The Art of Long Copy

Brewdog beers caught my eye recently when I went to a friend’s house for dinner. When he gave it to me he pointed out the label and told me to have a read. It read:

This is not a lowest common denominator beer. This is an assertive beer. We do not merely aspire to the proclaimed heady heights of conformity through neutrality and blandness.

It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to appreciate the depth, character and quality of this premium craft brewed beer.

You probably don’t even care that this rebellious little beer contains no preservatives or additives and uses only the finest fresh natural ingredients.

Just go back to drinking your mass marketed, bland, cheaply made watered down lager, and close the door behind you.

I immediately barked with laughter. Then I took a photo of the label on my iPhone and MMS’d it to a friend I knew would appreciate it. Since then I’ve shown the picture and read the label out to at least five people – some of whom have told me they bought Brewdog next time they were in a supermarket that stocked it. What exceptional word of mouth! That’s the kind of marketing you can’t buy and all because the copy was so well crafted. It wasn’t until I was asked to write about the messages that resonate with people that I thought of this and dug out the image of the label.

I don’t know if it is a peculiarly British thing to be enormously amused by someone denigrating you, but it made me think. Are consumers into S&M? We all know the kernel at the heart of any marketing campaign is to make the product exclusive – to create an essential desire or sense of lacking something; to drive sales by making the consumer feel that they need to be a part of it. Do we like to be told we aren’t worthy?

I’m ashamed to admit that when I took my first sip of the beer it tasted ok – nothing to write home about. But after I’d read the label it did indeed taste that little bit better. It goes to show – we’re all susceptible to clever marketing.

A friend in the U.S. tells me these kind of renegade local craft beers have been popular for the past 30 or so years, but that they’ve now become part of the mainstream. And to some degree the pride and exclusivity expressed by Brewdog can be recognised in other more mainstream UK brewers, such as Young’s London Pride who use the tag line ‘Made with Pride.’ It aims for a similar sense of reassurance, confidence and pride, yet the Brewdog messaging is more aggressive in turning its nose up at the consumer.

There’s something deeply reassuring about a brand that isn’t slavishly begging you on its knees to believe in it and become a part of its ethos but rather has unshakable belief in its own worth and is indifferent about your money.

Word on the Street

I’ve been invited by Worldwide Partners, Inc, the world’s largest owner-operated agency network and the 10th largest network overall – public or private, to write every now again about the messages that connect with people. My brief is pretty open – it can be anything from an ad campaign to an event to a news story. So here goes…

Radiohead’s new album The King of Limbs was released last week and it’s the one topic that everyone seems to have an opinion on. Five exchanges with friends this week have contained the phrase ‘you heard the new Radiohead album yet?’

Radiohead are a bit of a cultural phenomenon. They resonate with people. Creative genius aside, this seems to be because they position themselves rather comfortably as self-effacing and boldly subversive.

The lyrical content of their songs is certainly subversive, being directly critical of the individuals and processes that shape our world. Unlike most musicians, mindful of remaining neutral on any ‘hot topics,’ they take the bull by the horns and aren’t afraid to take a position. Even if people disagree with what they’re saying they still prompt debate about the environment, global politics, domestic politics, and the various issues facing the music industry, to name but a few of their bugbears.

Even the release of their 2007 album In Rainbows stuck two fingers up at the establishment of the ailing music industry, which at the time was suffering enormously from the rise of digital file sharing. As I’m sure anyone working in marketing will know, they broached the difficult subject of the ethics of consumption by making the album available for download for an amount decided by the downloader. In 2008 a report from Warner Chappell revealed that although most people paid nothing for the download, pre-release sales were more profitable than Hail to the Thief. Not to mention the priceless buzz.

Of course, as a critically acclaimed global phenomenon they could well afford to do this, but as a marketing ploy it was a stroke of genius. The message supported their credibility. It is interesting to note that this album is available for UK£6.00.

The biggest debate around King of Limbs, as with all Radiohead releases, seems to be ‘is it any good, or is it art for art’s sake? The British press appear to have decided it’s verging on the side of self-parody, but any Radiohead fan will respond to this by saying ‘that’s a huge aspect of Radiohead…and their success.’

The video to Lotus Flower features lead singer Thom Yorke performing a modern dance routine, devised by head of choreographer Wayne McGregor, resident choreographer of the British Royal Ballet. This too has fanned the flames of debate as to whether they are simply pretentious nonsense. And admittedly Yorke does look odd. And yet – I don’t know why, but I find it entrancing and beautiful. And when I log into Facebook all my friends are posting comments about it, which in the main are derisive but affectionate. And all posts about the quality of the music are unanimous: another staggering achievement.