Page 143 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

65 POWERED BY FACTS

Around about half-past nine on your first day as a copywriter, a
graybeard will wander over to your desk and intone, portentously,
“You know, features don’t matter, it’s benefits that make the sale.”
They stroll off again to suck the end of their pencil while dreaming
of their “Best Screenplay” Oscar.

They’re right, of course. Features don’t matter as much as benefits.
But here’s the interesting thing. There’s an “F” word that matters
much more than “features” and can really turbocharge your benefits
copy too. Facts. Your customers will be impressed by facts. They will
be persuaded by facts. They will be emotionally engaged by facts.

The idea

From Porsche
Porsche press ads echo the original art direction of the Bill Bernbach
ads for the VW Beetle when it was first launched in America. Big
picture (of the car in motion—a step away from the original “Lemon”
ad). Headline underneath (the correct position for it). Then the body
copy. The headline is a benefit-free zone. Mind you, in luxury goods
advertising—perfume, watches, couture—the benefit is inherent in
ownership. “Makes you feel sooo good about yourself.”

What it does have, however, is a killer fact. “One highly efficient
sports car. The new 911 Carrera with Porsche Doppelkupplung
PDK.”

PDK is a new automatic transmission developed by Porsche with a
double clutch (Doppelkupplung). The body copy goes on to explain

134 • 100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS