Commune Media | Measurably Effective Digital Marketing™

Why calling yourself “better” is worse

Posted on Friday, September 19th, 2008 at 1:21 AM by Simon Smith  |  Comments (0)

Big surprise: Microsoft blew off its expensive yet good-for-nothing Seinfeld campaign.

So the world’s again safe from multimillion-dollar marketing blitzes based on ineffective ideas?

Not so fast.

As I write this, Toronto’s oppressed by overwhelming billboards for telecom behemoth Bell. They blare statements like "Internet just got better" and, beside the iPhone-like Samsung Instinct, "Way cooler."

If you’re new to copywriting, your first instinct might be to copy these ideas for your internet marketing. After all, if Bell invested so heavily, it must be using proven techniques—and testing them to death.

Wrong.

If you follow this approach, you’re not only hurting your own business.

You’re actually helping your competition.

Why comparatives are weak

Here’s why.

"Better," "cooler" and similar "er" words (believe it or not, Bell’s campaign bolds out the "er" in every ad, like "better" and "cooler") are comparatives. Quite simply, they compare one thing to another.

There are so many reasons why comparatives like "better" and "cooler" are weak for this kind of campaign that it’s hard to know where to start.

So let’s start with you. Because you’re the intended target.

What’s the first thing you would think when seeing the word "cooler" beside an iPhone-like device?

Almost certainly, you would think about the iPhone.

This would logically lead to the question: "Is it actually cooler?"

If not (and if you haven’t used either device, trust me—it’s not), then the ad hasn’t just failed to convince you.

It’s simultaneously promoted a competitor and called attention to its relative weaknesses against that competitor.

And that’s just a start.

Comparatives are also extremely abstract, which weakens their impact.

"Zero to 60 in three seconds" means something. You can feel the speed. It’s concrete (and therefore sticky).

"Faster than a Ferrari" is weaker, even though "Ferrari" means fast in your mind.

When comparisons can work

This isn’t to say that comparisons (and comparatives) can’t work.

The key is to use them to claim an open position in the marketplace.

For example, if you’re staking out the low-price position in your market, comparing yourself to the high-price position holder does wonders. "Our widgets are built with the same quality as High-Price Widgets," you might say. "But they’re one-tenth the price."

So next time you get the urge to create a comparison, stop and ask yourself:

1. Is there a true difference? And, if so, can you use it to claim a position?

2. Is there a way to describe this concretely?

And remember: Concrete is crucial.

After all, "cheaper" just doesn’t have the same impact as "90% off."

Tags: comparatives, copywriting