Got words?
My all-time favorite piece of copywriting is the tagline, “Got milk?” It is beautiful in its brevity. It is immediately understood, perfect for its time, and has become one of those sayings so well known that many of us borrow it shamelessly in hopes that it will do for our product — or subject — what it did so well for milk. It is the ultimate example of clean, clear, concise, persuasive rhetoric; copywriting at its best.
“Got milk?” makes you feel that you’re supposed to have some milk in the house, in case a guest or family member wants some. The question sidesteps right past facts such as a) you haven’t had a glass of milk with your cookies since 1986; b) you don’t do dairy; or c) no kids or other probable milk drinkers are likely to be anywhere near your house in the near future. Because it’s in the form of a question, asked in the verbal shorthand that only somebody very familiar to you might use, your first reaction is to second-guess yourself about the having of milk because you’d hate to come up short and let the asker down.
At only nine characters — seven letters, one space, one punctuation mark — it comes even even shorter than “Just do it.” “Got milk” trumps “just do it” in effectiveness as well as brevity, since it mentions the product specifically, whereas the listener (or reader or viewer) needs more information to know what the “it” they’re supposed to “just do” might be.
When I’m working, say for example sifting through the source material and the audience analysis and the messaging the client wants and the messaging the client’s boss would prefer and the limitations of what the client’s legal department will permit, my goal is to focus. To winnow the words down to the essence of what counts to the audience. “Got milk?” is my benchmark and model. If you know who wrote it or have any stories about it’s origin, I’d love to hear.
Popularity: 23% [?]
Are you familiar with the short book titled “Are Your Lights On?” I read it years ago and remember appreciating its message about directness and simplicity.
The title comes from the story of the highway designers trying to create a sign drivers would see as they exited a long tunnel. Experience had shown that often a driver would exit the tunnel, stop during daylight hours at the next tourist attraction, and find the car battery dead. As I recall, the book showed a list of the bungled attempts to alert the driver to the condition of the car’s headlights. Too wordy, too much information. Finally someone came up with the simple question which allowed the driver to make his own decision. There are several other wonderful examples in the book.
Hi there, words? – Working Biz Words – what in interesting and controversial topic! business letters examples is a passion of mine and you’ve captured my thoughts to a T!