Sunday, June 6, 2021

The Magnificent Slogan

When you're writing copy, remember: people are less interested in what you can do and more interested in what you can do for them. 

Here's a great reminder from Apple.

On October 23, 2001, Steve jobs introduces the original iPod. It was significantly smaller than other MP3 players at the time and featured a 5 GB hard drive. 


"1,000 songs in your pocket." 

He could've said, "The world's first portable digital media player."

or 

"It's smaller and has a bigger hard drive than the other guys'."

Instead he offered a shining example of marketing brilliance:

"1,000 songs in your pocket." 

  • a clear benefit that was appealing to the target consumer
  • a value to the customer clearly and succinctly spelled out 
  • a benefit that consumers haven’t heard before
  • a short, easy to remember phrase
This messaging was so effective, a variation of it was used again 20 years later.




Here are a dozen other examples of companies who executed on a similar level of excellence:

Greyhound: "Go Greyhound ... and leave the driving to us." 

Miller Lite: "Tastes great, less filling."

M&M: "Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands."

Maxwell House: "Good to the last drop."

Wheaties: "Breakfast of champions."

American Express: "Don't leave home without it."

Timex: "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

Dollar Shave Club: "Shave Time. Shave Money."

MasterCard: "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard."

De Beers: "A Diamond Is Forever."

Meow Mix: "Tastes So Good, Cats Ask for It By Name"

State Farm: "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There"

Maybelline: "Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline."


Any others we should add?



1 comment:

  1. I put together my own list of memorable slogans http://writewaypro.blogspot.com/2021/08/most-memorable-brand-slogans.html

    ReplyDelete

The Small Stuff

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff"   That sign was hung behind the sales manager's desk at a small business I consulted.   When...