Page 174 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

What if you ran an event . . . and everybody came?
It draws its inspiration from a 1960s anti-war slogan, “What if
they threw a war and nobody came?”—which has enough cultural
resonance even today for it to be adopted and adapted by lots of other
writers besides me.
The key lies in making that small switch from “nobody” to
“everybody.” It’s not a huge example of wordplay, but that’s because
I still cleave to my opening point, that it has to be in the service of the
commercial goals of the copy. If you’re confident in your abilities as
a writer to uncover hidden meanings, spot links between concepts,
and splash in the puddles of literary technique, then be bold and go
for it. A reader smiling is probably still a reader reading. A reader
laughing has stopped reading.

In practice

• When you’re writing headlines, why not include a couple of

more playful options in the dozen or so alternatives you draft
for consideration?

• If you feel the urge to use words for comic effect, learn from

the masters. Two reading suggestions: Now That’s Funny! by
David Bradbury and Joe McGrath and the Shouts and Murmurs
column in the New Yorker magazine.

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