The Power of the Villain in Copywriting
Posted: January 13th, 2022, 11:15 am
I have a confession to make...
I was never a big fan of comic books.
Even as a kid when I loved watching cartoons, still do, I always thought comic books were only for nerds and geeks.
But over the past year I've discovered the incredible stories hidden within comic books and full length Anime movies.
And now I stand proudly among the ranks of geeks and misfits who find themselves caught up in the magical world of animated storytelling.
I doubt I'll be putting on a Spiderman costume and going to the next ComiCon anytime soon, but at least I now understand the term "Graphic Novel".
So what does this have to with Copywriting...?
The single biggest lesson I'm learning from these stories is
"The stronger the villain the better the supehero".
Think about it... If Superman was writing parking tickets all day, or arresting shoplifters, no one would care. Because it would be boring.
But throw in an evil villain who wants to take over the world...
And Superman becomes a SUPER-HERO
I think most copywriters know a formula or two which follows the steps - state the problem - agitate the problem - solve the problem?
But how strong of a villain can we (ethically) turn those problems into?
If we're selling a weight loss product and our villain is those last 10 to 15 pounds of stubborn flab that won't go away, how can we make that villain bigger and more powerful?
Asking your customer "wouldn't it be nice to finally get rid of those extra few pounds?"
Will likely get us a predictable, lackluster response like "yeah, thanks for reminding me. Now I have somewhere else to be. Goodbye".
But show them how that last bit of weight can cause terrible health complications like skeletal imbalance, or muscular degeneration, and it might even make their pecker fall off, and suddenly that villain gets much bigger and more dangerous.
Now our weight loss solution isn't just a nice guy to have around... It's a SUPER-HERO fighting the evil enemy "Flabbyoculous"!
OK, maybe I'm getting a little carried away here. But I get excited when I learn new things, or just reinforce old lessons, from unexpected sources.
And when a comic book teaches me a copywriting lesson, how can I not find that amusing, and amazing?
And if this one doesn't excite you the way it excites me... Well, nobody drops gold nuggets every time they sit down at the throne. And maybe my next post will suit you better?
Here's to finding brilliant marketing lessons, in unexpected places...
All the best,
Steve
I was never a big fan of comic books.
Even as a kid when I loved watching cartoons, still do, I always thought comic books were only for nerds and geeks.
But over the past year I've discovered the incredible stories hidden within comic books and full length Anime movies.
And now I stand proudly among the ranks of geeks and misfits who find themselves caught up in the magical world of animated storytelling.
I doubt I'll be putting on a Spiderman costume and going to the next ComiCon anytime soon, but at least I now understand the term "Graphic Novel".
So what does this have to with Copywriting...?
The single biggest lesson I'm learning from these stories is
"The stronger the villain the better the supehero".
Think about it... If Superman was writing parking tickets all day, or arresting shoplifters, no one would care. Because it would be boring.
But throw in an evil villain who wants to take over the world...
And Superman becomes a SUPER-HERO
I think most copywriters know a formula or two which follows the steps - state the problem - agitate the problem - solve the problem?
But how strong of a villain can we (ethically) turn those problems into?
If we're selling a weight loss product and our villain is those last 10 to 15 pounds of stubborn flab that won't go away, how can we make that villain bigger and more powerful?
Asking your customer "wouldn't it be nice to finally get rid of those extra few pounds?"
Will likely get us a predictable, lackluster response like "yeah, thanks for reminding me. Now I have somewhere else to be. Goodbye".
But show them how that last bit of weight can cause terrible health complications like skeletal imbalance, or muscular degeneration, and it might even make their pecker fall off, and suddenly that villain gets much bigger and more dangerous.
Now our weight loss solution isn't just a nice guy to have around... It's a SUPER-HERO fighting the evil enemy "Flabbyoculous"!
OK, maybe I'm getting a little carried away here. But I get excited when I learn new things, or just reinforce old lessons, from unexpected sources.
And when a comic book teaches me a copywriting lesson, how can I not find that amusing, and amazing?
And if this one doesn't excite you the way it excites me... Well, nobody drops gold nuggets every time they sit down at the throne. And maybe my next post will suit you better?
Here's to finding brilliant marketing lessons, in unexpected places...
All the best,
Steve
