“Historians and archaeologists will one day discover that the ads of our time are the richest and most faithful daily reflections any society ever made of its whole range of activities.”
–Marshall McLuhan
Copywriting isn’t just “writing” (just in case you thought otherwise): it’s powerful writing that brings the science of human psychology, consumer behavior, and emotions together to persuade, influence, nudge, and push people to take action.
Copywriting is the art of moving people with print (and all the digital forms that entail, like email copy, sales letters, and automated webinars).
It’s been around for ages, and it’s also probably why you are just as drawn into consumerism as most people are.
Copywriting helps sell stuff. It keeps industries running. It moves products off the shelves. It’s also a reason people also get to keep their jobs.
For our purposes, copywriting is the moneymaker. With it, your landing pages, ads, sales funnels, email marketing messages, posters, flyers, and brochures will autoresponders and SMS marketing work.
Copywriting ignites emotions and calls you to surrender to your natural whims. Good copywriting uses short, simple sentences.
Each line is masterfully created so that you (if you are the target audience for the brands in question) can relate to it. Or better yet, you are moved by it enough to reach for your wallet.
Some businesses have already mastered the art of copywriting (along with visuals, creative art, sound, video, music, and more) to create solid brands and powerful marketing campaigns.
Here are a few companies that use copy to bring in profits:
Porsche
Taking a jab at your competition while you create your ads is all right as long as you know what you are doing. The leading automobile manufacturers have always been great at marketing (think Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi, Land Rover, and several others).
In one of its ads, Porsche takes a dig at its competition (Nissan and Mitsubishi) and instantly elevates itself in “your” eyes. Much like “us versus them,” “that level and level next.”
The Economist
The Economist is a magazine with an elite, well-read, and high-level audience. The magazine doesn’t want absolutely “everyone” to read its content; it only wants a discerning, quick-witted, sharp, and elite readership.
The ads (there are several) that The Economist runs are always pointed, sharp, witty, and built to make you think.
Like this ad above.
Land Rover
For a solid 4-wheel drive car, how do you convey things like legacy, history, brand image, toughness, and more? What if you also had to mention a few essential things to us, like our kids?
The power of copywriting and the art of making suitable ads is that all of it comes barging in for this good old Land Rover ad thanks to using great visuals and copy.
Volkswagen Beetle
It was nothing less than Iconic when this ad for Beetle was run. The German car maker then launched more campaigns following the success of the “Lemon” ad with headlines such as “Impossible,” “Never,” “That’s about the size of it,” and “It isn’t so.”
The Volkswagen Lemon ad did everything right, leading the company to make many more compelling ads later (and continues to this day).
Avis
When you are the most significant business, would you only have a winning edge?
No, you don’t.
Hertz was the world’s #1 car rental company when this ad was made. Avis was number two. But Avis didn’t go about on a competitor-bashing spree. Instead, it just accepted its status and made it work.
Avis succeeded with its famous “#2 approach” to its ads. It acknowledges itself as an underdog and wins your heart with its strong, simple, straight-to-your-heart copy.
The ad is as classic as it gets with advertising, and you can’t help but think: “Is it really this simple?”
Continental Airlines
You know that “hate” is a powerful word. Add the name of a city like “New York” to an ad, and it immediately becomes “local” for people to associate with directly. Combined, it can be ultra-powerful.
That’s precisely what Continental Airlines did when they created their “They hate us in New York ad.”
As if the headline wasn’t jarring (and hence incredibly attractive), the copy continues the story while creating a new country called “The Continental States of America.”
LA Bicycle
What if you didn’t want to use copy at all? We know visuals are powerful and that using the right visuals (or not) can make or break your campaigns, but what if all you had were visuals and nothing else?
Would advertising work without a copy? Sometimes, absolutely yes. LA Bicycle entrusted Ogilvy with that same brief for their “folding bike,” it’s one of the best minimalist ads ever, also showcased in the AdsOftheWorld Minimalist collection.
Got Milk?
Who would think that The California Milk Board could make an entire nation sit up and take notice of something as dull as milk? With proper campaigns, you could do anything.
The California Milk Processor Board is responsible for the hot campaigns that still have us going with the “Got [Whatever]?” parodies today.
Interestingly, the ad campaign wasn’t even targeted to new groups or audiences to make them aware of the benefits of drinking milk; the movements were designed for existing audiences who’d stock up on milk anyway. The campaign was to turn everyday milk drinkers into evangelists and heroes. It was to make people drink more milk and stay healthy.
This list doesn’t even begin to do justice to the fantastic world of creativity and the profit-pulling power of powerful ad campaigns. Still, it should help inspire you the next time you want to write ad copy that converts!
If you’d like to discuss putting an advertising strategy in place for your business, schedule a call with us; we’d be happy to help!
