Newspaper advertising examples, annotated

Four composite SMB ads, element by element, each with the meter that would price it. Study the anatomy, then price your own.

These four layouts are composites of the local ads that work: each element annotated with its job, each unit named in column inches so the estimator can price it against your market’s quoted rate. What they share: one idea, visible offer, hard deadline, trackable response device, and type that survives newsprint.

Buying craft, not a published rate: composites, clearly framed as craft teaching, not reproductions of specific advertisers’ ads; claims inside any real ad must clear FTC substantiation rules.

HVAC: the response workhorse

Quarter page, 3 col x 10.5 in = 31.5 col. inches, B&W

Headline: 'AC out? Cold air by tonight.' Problem plus promise, eight words, no company name yet.
Offer: '$79 diagnostic, applied to any repair.' Specific dollar, removes the risk of calling.
Deadline: 'Through August 31.' Moves the fence-sitter this month, and lets you measure the month.
Device: Tracked local number in 24-point type, plus 'mention code COOL79.'
Signature: Name, license number, years serving the town. Trust block, bottom right, small.

Restaurant: the weekly 2x2

2x2, 2 col x 2 in = 4 col. inches, every Thursday

Headline: 'Friday: fish fry, $13.95.' The dish and the price are the whole ad.
Repetition: Same slot, same look, every food-section day. The ad is a standing appointment.
Device: 'Say you saw it in the Gazette' earns a free coffee; the counter tally is the tracking.
Discipline: No menu, no history, no logo parade. Four column inches holds one craving.

Law firm: the labeled advertorial

Half page, 63 col. inches, editorial-adjacent

Label: 'PAID ADVERTISEMENT' slug, top, per FTC native advertising guidance. Non-negotiable.
Form: 'Five questions to ask before probate,' bylined by the attorney. Teaches first, sells second.
Proof: Bar admissions and years in practice; no outcome promises, which advertising rules restrict.
Device: Free-guide offer at a vanity URL; the guide request is the measurable lead.

Retail: the Sunday insert

Single-sheet preprint, quoted per thousand (CPM) + printing

Front: One hero product at a loss-leader price, full bleed. The insert must survive the shake-out.
Back: Six items with prices, store map, hours. Prices are the content; adjectives are filler.
Coupon: Dashed border, expiry date, one per household. Redemption count is the campaign's report card.
Zoning: Bought only in the paper's zones covering the store's 15-minute drive radius.

Source: FTC Native Advertising Guide for Businesses, retrieved Jul 31, 2026. Labeling and substantiation rules per FTC guidance.

Use them

From example to insertion order

Pick the anatomy matching your business, write your version, then walk the workflow: price the unit with a real quote, check the file against specs, and instrument the device per tracking. Design principles behind every annotation: the design page.