A 'Huh?' Moment: How copywriting should not be

"Being in your birthday suit can often cause social embarrassment and a proclivity for honey, but at least one of these challenges can be addressed in style. Save the birthday suit and be seen sporting a stylish apparel with Celio......"

Whoever wrote this was probably trying to be clever. Subtle sexual implications (in this case, nudity) is often an easy and effective way of attracting attention.

However, when I received this promo in my inbox, I spent a good few minutes trying to figure out this introduction. It seems that the copy is trying to sell T-shirts by stressing that one should not be naked...an idea that do not make much sense to me. Furthermore, is being naked such a challenge in a country where cotton and artificial textile is abundant?

"Proclivity for honey"?  Is it trying to say that going naked will get you more sex? Heck, which guy wouldn't want that? Half the guys I know would gladly go naked for more 'honey'. This line is just trying too hard in vain.

Which brings me to cliche tips when it comes to copywriting: Keep it simple if you can't make it 'complicated nice' and Less is indeed More. Good writing is not about using difficult or sophisticated language that the masses have difficulty understanding, especially when it comes to selling mass and quick selling products. It's more important to choose content that evokes an urgent need to purchase, and present them clearly. To make them, as one friend says, "Buy First, Think Later"

Creativity without Outlandish Budget

Yes, money can buy really good, outlandish and highly visible marketing campaigns.

But sometimes when one just don't have that much more money to spare, it's then that ingenious creativity truly have to kick in.

The Old is Bold campaign was launched by the Gardens Mall a few months ago, and it still is fresh in my mind. Similar to hundreds of other campaigns that feature a good-looking, well-groomed couple, this differs by only one point - the couple were over the age of 70.

And a better looking couple of that age you have never seen:

Image taken from The Star's article.

This idea worked extremely well because:

1) Despite their age, the styling worked so well that it still appeals to a wide age demographic
2) They look really good for their age in the ads
3) They make one stop and take a second look, because it is different from the overused idea of featuring young model couples

The campaign probably do not cost anymore than any other's that the Gardens Mall had done before. It  might even be cheaper for they did not have to pay professional modeling fees.

Stemming from this idea, one can explore other atypical subjects to feature, turning something usually deemed negative, like old age, into something positive and beautiful. Dove has done something similar with their campaign for real beauty featuring 'real' women looking naturally good. What else? Bald is Beautiful, Plump is Pretty, Sensational Scars...it's about turning disadvantages into advantages. When one has no money and an open mind, many possibilites become visible.

The Latest Communication Trend: Trim, Tidy, Pretty it Up

It's not new knowledge that in today's communication that less is more. With attention spans getting shorter, and more information being crammed into lesser time to ingest them, it's important that the reader/viewer get the message within the second. But now, on top of keeping it short and sweet, it has to be pretty too.

Advertisements and music videos have been doing it all the while, keeping it 'nice-looking' in one column or 3 minutes air time. Now, the 'world of data' is following suit. Data visualisation is popular now in the online world. Some examples of how it is done:

Images from Visual.ly

As Visual.ly says it, data visualisation is meant to "communicate complex ideas in a clear, compact and beautiful way".  If factual brochures, portfolios and annual reports adopt this method of communicating their content, maybe they won't be cast aside gathering dust as often as they really are.

It's a common problem in ad agencies - writers think only words and message, designers only think design and visuals. Sometimes the two separate ideas don't work together hence the function of the account executive to find a happy balance between the two. With data visualisation, the complication is augmented. A graphic designer can no longer aim to just have a beautiful artwork, but the design now has a bigger function to support the information, taking on more meaning. Writers must be able to sum up chunks of information that is translatable visually. A person/agency who can become a blend of both would be highly sought after (a writer who can think visually or a designer who can process content). I hope Wit & Words will be one of them!

Update (20 July 2011): Thanks to Shiren, a fellow marketeer, who shared another site with similar concept called Information is Beautiful

The Malaysian Government Needs Better Public Relations and Crisis Management

In it's 54 years of being in office, Barisan Nasional is facing its worse public relations crisis now that they no longer have control over all means of mass communication. They still uphold an ethical stand of no censorship of the internet, but they seem to be faring far from well from the latest Bersih2.0 incident.

It was an unwise move for the Prime Minister and his ministers to deny that there were violence during Bersih2.0 when there were thousands of witnesses and many foreign and independent press present with cameras, video recording devices and means to distribution those information collected (Facebook, Youtube, email, foreign news channel). The most prominent incident is denial that tear gas and water cannon were fired into the Tung Shin Hospital where marchers had taken refuge, when hotly circulating on the internet now are ample videos shot from different angles proving otherwise. 

When Al-Jazeera interviewed our Information Minister in the midst of the rally, he insulted the journalist by accusing foreign press of being sensationalists. He was barely coherent, highly aggitated and either could not understand or evaded answering her question of "Why is the march illegal (in the first place)?" making him appear all the more guilty and incompetent.

Post rally has seen the Prime Minister mocking childishly the leader of the Opposition, who participated in the march, implying that Anwar pretended to be hurt by the tear gas. Further to that, various ministers had stepped to make light of the turnout, warn citizens and media against supporting Bersih, which is widely interpreted as threats by the public. Their unprofessional and tactless presentation only succeeds in portraying them as the villains in this chapter of Malaysia's history.

In retaliation, anti-government Facebook petitions had mushroomed overnight and is growing rapidly in support. A page aiming to gather 100 000 people who wants Najib resignation shot passed it’s goal within two days and, at the time of this entry, already achieved almost double it’s intention and still growing. Attempts at anti-Bersih online petitions showed numbers that pale in comparison to the competition, which only succeed in attracting mockery.

Additionally, negatives comments and discussions about the prime minister’s wife spending habits has resurfaced with more digging into her purchases, specifically a USD24 million ring. Whether it’s the truth, the citizens have reached the tipping point – they want to and set out to believe the worse.

The fact is that the government had handled Bersih2.0 extremely ill. The mistake had already been done. The best crisis management in such a situation is really to stop playing the blame game and take immediate, effective corrective action.

Learning from a separate crisis management moment that took place in 1982, a particular Johnson & Johnson over-the-counter drug was laced with poison leading to several deaths. Instead of denying that they were responsible, even though it was the work of a psychotic individual who tampered with the drug when it was already on the display shelf, J&J took immediate corrective action by recalling 31 million bottles of the drug and revamping the safety packaging. They realised short term losses from the defunct products would save their money-cannot-buy reputation. They were lauded for their sense of responsibility and quick action.

Our government should learn from past crisis management incidents and take a leaf out of truth marketing. People are surprisingly forgiving to those who admit their faults and flaws. So what’s really left for the government to do now to salvage the remnants of their reputation, if there is any left, are...


Well, first they should fire their National Communications Team who came up with the failed guidelines for managing Bersih (see GUIDANCE ON KEY ISSUES No 8/2011)

And then they should:

1)    Stop denying and admit it ‘could have been handled better’

2)    Apologise

3)    Take corrective action

i ) Make one truly generous gesture. I'd say they should relinquish control of media by finally allowing alternative views to be published without fear of their publishing license being withdrawn. After all, news of all negative activities (whether true or mere hearsay) are being spread online, all the more vehemently because it is the only outlet.

Understand human nature that the more they are suppressed, the more they seek out the truth and all the more violently and negatively they react to your every action. To put it in another analogy, the more freedom a parent gives a child, the less she or he feels the need to rebel.

ii) Cease futher threats to supporters of Bersih

iii) Engage in open talks and debates with Ambiga, the leader of Bersih, so the citizens will see it as sincere attempts at listening to the rakyat. Set up discussions between Bersih and Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR), so that the latter is seen as being open to suggestions and implementing them.

iv) Ministers must be trained on presentation and public speaking, with capable press secretaries who are more aware of the rakyat's mood and reactions

All of this public relations fiasco could have been avoided if the government had amicably allowed the peaceful march to proceed. If they had been seen happily giving the license, arranging proper police escort and medical aid for ‘the safety of the marchers’ and even marching along with them supporting clean elections. Whether or not they meant it, the public would merely smirk and remark “Really wan or not?”, then continued on with their everyday lives.

A Simply Clever Logo; Thinking Out of the Box with a Box

Originally posted on 5 July 2011

The outline of a sofa chair posing as the letter 'B'. It's a furniture shop logo. Simple ideas are the best, I always think.

Which leads me to another clever idea: 

A huge, crude box dropped in the middle of Subang Parade. Certainly caught my attention.

The contest mechanism still escapes me, but the box had certainly peaked my interest enough to keep me standing there for several minutes trying to figure it out.

Bilingual Smilingual

Originally posted on 12 June 2011


I received an SMS enquiry today. "I"m looking for a copywriter. Do you speak Mandarin?"

This is one more time in my life that I'm miffed at myself for not being fluent in Mandarin. During Uni days, I did attempt to learn the language by immersing myself in Mandarin songs, without realising my method only allowed the extent of my vocabulary to be limited to topics of love, heartbreak and despair.

Being multilingual would have worked to my greatest advantage as a writer, not only for allowing me to bridge communities of different languages, for if language form thoughts, then I would have access to multifold of inspirational writings, ideas and perceptions.

I...am...feeling..miffed.

Wit & Words is now a registered company!

Originally posted on 9 June 2011


I should have done it more than a year ago when I began this business. But it is finally done. Wit & Words is officially a registered company! *Champagne cork popping. Glasses clinking. Whistle blowing. Crackers cracking*

Again I vary from my usual topics to outline briefly the procedure of registering an enterprise in Malaysia. It's really simple, especially since it's a sole proprietorship and not a sendirian berhad (limited liability company).

There are many online companies offering the service of registering a company for a few hundred. I opted to do it myself the long (more than 3 hours!) and hard way for only RM70. You only had to (1) turn up at SSM (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia) with your original IC and a copy.

(2) Obtain a form from the information counter to check whether your company name is available and viable. You'll have to give three options. Mine were Wit N Words, Word Artisan and Word Art.

(3) Take a number and WAIT

(4) Submit the form when your number is called. Then WAIT SOME MORE. Meanwhile, they would have passed you a form to register the company. Leave the name portion blank until confirmed.
Lucky for me, Ratatouille was playing on the TV
Here's an important note most people do not know. Your company name and trade name can differ. So my company's name is Word Artisan, but the trade name is Wit & Words.

(5) If your company name is approved, take another number and WAIT. You can take the time to finally fill in the name portion in the form.
In my case, they suggested I use Wit N Words Art. How odd sounding! If I were looking for writing services, I'd dismiss such a copywriter who came up with such a company name. I insisted they check on my second choice. While I WAITED some more, I wondered why they asked for three options if they were going to take liberties in changing the first, and ignore the other two. Finally, Word Artisan was approved. I rather like this name. 

(6) Submit your form and IC copy, show your original IC and pay RM60 for company registration and RM10 for company information (I have no idea what the latter is for, but I was too tired at this point to enquire. I just wanted it to be over).

(7) WAIT AGAIN.

(8) Your number will be called again. If all is in order, you'll get your Company Certificate. If not, I'm so very sorry for you.

Working from Home

originally posted on 6 June 2011


I digress today from my usual topics of copywriting and creative writing to quickly put down some thoughts on working from home. I realised that many people have the same desire for a more relaxed work environment with a flexible timing. But before they had even taken the first step, they have already set up their own barrier. 

"I don't have the discipline!", they usually lament. Well, neither do I. 

If we're talking about lacking discipline, I'm actually the worst of the worst. But I do have an innate sense of responsibility to deliver what I promise, and that's my saving grace.

So, here's some quick tips on how I made it working from home:

1) Practise a proper work schedule
I follow working days, working hours, weekends, and public holidays. When it's lunch hour, I go for lunch. When it's 6pm, I shut down my computer and go for a jog. When it's a public holiday, I refrain from switching on my computer.

Contrary to popular belief that you work less when working from home, you actually don't know when to stop. So, follow a normal work schedule as if you're working in an office environment.

The plus point is that you can be flexible and start work a bit later, stop work a little earlier, take a day off any time you need to. The only approval needed is from yourself.

2) Make deadlines
It's easy to forgo deadlines if you're mostly working with yourself. Your inner voices debate and conclude that one or two days late is okay.

So, I put the deadlines 'out there' making it difficult to change without affecting others. Whenever I get a project, I will either ask for a specific deadline or declare one to the client if they have none. Once you make that promise (for deadlines are essentially a promise to deliver), you will inevitable deliver it on time. After all, if you don't deliver on time, there will be no repeat business, no repeat business means no money, no money means cannot pay car loan.

3) Set small goals
Distractions... in the form of internet, Facebook, IM chatting, non-existant firewall to curb those online activities, housework, television, bed. It takes army training to be disciplined enough to resist temptations.

My only way to do it is setting small goals. Finish two paragraphs and I'll allow myself 10 mins of Facebook. Complete this article, before taking a nap. Finish editing this, then I'll go watch an episode of Star Trek.
4) Have a proper work area
I tried it before. When my Macbook was still functional and mobile (an incident caused it to only work while plugged into an external monitor...long story), I worked EVERYWHERE. In front of the TV, on the dining table, on the floor, in a cafe, on my bed, by my bed....

While I believe an occasional change of environment helps to boost creativity, it can sometimes be distracting. You lose focus and take time to get back onto the roll each time you change work stations.

So, looking on the bright side of my laptop monitor being fried, finally setting up a permanent work area forced me to sit my behind down and focus on the work at hand.

5) Get out and meet people, stay in touch with the world
As much a recluse as I am, as amusing as I think I am, I do become bored with my own company sometimes. Working like a frog under a coconut shell is far from beneficial to a creative mind. While the world outside changes rapidly, I could still be working like it was 2010 (that's when I left permanent employment).

I make it a point to meet as many people, as often as possible, dropping by my clients offices to join their brainstorming sessions, meeting up with enquiring parties even though the chance of closing the project is slim, joining networking sessions for SMEs, etc. While benefits of such efforts to my work is not immediately noticeable, it will help sustain my business and sanity in the long run. 

New Condominium Near KLCC

originally posted on 25th May 2011


Although most property developers in Malaysia claim that their development is different, essentially there's nothing really new. It's a matter of repackaging and repacking the same old product. As my friend says, "Otherwise, marketers will be out of a job."



There's a new condo being built near KLCC on Jalan Tun Razak, just as you exit SMART tunnel before turning into KLCC parking. Boldly emblazoned across the hoarding is a line, somewhat similar to, but not quite and much longer, because I was driving and couldn't read properly:

"A new development for the who's who to live in the where's where."

And though the idea of a strategically located residence for VIPs is done to death and then some, I thought the line communicated it in a pleasantly quirky manner. 

Just perhaps, if I may do so without appearing like a know it all, it can be written more succinctly. Say...

"The Where's Where for the Who's Who"

And now I wished I had come up with that all on my own so that I can use the line for the next property campaign I work on.

All publicity is good publicity?

originally posted on 15 May 2011

From the other side of the earth where marketing budget is a mountain compared to Asia's molehill ones, I am reading news of a Thor (the movie) press kit that has caused a bomb scare when a member of the press decided to discard it at a public rubbish bin.

The images below show the elaborate press kit that resemble a child's science lab toy. We don't get press kits like this in Malaysia. Interesting as it is, though, does it really serve the purpose of increasing publicity of the 'product'? The reporter obviously thought it was cumbersome and couldn't wait to get rid of it.

Lucky for the movie's publicity team though, that their press kit managed to achieve coverage due to its 'suspicious' appearance. Pure coincidence, it was.

Perhaps over the years, they have had to devise many ways to keep the media interested, most of them jaded after years of receiving hundreds of press kits. But as my friend from the media says, the most important thing you can give them is news that is relevant to their readers, that keeps them coming back to their media channel for more. And this is the one point, the most important one, that many PR practitioners are forgetting.

Images from www.escapistmagazine.com

Random Clever Copywriting

(originally posted on 15 May 2011)


Since I've struck out on my own, I'm more aware of advertisements and taglines around me. It's like competing in a car treasure hunt that requires looking for solutions in billboards and business plaques along the roads, and for a while after the hunt you continue to be oddly aware of the words in signage around you. For me, this sense of awareness has become a constant.

I spotted these in Ipoh. The first one, written at the exit of a petrol station, was contradicting its shabby appearance:

"The Fuel keeps you going; Our Service keeps you coming"

The clever use of opposite verbs - going and coming, spun in a witty way to project positive meanings for both.


Another was a lakeside development:

"Pride of Ipoh; Envy of the Nation"

Again, the two opposing nouns - pride and envy. And then Ipoh and Nation representing the minority pitched positively against the majority. Many copywriting requires promoting the product or brand as being special, elitist and exclusive, and this line achieves that effect without outright telling the audience that it is special or exclusive.

So, here are two simple copywriting lessons, that is no rocket science.
1) The use of opposites in a clever way
2) Illustrate uniqueness by using comparisons or descriptions, instead of stating it directly

They Found Me - Part 2

(originally posted on 2nd May 2011)


This is it. Whether it was the creatures that would make me their meal or they who will transform me into a higher being, I was resigned to my fate.

  And then I saw them. Thousands and thousands of them racing toward me like their lives depend on it. Their oval heads determinately pointed towards me. They had tails attached to the back of the head which were beating furiously to make them move faster. I braced myself.

  I wonder what dying feels like, I thought.

  Two of them were leading the rest of the pack, both fighting to be the winner. One moment, one would be leading. The next, the other would be ahead. It's funny how calm one can be when faced with death. I actually found amusement in this little competition.

  With sudden acceleration, the one that was beginning to lag behind overtook its competitor and sped towards me. In an instant it had reached its destination. With its head, it began boring into my skin. Before I could even begin to register the pain, its head pierced through and was inside me. To my utter surprise, the creature's tail dropped off outside my body.

  The slower creatures now began to crowd around me, trying their best to enter me too. Beyond my control or even my comprehension, my skin had harden making their efforts in vain.

  Inside me, I could feel the head making its way to the centre of my body. Oddly, it was not an unpleasant feeling. When it reached my centre, I could feel it becoming one with me. I reached a sense of heightened bliss.

  "Go on," a voice from within said to me. And I know what I had to do.

  I pushed on down the pathway. For some reason, I knew that the pathway had an end. Perhaps when the creature merged with me, its knowledge also became mind.

  It was four days before the pathway opened into a vast chamber. Throughout, I could feel my body undergoing changes, but I knew that they were good. The other creatures had began dying off one by one. By the third day, none of them were left. Only then did I realise that they were indeed racing for their lives. I felt rather sorry for them.

  I explored the chamber for a while. When fatigue finally overcame me, I rested against the chamber wall. I knew then that this journey had come to an end, but my life was just beginning. My body was still changing and growing. In nine months time, my transition into a higher being would be complete. So now I wait.

  I shouted into the chamber, "I'm okay! They found me!" Hopefully my words would travel up the pathway and back to the commune, so that my friend could hear them an be comforted.

They Found Me - Part 1

(originally posted on 27 April 2011)

There was one particular piece that I was exceedingly proud of when I started writing for my Creative Writing class in University. For the past months, I've been going through my files and documents (some twice and thrice over) to retrieve those 10 or so A4 pages documenting my so called masterpiece, potential award winning short story. I couldn't find it. By now, I've learnt that the world contrives to always thwart my wants so I take it with a mere 'hmph'  

Nonetheless, I found another short story that I don't even remember writing. So here it is, retyped from the hardcopy that I recovered, resisting the itch to rewrite what I wrote. Reproduced as it was created more than six years ago...

     I am alone. It has been five days since I left the commune where I was born, grew up and became an adult - the only place I had ever known. I never wanted to enter this strange realm. In fact, no one ever wants to leave the commune. But as each of us achieve maturity, one by one, we are forced to walk the only pathway that leads away from the commune. The Unknown, it is called. No one ever comes back.

    Once, when I was still an adolescent, I dared to question time-old tradition. Why do we have to observe this rite at all? Why couldn't we all just stay in the commune and live happily ever after? Some were terrified when I raised these questions. Some were even angry.

    "Don't you know that terrible things will happen when we stop sending a sacrifice out to the Unknown?" the angry ones hissed at me.

      "But how do you know that? We have never tried not sending a sacrifice before," I persisted. I was at that age when I believed everything had an explanation.

    "Legend says that a sacrifice must be sent into the Unknown every 28 days," one of the meeker ones quickly explained, eager for me to cease voicing my questions and doubts "If we fail to do so, our commune will be destroyed. Life as we know it will come to an end."

    "But eventually there will be none of us left!" I stubbornly continued, hoping I could instill some sense into them. But dwellers of our commune are faithful to tradition, even if it means sacrificing their own lives.

    So here I am. Not voluntarily, of course. On the day I achieved maturity, I was forced to walk the pathway by those whom I had known all my life, friends who, in just one fleeting moment, became enemies.

        One part of the legend that I do believe is that one will inevitable die in the Unknown. But the legend does not say by what means one will meet death, except that blood would flow. Rumours say that horrible creatures will suddenly appear and feast on you. But I believe that my cause of death would be from lack of contact with another. Growing up in a commune, I have never experienced this feeling before. Now it has hit me profoundly. I was desperately lonely. Despite the cruel treaatment I had received from my friends, I find myself missing them something fierce.

    When the first signs of maturity began to show on me, everyone knew that my days were numbered. It was then that my best friend gave me a sliver of hope.

     "I have heard that one can be saved in the Unknown. One can even escalate into a sort of higher being and live a very long life," she said. She seemed hesitant to continue.

    "How?" I gently prompted her.

    "They must find you," she whispered.

    "They must find me? My dearest friend, I love you very much, but sometimes you just don't make any sense." I was teasing her in an attempt to conceal my true feelings, which was anxiety and fear.

    "I'm serious! I cannot know for sure whether this is true, but at least it gives me hope that I might see you again. You must heed my words perchance that it is true!" she pleaded, on the verge of tears.

    "Very well," I said soothingly "But who are they?"

    "I do not know," she replied helplessly "But whoever they are, please try to find them instead of just waiting for them to find you. Or else it might be too late!"

     But after five days, I still had not met any living creature. They chance of they finding me seemed very bleak, much less I finding them. Ironically, I was pondering over this when I sensed movement down the path. I could not see what it was, but it was moving fast.

      This is it.

(to be continued....)

   

Migrating Over

I've decided to migrate over to Blogger to have a better quality blog site.

Will repost all my past entries (which aren't that many).