Archive for the ‘copywriting’ Category

What’s in a (band) name?

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

I was shooting the breeze with a colleague the other day and the conversation turned to band names. I think it was prompted by a comment that ‘My Morning Jacket’ is probably the worst band name in history.

This got us cogitating about the power of a name. A name is pretty important right? Something you will potentially have to live with forever.

Now, most bands, even the greats, have rubbish names. Many of them may have weaved some incredible folklore around the origin of their name (see below), but the names themselves, well, what about ‘Limp Bizkit’ or ‘Prefab Sprout’ for example.

Coming up with a cool name isn’t easy. In fact, even if you come up with the best band name ever, but your music sucks, then the name is sadly irrelevant. Paradoxically, a great band can call itself pretty much anything it wants. Having said that, when you’re starting out, the name seems massively important. This is your chance to make headlines, to sum up the mood of a generation, to imprint your band’s name on the collective minds of millions of record-buying fans. So where do you start?

I’ve been in bands with names that have ticked every box from ‘so cool it almost hurts’: Deeptank; to ‘so bad it really does hurt’: Psycophagus.

Many bands have some great stories behind their names, often more than one version. How many of these stories have any foundation in reality, is anyone’s guess, but here are a few I particularly like.

BEASTIE BOYS
An acronym for ‘Boys Entering Anarchistic States Toward Internal Excellence’. Alternatively, in a booklet that came with their album, The Sounds of Science, the band said that they simply wanted a stupid sounding name that was a bit like American punk band, Angry Samoans.

CHUMBAWAMBA
Apparently, one of the band members had a dream, wherein a public toilet had ‘Chumba’ and ‘Wamba’ on the doors instead of ‘Men’ and ‘Women’. Another story says that the band is named after a slang term for the roll of fat on the back of a bald man’s head. Both stories are so much better than the official line: ‘Chumbawamba doesn’t mean anything…  We just wanted a name that wouldn’t date.’ Guess what, it dated!

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL
One story goes that the name is taken from an ad for a clothing store that would sell you ‘Everything but the Girl’. However, I much prefer the version I was told; a record company exec heard the band’s demo tape and wanted to sign them. Unfortunately he liked ‘Everything but the girl’.

Now here’s my favourite:

RADIOHEAD
The simple story is that the band was named after a Talking Heads song called, strangely enough, ‘Radio Head’. But the alternative theory is so much better. One of the band members’ mothers had brain surgery as a child and the surgeon had to put a metal plate in her head. In later life, the plate interfered with radio signals, so she earned the nickname ‘Radiohead’. And the rest is history. Probably.

A trawl of a few geeky blog sites unearths a variety of ‘The best band names ever’. Of course, everyone will have a totally different list, but here is my personal top 5:

1) The The
2) Pop will eat itself
3) Kiss
4) Public Enemy
5) The Skints

I‘d love to hear yours. Maybe between us we can compile
‘The Ultimate, Not to be Argued With, Definitive Bestest Ever Band Names in the World Ever List’.

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Posted by Jonathan in copywriting | 2 Responses

A copywriter’s rant against modern English

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

Now before I let fly, let’s get one thing straight, I have no problem with slang, colloquialisms or gibberish! In fact I’m rather fond of a bit of dance hall patois and Edward Lear always tickles my funny bone. Language should be fun after all.

No, what really gets my goat are those insidious little everyday-isms that have sneaked their way into our language in the last 3-4 years. Language that neither make sense nor makes me smile. Surely it should do one or the other – preferably both.

Am I really the only one in the queue at Starbucks whose skin crawls when someone says “Can I get a Latté to go?”. Seriously, if I were the Barista, I would have to protest, “No, I’m the one working here, I’ll GET it for you, all you have to do is pay for it and drink it”.

Do you see what I mean. It’s as ridiculous as asking an electrician if you can do the wiring.

Another one that makes me see red (no scrap that, it makes me shake my head and want to end it all), is the phrase ‘LOL’. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sound of laughter, I want the world to be a happy place. However, when laughter is replaced with an acronym, that really is the beginning of the end.

So the question is, am I the only crotchety word lover who gives a damn? Is there anybody out there who wants to join in on the rant? Let me know what phrases get your blood boiling and maybe we can start some kind of movement. Any ideas for what we call ourselves also gratefully received.

Yours not LOL-ing in the slightest.

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Anyone can be a copywriter

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

OK, maybe not a great copywriter, but if you can string a sentence together, you’re halfway there(ish). But how many people can write cracking headlines?

If you want to learn more about writing compelling headlines, you don’t have to look much further than the newspaper stand. 5-10 finely honed words that tell a whole story, believe me it’s not easy.

Here are a few that have stopped me on the way to the office over the last few months, either leaving me wanting to know more, or just making me chuckle.

A sign of the times?                                                            Err… a sign of the times?

Murder he woofed.                                                             Didn’t know you could recycle freaks.

And all the ladies want to catch it.                                     Great tactic.

You can see more examples of the craft of the headline copywriter here

And check this out if you want to find out more about editing your copy

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copy editing – get to the point

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Copywriting tip number 1 – copy editing

Waffle waffle waffle

Whether it’s a huge annual report or a short internal memo, there’s an art to writing sharp, succinct copy that people will actually read. For sake of argument, we’re writing 100 words or so for the home page of a brand new website for Smythe & Smythe, a fictitious insurance company. The following processes should help:

1. Stop staring at a blank screen
Get something down, even if it’s just bullet points in no particular order. Something to form the basis of the content.

2. Know your tone of voice
This is critical. In this instance, let’s say the client wants to come across as confident and professional.

3. Who are you talking to?
Let’s presume that Smythe & Smythe want to appeal to Financial Directors and other decision makers of large multinationals.

4. What do you want to achieve?
In this case, we’re welcoming someone to a new website and quickly getting across the essence of who Smythe & Smythe are and what they’re about.

5. Structure
Once we have an opening gambit and pay-off/call to action in mind, we can start to construct some logic to the story.

For sake of argument, we will have an intro that welcomes people to the website and an outtro that encourages them to get in touch.

This may well change as things develop, but as with the bullet points, at least we have a starting point.

6. Save everything
Every draft could be ‘the one’, so don’t save over them. Copy and paste and then keep tweaking to your heart’s content.

Draft 1 – it may be over-long, but it’s got pretty much everything you need

Smythe and Smythe – Your future in safe hands

Welcome to the new Smythe and Smythe website.

With over 1200 employees in 14 European countries, we are Europe’s biggest commercial insurer.

Smythe and Smythe is the number 1 commercial insurer in Europe, and with 125 years of commercial insurance experience, working with the likes of Fred Bloggs, Joe Public, A N Other and Thingumybob, you really couldn’t be in safer hands.

Since our original CEO chairman, Sir Cecil Smythe, started the company in 1886, we have been guided by two core principles – integrity and excellence. You will find that we constantly strive to meet or exceed our commitments to our clients – no wonder we were voted number 1 for value and customer service at the Euro–Insure awards 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2011.

In our new site you will find the Smythe and Smythe blog, downloadable resources and an invaluable online quote tool.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if there is anything you would like to discuss regarding your commercial insurance needs.

So, now it’s time to get the hatchet out.

Draft 2

Smythe and Smythe – Your future in safe hands

Welcome to the new Smythe and Smythe website.

Smythe and Smythe employs over 1200 insurance specialists and provides commercial cover and consultancy for some of the biggest organisations in Europe.

Since our incorporation 1886, we have been guided by two core principles – integrity and excellence. No wonder we were voted number 1 for value and customer service at the Euro–Insure awards 2011.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if there is anything you would like to discuss regarding your commercial insurance needs.

Now’s the time to be honest with ourselves. Is there anything crucial missing? Does it flow? Is it in the right order? If the answer to all of these questions is ‘Yes’, it’s time to look at tone of voice.  Smythe and Smythe is the biggest in Europe and our tone of voice is ‘confident and professional’, so maybe, we can afford to be a bit ballsier…

Draft 3

Smythe and Smythe – Your future in safe hands

For 125 years, Smythe and Smythe has been guided by two core principals – integrity and excellence. That’s why we’re the largest commercial insurer in Europe.

And this year, we picked up our 7th annual Euro–Insure award as ‘number 1 for value and customer service’.

Want to know more? Please have a look around our website or get in touch.

If you’ve got to this point and you’re still not sure, read it out loud. Does it sound right for your brand? Another great tip is to forget about it and give it the ‘overnight test’. But, if deadlines are looming, ask colleagues what they think. If you’re the only one who likes it, don’t be afraid to tear it up and start again.

So, in summary, get all the salient points down; be ruthless with your editing; save every version; and finally, don’t forget your tone of voice – it could be the one thing that makes your brand truly unique.

Oh, and definitely don’t rely on spell check!

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Posted by Jonathan in copywriting, creativity | 1 Response

How to write for the web

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Your website is a powerful selling tool. Conversely, with poorly written copy, it could do more damage than good. Before we talk about how to write for the web, let’s look at some research conducted by www.useit.com into ‘How users read on the web’.

Like many usability studies, they have come to the conclusion that people read websites very differently to the way they read printed literature – they don’t read, they scan. In their research, they found that only 16% of users read every word when navigating a new web page.

To measure the effectiveness of different styles of copy, they asked users to perform the same tasks on five different versions of the same website. They produced a control version using what they call “marketese”, a concise version, a scannable version, an objective version and a version that combined all three ‘improvements’ in writing style.

Here’s the control version:

Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions that draw large crowds of people every year, without fail. In 1996, some of the most popular places were Fort Robinson State Park (355,000 visitors), Scotts Bluff National Monument (132,166), Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum (100,000), Carhenge (86,598), Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer (60,002), and Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park (28,446).

Probably no wonder that this didn’t score particularly well.

Here’s the most successful version:

In 1996, six of the most-visited places in Nebraska were:

•    Fort Robinson State Park
•    Scotts Bluff National Monument
•    Arbor Lodge State Historical Park & Museum
•    Carhenge
•    Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
•    Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park

In this particular test, the latter copy version measured a 124% improvement in usability. So…

What are the rules for writing good web copy?

Here are some of the hard and soft rules to get the most out of your web copy, in no particular order:

1) First things first
What is the most important thing you need to get across? Don’t be afraid to sum it up right at the top of the page.

2) SEO
Yes, it’s massively important, but don’t let Search Engine Optimisation get in the way of a good read. You know the sort of thing;
Remedy Creative is a creative agency that understands creativity. Our creative remedies bring creativity to clients that need remedies that are both creative and…

3) Scannability
Make the page easy to digest for anyone who wants to scan the copy. Highlight keywords. Pull out useful facts in sub-headings. Keep it as short as possible.

4) Jargon
Unless you are talking tech to techies, keep the jargon to a minimum.

5) Audience
What does your audience want to read? What language do they want to read it in? Knowing who you are talking to is one of the first steps to copy that works.

6) Tone of voice
You have a brand with values. Professional, energetic, cutting-edge, fun, established, reliable… Whatever your values are, the tone of voice of your web copy needs to be in line.

7) Proof
Make sure you read your copy through (printing it out is a massive help) before it gets published. If you have access to a professional proof reader or trusted colleague with a good command of English, get them to read it too. One typo in the middle of a beautifully written paragraph will lose credibility and undo all of your hard work.

8) Call to action
What do you want people to do once they have read your copy? Whatever it is, make their life easy. Provide links, a clearly signposted contact page or a highlighted contact number.

9) Descriptive links
Wherever possible, make your links descriptive. Don’t write ‘to find out more about writing for the web click here’, when you could write ‘click here to find out more about writing for the web’.

10) To write or not to write?
An A-Level in English doesn’t make you a great copywriter. It’s no big deal, we just need to play to our strengths. If there is no one in your organisation who has a way with words, then get a professional on the case.

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Creative Heroes – John Webster

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

I never got the chance to meet him, but I grew up with many of his creations.

John Webster was possibly the greatest TV commercials writer and art director in the UK, if not, the world. He was born December 17, 1934 in Paris and after attending Hornsey College of Art, spent most of his career at Boase Massimi Pollitt (now DDB London), having helped set up the agency in 1969.

As Creative Director, he gained a reputation as one of the most talented advertising creatives in London and won more creative awards than anyone else. To put this into perspective, let me quote leading ad man Dave Trott:

“One year I won a Cannes Gold Lion for a commercial that I’d written. I felt pretty good. The same year John won three Gold Lions for commercials he’d written, another three for commercials he’d art-directed, and another three for commercials he’d actually directed himself. Nine times as many as me. Or, to put it another way, three times as many as anyone else in any field in our business. And that was just one year.”

But ironically, winning awards was the last thing on John Webster’s mind. Unlike many of his contemporaries who had been sucked in by the back-patting world of the London ad scene, John knew there was more to life than advertising. He knew that people switched the box on to watch Hollywood blockbusters, sitcoms and soaps. That’s why he pitched his ideas to the ‘normal’ people in the agency; the tea-lady, the odd-job man and the receptionist.
He couldn’t care less what his peers thought about his work. After all, they weren’t who he was selling to.

One of John’s colleagues, James Best, says that one of the things that made John Webster’s work so powerful was that he knew “Nobody’s asked you in… John’s particular magic was to realise that if you’re going to communicate with people, rather than shouting at them, why not amuse them and even charm them? If they like you and enjoy what you’re about, then they might be prepared to listen to what you’ve got to tell them.”

John Webster’s advertising creations read like a Who’s Who of advertising icons:
The Cadbury’s Smash martians, the Honey Monster, George the Hofmeister bear, The Cresta Bear, John Smith’s Arkwright and my all time favourite, the ‘It’s too orangey for crows’ Kia Ora ad.

Now, there are some rather bizarre rumours going around that the characters in this commercial reinforce racial stereotypes. Maybe I just see the world through orange-coloured spectacles, but the idea that this commercial has any racist overtones is beyond me. I would like to take this opportunity to (s)quash any such nonsense!

According to anyone who knew and worked with John, there wasn’t a bad bone in his body.

Advertising luminary, Winston Fletcher says:

“John was the antithesis of the caricature advertising man. Though supremely confident of his own talent, he was never arrogant, did not push himself forward, dressed unexceptionally, threw no tantrums and accepted good ideas from others gracefully, including ideas from clients, something few advertising creative people will countenance… He was immensely popular and a team player, both literally and metaphorically. He played cricket and golf for his agency – though even he would not have claimed to be great shakes at either – and he was generous to a fault in devoting time to the encouragement and training of young people.”

And to quote Dave Trott once more:

“He was a typically eccentric Englishman. He approached multimillion-pound campaigns as if he were tending prize leeks in his allotment… of all the creative greats in the UK, John was the only one not to have his name above the door of an advertising agency. And yet, at BMP, John was the agency.”

Some Webster facts:
– He is responsible for ‘Watch out, there’s a Humphrey about’ and ‘Gertcha’
– He introduced Gary Lineker to the world as the face of Walkers crisps
– In a poll of the UKs top 100 TV commercials, 11 were created by John Webster
– He won two Cannes Grand Prix awards and the D&AD President’s Award
– His Cadbury’s Smash Martians commercial was voted TV ad of the century by Campaign Magazine in 1999, and Best Ad Ever by ITV in 2005
– There is now even an award named after him – The John Webster Award for Best 30 second Commercial (British Television Advertising Awards).

And finally, to quote the man himself:

“I always know a piece of work is really good when I feel angry. It’s a sort of resentment that someone else has done it.”

John Webster, 1934 – 2006. An inspiration for two generations of creatives.

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The art of the one liner

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

Writing a great headline is an art. There aren’t many of us who can take a small handful of words and come up with something so compelling that people want to know more, buy one, write to their MP or repeat it in the pub that night.

I don’t want to get into a rant about the lack of decent copywriters in the advertising and design business presently, I’ll leave that for another post.

Instead, I’d rather celebrate the master of the one-liner, the humble newspaper hack. If you’re in need of some sizzling inspiration, what better place to look than the good old Soar away Sun.

Over the last 40 years, they’ve written some lines that have gone into the English language. Here are some absolute corkers:

1982, British troops sank the General Belgrano and The Sun launched a ballistic one-word, jingoistic war cry: ‘GOTCHA’.

1986, and how could you not read on from this little teaser: ‘FREDDIE STARR ATE MY HAMSTER’.

Wind the clock forward to the 21st century and they’re still coming out with some real beauties. 2005, Prince Harry is photographed on his way to a fancy dress party: ‘HARRY THE NAZI’.

2009, perhaps a little gratuitous even for The Sun as everyone’s favourite celebrity stoner has a bit of a prang: ‘GEORGE MICHAEL SHUNTS TRUCKER IN REAR’.

But it’s not just the journos at our number one tabloid that can turn out a nifty line or two. Check these out from one of our much loved local weekly newspapers:

We love a bit of hyperbole.                 They spent it on pizza.                        Things were a bit slow that week.

So next time you’re struggling to edit a 15 word headline, you could do worse than buy a copy of your local rag.

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Extra-curricular creativity pt.2 – The Green Party

Friday, June 4th, 2010

If you saw our blog post of 30th April, you’ll understand the premise of this. If not, please check out ‘Extra-curricular creativity pt.1′ here
Anyway, brief number 2 was nice and tricky:

A new logo and slogan for The Green Party.

Aimed at young and first-time voters, the brief was to raise the party’s profile as a real contender. ‘The only party that has a real environmental agenda to help make everyone’s future better. A force for positive change’. Sam came up with three cracking logo concepts…

green_party_butterfly

OK, so it’s a visual cliché, but it’s spot on for the message of positive change.

green_partykey

Is it a key hole? Is it a tree? There’s a smart idea in here and it’s bold and simple.

green_partyleaves

A little more sophisticated, and we loved the lotus flower analogy – it grows in muddy water and rises above the surface to bloom, untouched by the impurity of its environment… (who says you can’t have graphic design AND philosophy).

The second part of the brief was even trickier – a slogan that ‘passes the T Shirt test’. Not just a strapline, but something that could be the party’s rally cry.

There are a few strong contenders:

ONE WORLD, ONE VOTE

Conveys the idea that The Green Party is more globally focused than other parties. It also underlines how important your vote is ie. use your vote to make a difference to the whole world.

GREEN NOT GREED

After the shambolic mess that the banking crisis has left the country in, there’s a whole section of young voters who think politics is all about fat cats getting fatter. The implication here is that The Green Party is the only party that bucks the trend. Not to mention the fact that it would sound great shouted at a political rally!

GIVE A DAMN, VOTE GREEN

A line to shake the young voter out of their lethargy. If you give a damn, get off your backside and vote for a party that gives a damn too.

Out of the shortlist of slogans, came a couple of lines that felt more like straplines than slogans, but both feel like they’re worth a mention:

SUSTAINABLE POLITICS and COLOUR YOUR FUTURE

Both snappy, both seriously on-brand and in our humble opinion a bit punchier than their current line – ‘Fair is Worth Fighting For’.

And we just keep piling on the pressure; Sam’s next brief is to create viral ideas for insect repellent, Jungle Formula!

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The craft of the copywriter has changed innit!

Wednesday, October 7th, 2009

An ad in ‘The Young Ladies’ Journal’ of 1877 for Righton’s Dress Fabrics reads:

‘Ladies are respectfully invited to write at once for patterns of these beautiful and fashionable materials for Summer wear. The newest and most varied stock in the Kingdom to select from.’

The ad goes on to list ‘… Suitings, Tennis and Seaside Materials, Canvas Cloths, Zephyrs, Cashmerettes, Cambrics, Lawns, Satteens… and many other Novelties, all of which are unequalled in every respect.’

rightonsdresses

It would be safe to say that this was written before the golden age of advertising, however, 132 years ago, this was probably perfectly acceptable and possibly even quite compelling.

By the 1940s, the language was no less whimsical. Under the headline ‘Like Paris in the Spring’, this Coty press ad tells us:

‘Coty brings you the heart-stirring warmth of its fragrant air, the vibrant charm of its bright-hued flowers… in a series of lovely make-up aids, color-related in Springtime shades and fragranced with Coty perfumes.’

1940scoty

By the 60′s and 70′s, the copywriter had blossomed into a true commercial wordsmith (Fay Weldon, Len Deighton and Salman Rushdie all came out of advertising agencies). Great copywriters like Bill Bernbach, David Ogilvy, Tony Brignull and David Abbott lovingly crafted their copy, to not only sell, sell, sell, but to instill belief and trust in a brand. They helped convey a product’s intelligence as well as its points of difference.

David Abbott famously wrote a beautiful press ad for Chivas Regal with 265 words across 50 perfect paragraphs. His award winning ad for the RSPCA ‘When the Government killed the dog licence they left us to kill the dogs’, had 460 painstakingly honed words in the body copy. Not that Abbott was a slave to long copy – he once said “Think visually … sometimes the best copy is no copy”.

I couldn’t agree more, but us modern-day hacks may have taken this a little too literally. Have a look in the colour supplements, how many decent ads have more than a couple of words squeezed in under the picture?

Has the craft of copywriting had its day? We are all constantly bombarded by SMS messages, programme sponsorships, HTML emails, viral movies… Maybe no one really has the time or patience for long copy any more. However, I think the issue is not how many or how few the words, but whether they are the right words.

Driving along recently, a poster caught my eye (for all the wrong reasons). The headline was ‘OMG’ – my immediate reaction was “UGH”. This sorry blight on the landscape then went on to inform me that ‘My chunky just got funky’. What are they talking about? Funky? Are they serious?

Is it rubbish (OMG, I think so), is it lazy (Like, duh!) or is it a brand that knows its audience?  – presumably 14 year-olds who learned to spell on a Sony Ericsson C905. Argh, I’m starting to sound like my Grandad, but this ad made my blood boil! After seeing it, I needed a break, but the last thing I needed was a Kit Kat – Thank Crunchie it was a Friday!

omg

Would this offering from Kit Kat make the great writers of yore turn in their graves, or would they sagely say that it is an ad of its time that the ‘YOT will <3′?

If you managed to get beyond the first sentence, I’d love to know what you think (but I guarantee if you write ‘LOL’ without even a modicum of irony, the blog police will show no mercy).

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