Learn this, and you will have mastered a major lesson in writing great copy
Easy Read
One of the most important principles Joe Sugarman teaches in his timeless book The Adweek Copywriting Handbook…
“Sell the sizzle — not the steak”
Translated … sell the concept — not the product.
Joe gives this example.
He’s selling a miniature chess computer when he gets a call from the importer in Hong Kong saying:
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“Joe…I think we can get Anatoli Karpov, the Soviet chess champion, to endorse our chess computer…it might make the chess computer sell better.”
Indeed it would, I [Joe] thought, but let’s come up with a concept using Karpov — not as a person to endorse the product but as somebody whom we can challenge to play our unit.”
Joe ran with his concept and produced the following copy:
Headline: Soviet Challenge.
Subheadline: Can an American chess computer beat the Soviet chess champion? A confrontation between American space-age technology and a Soviet psychological weapon.
Joe’s copy then went on to talk about the challenge his product was making against Karpov.
He wasn’t selling his computer but the concept of Americans Vs Soviets in a psychological war.
He was selling a whole new way of thinking about the product.
He could have tried to sell a simple chess computer like his competitors. Instead, he was selling the Soviet challenge. He was concept advertising.
Every product has a unique story that sets it apart from the rest. The first job of yours, copywriter, is to look at the product inside, outside, front and back. Because in there, somewhere, hides the drama that will sell it to people who want it.
Every good product has it. And the best writers find it.
🔎 Go deeper here: Escaping writers block
This industry is a game of inches. But learning this technique will set you miles apart.
