Page 193 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

90 “UNEVEN NUMBERS ARE
THE GODS’ DELIGHT.”
VIRGIL, THE ECLOGUES

Odd numbers work. In creative fields, garden design, for example,
or photography, we are often advised to group articles in odd-
numbered groups. For some reason, a group of five plants looks
more pleasing than a group of four, a group of three people in a
photograph more interesting than a group of four.

I won’t go into the theory here (save to tease you by saying the
Golden Mean* divides a line roughly into thirds). The point is that
it does work. Ancient masters of rhetoric knew the power of triads
(groups of three) to influence their audience. Copywriters can, and
should, do the same.

The idea

From the Bible and the French Revolution, among others
Faith, hope, and charity . . . liberty, equality, fraternity: just two
examples of linguistic triads that have certainly moved masses.
Great orators use this simple technique to add rhythm and power
to their speeches. Think of Winston Churchill, asking for “blood,
sweat, and tears.”

When I’m writing copy, I like to think in terms of odd numbers,
especially when writing lists of benefits. You could say, for example,

* The Golden Mean: a way of dividing a line in two such that the ratio of the
shorter part to the longer is the same as the ratio of the longer part to the whole,
roughly 1.6:1. In other words, two-thirds, one-third.

184 • 100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS