copywriting is changing

I woke up with something of an identity crisis after last night’s screening of Madmen v Mavens at the launch of the DMA’s Campaign for great British copywriting. Am I journalist, a writer, a copywriter? And judging by the debate that followed the film, I’m not alone.

The world of copywriting is in transition. We’re seeing journalists move into branded content and content marketing, while wordsmiths (professionals and amateurs) have made social media their playground.

So why does the most awarded copywriter in Britain Tony Brignull say that “copywriting is dead”? Today’s copywriters don’t have the luxury to spend weeks to come up with the killer slogan that’s going to run and run. Copywriting is everywhere and we’re expected to fill web pages, emails, brochures and social media sites with killer content, within ever-shrinking time frames. It’s a big ask.

We’re also seeing a lot more client involvement in the creative process and that’s not always a good thing. Like the time when I was working on a customer magazine and the client insisted we use a cover image for a 300-word story towards the back of the issue. Coming up for cover lines was, shall we say, a challenge!

And yet, we are living in exciting times as Patrick Collister, head of design at Google and chair of yesterday evening’s debate, pointed out when comparing the copywriting of yesteryear to now. “We wrote adverts; you’re in the business of advertising.”

Copywriters today have got a chance to shine in more places than ever but only if they’re given the time to hone their craft and have fun with words. That’s when the magic happens.

So it’s over to you now to tell us what you think about the state of copywriting in Britain today by taking the Copywriter's Census.