Page 207 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

97 GIVE PEOPLE A GLIMPSE
BEHIND THE SCENES

People love getting insider information. For certain readers the
idea that there’s an elite group, somewhere, all having a wonderful
time at their expense is sufficient motivation to stump up the cash
for whatever you’re selling. It’s why headlines promising to reveal
“the 7 secrets of professional manicurists” do so well.

Even people who are members of an elite worry that there may be
a super-elite to which they are denied access. Perhaps because they
are latecomers, or not of the right class, or from the wrong side of
town. At every level of society, you have these anxieties about station
and you can play on them to achieve your goals.

The idea

From an IT company
In the middle of a series of press ads for this IT services supplier,
we decided to try something different. Rather than addressing the
reader directly, in the second person singular—“you”—and talking
about the usual benefits, we’d create a “fake” memo from the
managing director to the marketing manager. The idea—conceit
wouldn’t be too harsh—was that, somehow, the memo had been
printed in place of an ad, thus “revealing” the company’s plans to
its customers.

The memo read something like this:

Dear James,
Just wanted to remind you that our prices are going up next
month. We should probably let customers know beforehand

198 • 100 GREAT COPYWRITING IDEAS