GordonJ
August 13, 2021, 07:44 AM
First, a story.
Young lady bakes brownies for her granny, puts on red hoodie and heads over the bridge and through a thicket when a big bad wolf appears.
She sez: "Want a fresh baked brownie?" And the wolf, being caught off guard, says, "Sure". As he is munching on the delicious brownie, the young woman asks if he would like to buy a few for later, to CURB his hunger.
So, instead of eating Little Debbie, the wolf ends up buying her brownies...spreads the word, and before you know it, everyone in the area is buying Little Debbie snacks. End of story.
OK, if I have to read one more article, one blog or forum post about how powerful stories are and why a copywriter NEEDS to use them...especially the Hero's Journey, I'm going to puke my chocolate chip cookie all over my canvas boat shoes.
The problem is...THEY don't know how to tell a story.
THEY use templates, fill in the blanks. The cat got up the tree. The kids threw rocks. The fireman got the cat down. The cat scratched the eyes out of a kid or two, and was left alone after that.
Of course we are wired for stories, but not THE SAME story repeated over and over and over, and if I read one more, "I was just like you"...paragraph, I swear the double barrel comes out of the safe and I'm going copywriter hunting.
Now, I don't eat Little Debbie snacks anymore, but I see the guy filling the racks at the convenience store twice a week...and not one word of her "ORIGIN" STORY, of the secret ingredients only she uses, of the how it is done in a unique way...
Cause the minute someone tried SELLING me a Little Debbie snack cake, I'd probably punch him in the elbow.
OR, try selling products and services people want which don't require a lot of story, copy or manipulation. Sound good??
Gordon
Young lady bakes brownies for her granny, puts on red hoodie and heads over the bridge and through a thicket when a big bad wolf appears.
She sez: "Want a fresh baked brownie?" And the wolf, being caught off guard, says, "Sure". As he is munching on the delicious brownie, the young woman asks if he would like to buy a few for later, to CURB his hunger.
So, instead of eating Little Debbie, the wolf ends up buying her brownies...spreads the word, and before you know it, everyone in the area is buying Little Debbie snacks. End of story.
OK, if I have to read one more article, one blog or forum post about how powerful stories are and why a copywriter NEEDS to use them...especially the Hero's Journey, I'm going to puke my chocolate chip cookie all over my canvas boat shoes.
The problem is...THEY don't know how to tell a story.
THEY use templates, fill in the blanks. The cat got up the tree. The kids threw rocks. The fireman got the cat down. The cat scratched the eyes out of a kid or two, and was left alone after that.
Of course we are wired for stories, but not THE SAME story repeated over and over and over, and if I read one more, "I was just like you"...paragraph, I swear the double barrel comes out of the safe and I'm going copywriter hunting.
Now, I don't eat Little Debbie snacks anymore, but I see the guy filling the racks at the convenience store twice a week...and not one word of her "ORIGIN" STORY, of the secret ingredients only she uses, of the how it is done in a unique way...
Cause the minute someone tried SELLING me a Little Debbie snack cake, I'd probably punch him in the elbow.
OR, try selling products and services people want which don't require a lot of story, copy or manipulation. Sound good??
Gordon
