That’s the Dollar Shave Club messaging.
It's a straightforward
pitch, and a good tagline. And in many ways, the tagline above could be used to
sum up exactly what is so effective about Dollar Shave Club’s marketing. To the
point. Always on message. And with nothing wasted. One line tells you
everything you need to know.
If you’re not already aware
of Dollar Shave Club, firstly, be ashamed.
(I
mean come on reader. Keep up with the times. Read your AdWeek.)
But more importantly, check
out this ad:
That’s a great spot, but
still more exceptional because it was made with no agency help, little
equipment, and virtually no budget. And it was written by the company founders.
Nine times out of ten that will leave you with a terrible ad that makes you
embarrassed for the company that made it.
What makes it great? A sense
of humour never hurts. But more importantly, a careful scalpel. It’s an old
truism that it’s harder to write a little than to write a lot. And to create a
great ad which gives all the details, makes all the selling points, and still
captures the attention through brevity – that takes a knack for cutting in the
right places.
(I
have never felt so conscious of the length of an article. Just remember, only
cut words don’t need, has make sense.)
The important point is that
these guys aren’t marketing savants – though they certainly have talent.
This took effort. They drafted and redrafted, worked and reworked. They scanned their script over and over,
questioning every part of their creation with no illusions or bias, until it
was as short as possible – and impossible to cut further without compromising
the message.
They knew they had limited
resources, and only one film to make. So they set about making that film as
singularly powerful and effective as they could.
Worth remembering from time
to time. It’s not universally applicable in advertising. Breathing space can be
good. But it’s worth examining your work from time to time, to see how much of
it really needs to be there.
Shave off the extraneous. Sell
as much as you can, in as little time as you have.
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