photo credit: borrowed time | demi-brooke

In the few weeks while I was working on the renewal series to nowheresville, tending my kids until I got to shout ‘yippee’ and skip down the street after the school bus came and got ‘em, I’ve been collecting, yet again, a host of odd thoughts, mentions and links to ponder.

In no particular order:

• Bob Bly and I - whoa, and in the same article no less - were interviewed by the lovely and talented Pattie Simone for an article in WomenEntrepreneur.com … For Compelling Copywriting, Hire a Pro
• Mike Stelzner is running his 3rd annual “Name Your Favorite Writing Blog” Contest. My copywriting partner in crime, Tom Chandler, was kind enough to give me a nod. He even said I was humorous on occasion. Perhaps you’d like to give a Maven nomination shout-out, too.
• Today is my son’s 11th birthday. In honor of this event, my MIL sent a huge collection of my hubby’s GI Joes with accessories (now completely vintage and Ebay-able) for my son’s enjoyment. It struck me that in the late ’60s/early ’70s you couldn’t sell candy cigarettes or bubble gum cigars anymore but you could sell strikingly detailed M-16s, rocket launchers, and hand grenades for children to play with. Nice.
• I’m late on this but I loved Obama’s speech. It made this middle-aged woman - and Clinton supporter - feel hopeful and inspired.
• On the other hand, if Rudy Guiliani uses the obsolete boogey man phrase, “socialized medicine” one more time, I think I’m going to scream. Right now, I don’t think there’s anyone - especially freelancers - who would mind a little (okay, a lot) of socialized medicine right now. Keeping our family in COBRA coverage when my husband was laid off was a huge hardship when we went from being a 2-income to 1-income family for a while - and when we could least afford it. Get with it, GOP.
• More and more mail from Capital One. Looks like they’re keeping an army of copywriters busy drumming up new tests. Lots of different envelope colors and textures. Lots of different ‘lumps’ inside the carrier.
• This made me laugh - YouTube in 1985
• This made me laugh even harder

And now a request … in my search for the perfect collection of anti-aging everything, I’m looking for suggestions for the best undereye concealer. Ladies (and gents) - what’s your pleasure?

Here’s the video. Enjoy!

photo credit: zieak

(Add to your Maven lexicon: bissel is Yiddish for little.)

So while I’m taking a quick breather between projects and waiting for the start of yet another phone conference, here’s a few items I’ve been saving for a catch-all post like this one!

• This made my husband laugh … Silly Internet Traditions: A Concise History, if you’ve been online since the dawn of time, you’ll laugh, too.
• While I’m not completely on my tagline game, a whole bunch of folks are having a tagline creating blast over at the Copyblogger Tagline Clinic. I’ve added a few but am finding paid work distracting me from all the fun
• Also at Copyblogger is my latest Maven Marketing Plan Makeover for OnceWed.com … take a look, add a comment!

Lastly, but never leastly, is my overdue promotion of the upcoming Age of Conversation, Volume 2. I was honored to be included in last year’s compilation effort of 100 voices. This year, we found even more folks who had something to say, 237 to be exact. This year, like last, all sales proceeds will go to support the Variety Children’s Charity.

Here’s a shout-out to my AOC colleague contributors!
Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

• Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to The Copywriting Maven by email or RSS
• Need a copy critique or a consult? Contact the Maven
• My favorite resource on landing pages - The ultimate guide to writing and designing effective landing pages - Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook, 2008 (aff)

I’ve been swamped by client work, still mourning George Carlin, and decided to enjoy a few days off with the hubby and family), hence the extra days of silence from your favorite Maven. But, as in all things, life and grocery shopping continues on. And it was at the supermarket that hubby and I came upon an unfamiliar item in the Organic/Healthy/Soy-Tacular aisle.

It’s called Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. Now I don’t know about you, but at first read and glance, I’m thinking cleaner. Not hard to see why either. Here’s an image of Ajax scouring powder.

Yes, the Bragg’s label uses vegetables at the top but they’re obscured by the text. Speaking of text, I’m still thinking cleaner. All-natural could mean anything in today’s rush for eco-friendly everything. Even Clorox, the king of bleach,  has an all-natural line now (kudos to Clorox as I like the stuff and it works great.) Also, too, being of a certain age, I remember detergents that used aminos as a selling point for its super-duper cleaning ability.

Bragg’s people take note. The folks who know you, love you. But if you’re looking to get new folks to love you, your product has to look like something I want to put in my mouth, not pour on my dirty clothes.

Here’s another one I don’t get from the good folks at Nabisco.

Why is the “Garden Herb” text on a red banner? It should be green. It used to be green. Then when they introduced “Roasted Garlic”, they made that banner green and revised the Garden Herb in red.

Big mistake. Green = garden, veggies, earth, etc. (Bragg’s, are you still with me here?) Consumers, as all copywriters know, don’t really read. They scan, they “see” text first for meaning. I read “Garden Herb” but because it’s on a red banner, I don’t see it as herb. I see it as something else. Hot, spicy, peppery or maybe tomatoey. But herb? Nope.

This means I have to hunt more carefully for my favorite snack cracker because it doesn’t automatically pop out at me as before. This means some other company might get my attention first because they’re still using the color combination I and other consumers expect for out cracker fix.

As copywriters, our job is all about the words. But as marketing partners with our clients, we have a chance to broaden our influence on how our words are managed and their impact. Knowing how to speak knowledgeably about design issues is one way to ensure our meaning and the message don’t get lost.

So, by all means, pay attention at the supermarket. And please, read the labels before you eat - or clean - anything.

• Enjoyed this post? Subscribe to The Copywriting Maven by email or RSS
• Need a copy critique or a consult? Contact the Maven
• My favorite resource on landing pages - The ultimate guide to writing and designing effective landing pages - Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook, 2008 (aff)

]]> http://www.copywritingmaven.com/2008/07/07/product-labels-that-match-consumer/feed/ http://www.copywritingmaven.com/2008/05/26/email-from-god/ http://www.copywritingmaven.com/2008/05/26/email-from-god/#comments Mon, 26 May 2008 20:37:21 +0000 Roberta Rosenberg http://www.copywritingmaven.com/?p=446
photo credit: katielips

In my daily post from the Judaism forum at Beliefnet.com came this interesting set of soul exercises. Having written a fair number of emails in my day — and who wouldn’t want a soul workout — this particular one seemed intriguing so I’m sharing.

Read an E-mail from God

Basically Rabbi Brian (Rabbi Brian? What kind of name is Rabbi Brian? ) posits that you imagine you open your in-box and find an e-mail with the subject line: An e-mail from God. (or G-d for us Hebraic types.)

Now making the giant leap that this email wouldn’t have been sent directly to your SPAM box … AND … depending on the identity of the email’s sender, what do you imagine the message would offer?

• Praise?
• Condemnation?
• An answer to a question that you’ve been asking?
• Advice?
• A forwarded joke? (would it be a dirty joke or uplifting?)
• What?

And once the woo-woo Twilight Zone music in your head stopped, how would you reply, if at all? (Or would you simply ask God for HIS (for argument’s sake) Twitter name so you could answer in short, 140-max character tweets?)

After a few hours of cleaning the garage today, I’d be hoping MY email from G-d would answer my prayer and tell me that I’m next in line to win the Mega Millions - just a few million because there’s no need to be greedy. My reply - a simple, elegant - THANK YOU, LORD and recite the Shema and a Shehechiyanu.

Barring that, I’d take the joke and hope that it’s funny. That way, I could send back a ROFL and a big

So, how about you?

• Enjoyed this post? Get free updates by email or RSS
• Need a copy critique or a consult? Contact the Maven
• The ultimate guide to writing and designing effective landing pages - Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook, 2008 (aff)