Copywriting UK | TENFOUR blog

This evening, TENFOUR saw the perfect example of how the same news story can be reported so differently between papers.

First, the front page of London Lite:

Tube and bus fares will rise by up to 10 per cent in the new year, Boris Johnson announced today. The price of taking a bus with Oyster pay-as-you-go will increase by slightly more, from 90p to £1, in January.

Now the front page of The London Paper:

Tube and bus fares will soar by up to 10 per cent in a bid to plug a massive ‘budget black hole’, Boris Johnson announced today. The Mayor unveiled an inflation-busting package of rises… bus fares will jump from 90p to £1… The rises amount to an average 6 per cent hike across the network… more than the official 5 per cent rate of inflation.

Which do you think is the best write-up?

We’d argue that ’soar’, ‘hike’ and ‘inflation-busting’ are words that jump on the credit crunch bandwagon a little too eagerly. And TENFOUR thought London Lite was the more obvious tabloid sibling of the two freesheets.

It’s been a while since we’ve done a word spot. So, just for you word spot fans: Original Source shampoos and shower ’smoothies’. Or shampoo and shower gel to the uninitiated.

TENFOUR likes the words on Original Source product packaging. ‘This shampoo probably has more nourishment than what you ate for lunch,’ says one bottle. Even better, the smoothie (shampoo) comes with a serving suggestion: ‘massage gently into wet skin to create a luxurious lather. Rinse then pat dry with a large fluffy towel’.

Firstly, we love idea of taking food into the shower… and we can now, without getting our baguette soggy in the process. Secondly, the words make you want to be back at home right away.

Most importantly though, we’d say that comparing products to healthy food is a clever, subtle-ish way to suggest they are full of natural, healthy stuff. Original Source is one of the only set of products in the supermarket that still carries the ‘not tested on animals’ message. So, are you going to tell us they aren’t made with real fruit, clouds and whatever else?

This morning TENFOUR was introduced to the world of Tea (www.wearetea.com), a new name in the culture of cafes and coffee… and tea.

We were introduced by a well-placed Tea sign. It was standing proud on a London street corner, luring people away from the Starbucks up ahead. Willing to be lured, as usual, we took a left on the street.

Firstly, we really liked the place. Secondly - and speaking from our position as copywriters - we appreciated the words they were using in the shop, in their materials, and now on their website. According to the website, Tea says it wants to ‘dispense with pomp and ceremony’. We likes that.

Apart from the sign though, the other thing that caught our eye surprised us. We took notice of the take-away cup. It presented the website address clearly, and the hot drink warning read: ’Please take care. Contents may be hot’. Are we wrong in thinking this is a little kinder and less legal than the average?

Tea only has one shop at the moment, but watch out for signs on corners near you soon.

TENFOUR took a visit to The Eden Project in Cornwall this weekend. If you’ve never been, you really should.

We wanted to give it a mention here because one of the great things we took from the visit was the value of being positive.

It seems that the general strategy when pushing the eco message is about stressing the disasterous consequences of non-action. This isn’t a bad thing, necessarily… but it’s clearly not the only option available to us as marketeers?

In a step away from the norm, we felt The Eden Project focused more on inspiring people. ‘Just look what can be done if you put your mind to something’, they were saying. ‘Working with the environment brings new creativity and visions rather than restrictions’.

These are great, positive messages. And TENFOUR would argue that they are more likely to have the right effect.

It’s food for thought, don’t you think?

TENFOUR has just read a nice quote about the importance of stories, in a book called Writing Short Films by Linda Cowgill.

It’s quite deep really. But we thought we’d share:

“Stories are how we understand the world… telling stories may be an essential existential act. We tell stories to define our world in causal, temporal terms we can understand. And maybe, at some level, we have to tell ourselves stories to prove to ourselves that we exist.”

Wow, heh?