Ad legend Jim Thornton shares the secrets of great copy
My most recent podcast episode explores what corporate comms can learn from ad land.
My Delete Delete Engage podcast is all about improving comms in the workplace by learning from some of the best communicators on the planet. A couple of weeks after each podcast episode goes live, I publish a written extract of some of the key moments from the conversation.
Jim is one of the most successful and respected advertising creatives and copywriters in the UK and he shares his thoughts on the inspiration for creative ideas, memorable copy, charm and what corporate comms can learn from the advertising industry.
If you missed the original podcast, here’s the link.
The secret of great campaign ideas
Jim believes the most successful comms campaigns are always built around a simple idea, insight or truth that informs the central narrative and ties the different elements of the campaign together.
Jim cites the example of the Levis 501s ‘Drugstore’ TV commercial from the mid 90s which featured a young man going to the local drug (grocery) store to purchase condoms.
He stores the condoms in the small ‘watch’ pocket of his jeans and then later visits the house of a young lady who turns out to be the daughter of the store owner.
The copy line at the end of the ad reads: The watch pocket. Created in 1873. Abused ever since.
The ad is impactful, memorable and distinctive because it’s based on a simple product truth that all jeans wearers can relate to and the copy end line articulates the idea in a concise and eloquent way.
The secrets of great copy
Jim believes that clarity and brevity are essential to great communication copy, as is the need to give the audience some reward for taking the time to read or view your communications.
According to Jim, one of the best examples of rewarding customer engagement comms is from a brand called Hiut Denim, a jeans manufacturer from Cardigan, North Wales.
Hiut Denim’s founder, David Hieatt, used to be a copywriter in an ad agency and has created “a phenomenal brand through a great product and a brilliant weekly newsletter”, which is less about what the company is up to and more about what David and his team have read online that week that they have found interesting. The newsletter might include tips on self improvement, creativity or even books the team have read and would recommend. Jim says that he’s an avid reader of the Hiut newsletter because it’s brilliantly written and always rewards you with something interesting that you weren't expecting.
Jim suggests that the problem with most corporate comms emails is that the people who craft them don’t put enough of themselves or their passions into the copy, giving the impression that “they’ve fallen asleep at the keyboard and pressed send.”
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The importance of charm
He thinks that the way to engage the reader is to charm them in some way.
Jim says his views on the importance of charm in communications have been influenced by an early childhood memory of the Kleeneze salesman who used his charm-infused sales patter to persuade his mother into buying his household cleaning products on her doorstep.
Jim thinks that the Kleeneze man earned her time and loyalty because he was able to communicate to her in a way that left her feeling like he’d added something to her day simply by making her laugh or smile. Jim says that it’s the same with any great communications. “It makes people feel something - whether you’ve made them smile, laugh or cry.”
Jim says that when writing comms the writer should imagine that you’re writing a letter to someone you know - your mum, dad, gran, boyfriend, colleague or friend - because it helps you to tap into your passions and emotions, so you’re writing from the heart rather than trying to create something out of the ether.
My next podcast episode will feature Sophie Jones, Chief Strategy Officer and interim CEO at the British Phonographic Industry, the trade body responsible for the BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize and whose members account for 85% of all music sold in the United Kingdom.
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