World Copywriting Blog

Godaddy's Lucky Break: One Superbowl Commercial That Actually Worked But Not For The Reason You Would Expect

Remember the 2005 godaddy.com Superbowl ad that got network and NFL executives wringing their hands and talking in hushed voices -- and, as cowardice prevailed, these big men pulled the plug on airing the commercial a second time during the game?

Here's the story behind how a slap in the face to a Superbowl advertiser increased its business by 80%.

It's a five-minute piece by Phoeneix KPHO-TV news anchor Kent Dana, interviewing godaddy founder Bob Parsons - one of my heroes, incidentally, and someone I will feature in my forthcoming book Customers on Demand.

To watch the video, click on the link below, type in the access code that's presented on the screen... and enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/sx38b

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

P.S. Bob Parsons has 16 core beliefs that he lives by, according to Kent Dana. See how you feel about the "extra" one he told Kent Dana about, right at the end of the 5-minute clip!

Fad Frenzy: Why some ideas fly, and others die abornin'

~ BOOK REVIEW ~

If you are planning to create a world-class hit with your next marketing project - whether it's a product, a book, or even an idea - then here is a book that can give you some tips on why people flock to some ideas and turn away from others.

The book is called Flavor of the Month: Why Smart People Fall For Fads.  Author Joel Best is a sociologist who also wrote a book called Damned Statistics and Lies, and he is clearly interested in social trends and what makes them tick.

The brunt of the book from a 30,000-feet view is there are cycles of something becoming a fad - know them and prepare for them, and you'll do better to cash in on them.

At the individual level, the message is at the same time disturbing and encouraging.  It's this: Most people don't think.  While this could be disquieting for an educator, say, or an independent thinker who recoils at the thought that others aren't like him, it's also a boon.

To whom?  To the marketer, silly.  To look at the market as a pack looking for its alpha leader offers great opportunity.  Becoming that leader, even for a moment in time, of course, is the harder part of this package.

Best's book won't give you all the answers.  If it could, he'd likely be creating profitable fads rather than writing books about them.  But it may give you that missing piece, that oomph of inspiration, or the seed of an idea that can put you in the alpha position for your 15 minutes of fame.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

'For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause... '

One of those emails, you know what's coming.  A friend who's been keeping you up to date on another friend who's been sick.

"sad news" reads the subject line.

You don't want to open it, but you can't ignore it.

I got that email today about the passing this morning of my friend and mentor, Mac Ross.  He was a special person in a small group of people who were already talented way beyond the norm: skilled and seasoned direct marketers who are generous and far-sighted enough to share what they know with those who don't know, yet.

Mac wasn't as well known among the business public as his seminar stage partner for many years, Jay Abraham.  But the insiders at the companies where big things happened with direct marketing - companies like Phillips and Agora - knew Mac well, and counted on him to help them fine-tune and supercharge their big ideas.

I was so fortunate to get to know Mac personally, and to count him as a friend.  He was as knowledgeable, quick-witted and solution-certain as anyone I've ever met.  He was also generous to a fault, and caring in a way you might never expect from his somewhat gruff and even snappish persona on the seminar stage.

I'm sorry he's gone and I'll miss him.

If you knew Mac, if he touched your life in any way, I invite you to leave comments below.

God bless you, Mac.  You did more good than you realized or even ever intended.  It was just your way; I strongly suppose you didn't think about it much.

For that, too, I am grateful.  A way to be in the world that focuses on what's important.

Celebrity Endorsements: Hey, Lance, Maybe It Is About The Bike, After All

NPD Group of Port Washington, New York asked the question every advertiser wants the answer to:

"Who do you trust?"

Turns out, among celebrity endorsers, super-cycler Lance Armstrong is the most trusted man in America.

(Gawd, I'm showing my age as I confess I remember when it was Walter Cronkite.)

The survey of 11,000 people over the age of 13, found that the following people have the highest influence on actually getting people to buy stuff in the product categories they represent:

• Home improvement guru Ty Pennington
• Olympic medalist Summer Sanders
• Actor James Earl Jones
• Chef Emeril Lagasse
• Rock star Carlos Santana

Now, here's the kicker, that kicks a hole in the long-suffering argument that "getting your name before the public" is going to make people want to buy anything:

• Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant
• "Mr. Wealth" himself, Donald Trump
• Pop star Britney Spears
• Sex kitten Paris Hilton
• The one and only Anna Nicole Smith

These folks all had superior "awareness" scores, but consumers said they would actually be less likely to buy something if any of these celebrities were endorsing it.

Hmmm.  Makes you wonder.  Fame isn't enough?  People actually have to think you might be someone they would like to share a cup of coffee with?

Thanks to World Copywriting Blog Executive Contributor Jim Van Wyck for alerting me to the news about this survey.

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

Copywriting Conundrum: The incredible power (and sales-sucking danger) of being yourself

(actual fortune-cookie fortune I received on Sunday night)

A recent flurry of activity followed by four days of fatigue/nigh paralysis got me thinking about a lot of things, and when I got this fortune (above) after a hearty plate of combination chow mein, my thoughts turned to what I had learned this week from Michel Fortin, Joe Vitale, and indirectly from Clayton Makepeace.

Michel and I have been doing a lot of teleseminars together lately.  One thing he keeps hammering home is that the copy you write needs to be in your own voice -- not a pale-imitation, carbon-copy version of someone else's.

Joe asked me to review the manuscript of a new book he's coming out with, and in his own way, he makes the same point, rather emphatically.

And a friend of mine who attended Clayton's seminar this weekend was telling me that Clayton showed how he uses a lot of religious imagery (metaphor) in his copy -- which comes in part at least from a very strong religious background (through, my friend reported, Clayton says he's not that religious now).

What all three great copywriters are harping on is that you've got to bring you - the real you, the unvarnished you, the unique and peculiar you, the unconventional you - to the party when you start to write copy.  And that's when the magic will happen.

But, there's a catch.  (There always is, now, isn't there?)

And that's that you have to know the difference between "advertisement" and "soapbox."

For there's a difference, and an important one, between being your unique, unconventional, quirky self, and using an advertising medium as a canvas to express your deepest creative and opinionated needs.

I've seen far too many people get drunk on their success with direct response copywriting, only to fall into the pit of ego-gratifying chest-beating, thinking that suddenly human nature has changed and people are really going to spend money because they have something to say.

How do you avoid falling into the pit yourself?

If I knew, I somehow think my life would be different than it is now.  Because people from far and wide, people with money and power, great deals of it, thousands of these people, would either be

• lining up to seek my counsel, or
• trying to chase me off the face of the Earth.

And while I don't have the complete and irrefutable answer, this I can tell you with certainty, as a start. 

Make sure whatever expression you are making, that is truly 'you,' stands up to the test by getting yes answers to these two questions (the first, originally heard from Dan Kennedy, the second, I gladly confess, from yours truly):

1. Does it advance the sale?

2. Is the copy more about the customer than it is about you?

David Garfinkel
Publisher, World Copywriting Newsletter

A Master Marketer and Top Copywriter Weighs In on "Breakthrough Copywriting"

Look what best-selling author Joe Vitale wrote in his monthly newsletter today about Breakthrough Copywriting:

"NEW: My friend and king of the copywriters David Garfinkel has released a stunning DVD course that goes way beyond copywriting. This is life training."

What's all the hubbub about?  Find out for yourself:

www.davidgarfinkel.com/breakthrough