Page 216 - 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

AFTERWORD

Rereading this book in manuscript form, it struck me that many
of the ideas could be interpreted by an outside observer as being
somewhat cynical. There’s a lot of talk about playing on your reader’s
emotions and basic drives. About how people are driven by ignoble
motives and what you, as a copywriter, can do to exploit these to sell
stuff. I guess, though I like to believe the best of people, there’s a
part of me that is, if not outright cynical, at least a little wary of the
reasons people give for acting in a certain way.
It’s only natural that we should want to present our actions in a
positive light. It’s as if we have our own internal PR department,
issuing press releases that always place a positive spin on our
motives and our behavior. But is wanting to look good in front
of one’s contemporaries really such a sin? Is a desire for material
things really something we need to worry about? Is a need for praise
or flattery up there with pulling the wings off flies? I don’t think
so. We are who we are, and those of us who make our living as
copywriters ignore all that at our peril.

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