Copywriting Tutorials

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How To Avoid Irritating Your Customers

Self-indulgent, pretentious, smarmy, know-it-alls. Nobody likes a smart ass, right? So tell me then … why-oh-why WRITE an advert like a smart ass?

Here’s an example.

Innocent Fruit drinks. Not a bad product at all by any means. At the time of writing this article Innocent are advertising on the side of London buses. This is their strap-line: 

“Innocent drinks aren’t made from fruit. They are fruit.”

Innocent drinks AREN'T made from fruit? They ARE fruit?

Eh?

Give me a break. … If you were in a supermarket and someone came up to you and said:

“Innocent drinks aren't made from fruit …. They are fruit.” What would you think?

I’d think they were stupid.

Honestly. Why spend all that money advertising the fact that your drink is NOT made from fruit. When it is. And then secondly telling us that their drink IS a fruit. When it isn’t.

Sorry, but I just don’t think that’s ‘clever’. 

In a later advertisement campaign someone changed the slogan to:

“Nothing but nothing but fruit.”

That's better! To the people who care about their diet that message will be important and interesting. Those people - the target market audience - may even choose an Innocent Fruit drink the next time they’re in the supermarket.

And that is the point of advertising, isn’t it?

© Jon Ireland Dip IDM, Flying Kite, 2006
Jon Ireland has a post-graduate diploma from the Institute of Direct Marketing and the Institute of Copywriting.