They’re grrrrrreat!
– Tony Tiger, Frosted Flakes
There is a thing about good copy that does the job at hand: it is easy to understand, convinces you of a certain viewpoint, and possibly even simple to repeat or remember.
But great copy…that’s something else!
Great copy you want to read or hear again; great copy states what it means and can make you feel privileged to have come across it; great copy may be improvised or makes you wish you came up with it (copywriters mostly); great copy is really fun to repeat to the external world; and by the way, great copy passes the Mommy test with flying colors.
Why is this so?
Well, great copy does the job at hand and then some. It convinces you of a certain direction but does so with style, class, and possibly with a wise remark. It makes so much sense, yet is relayed in such an intelligent way that you repeat it to yourself, think of how clever it is, and are blown away.
Just recall Steve Jobs’ original iPod pitch about having ‘1000 songs in your pocket’. The iPod did have a certain storage capacity and can hold many songs, files, etc., but before Spotify and other streaming services were available, having 1000 songs so conveniently available was a grand achievement. But beyond that, it simply presented the audience’s end-gain so clearly, quickly, and convincingly.
Just beautiful.
And you can certainly recall other ads or copy from the past week, month, year, or even from your childhood. It won’t necessarily be a favorite brand, but it stuck for some reason…and hopefully not due to the annoying (but catchy) jingle 🙂