A Question For U.K. Copywriters... And Some U.S. et al

by Rezbi
33 replies
What style of copy do you and/or your clients prefer?

Let me explain that question...

While a lot of us Brits complain about hypey US-style copy, it's been my exprience that we do fall for it. Especially when it comes to the making money market.

However, when it comes to other markets - home improvement, etc - we really do prefer the toned-down, reserved type of copy.

That's what I've seen.

Also, if you as a Brit copywriter, have done work for the US market, what style do you use? And have you have any from across the pond specifically ask you to write in our style?
#copywriters #question #u.k. #u.s.
  • Profile picture of the author maximus242
    Rezbi if you wrote british style copy in the U.S. the response rate would plummet. I have a hard time even understanding whats being said in British advertisements. Like what is it that word you guys use for dresses, its a really wierd word, anyways when I first saw that in the underground I was like WTF is that?!?

    I defiantly think copy is a very different style in the UK as opposed to the US
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  • Profile picture of the author MESophie
    When I write sales copy for the US market I really have to be very excited and happy in how I write.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
      Originally Posted by MESophie View Post

      When I write sales copy for the US market I really have to be very excited and happy in how I write.
      Hmm...

      I think you'd have to be pretty optimistic about the product even in the UK.

      The thing is not the type of words you use, or your level of enthusiasm for the product.

      It's more about how you would... how can I explain?... make it sound like it's almost over the top? Maybe?
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      • Profile picture of the author maximus242
        Originally Posted by Rezbi View Post

        Hmm...

        I think you'd have to be pretty optimistic about the product even in the UK.

        The thing is not the type of words you use, or your level of enthusiasm for the product.

        It's more about how you would... how can I explain?... make it sound like it's almost over the top? Maybe?
        No its a cultural difference in the US people smile and stuff but in Brittan its seen as inauthentic. Like are you smiling because your happy or are you smiling because your trying to get something. Where as in US its like your smiling to be nice.

        But yea its a culture difference its one of the biggest things you notice being in brittan is they hate the BS in people with a passion
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        • Profile picture of the author Nick Brighton
          Originally Posted by maximus242 View Post

          Rezbi if you wrote british style copy in the U.S. the response rate would plummet. I have a hard time even understanding whats being said in British advertisements. Like what is it that word you guys use for dresses, its a really wierd word, anyways when I first saw that in the underground I was like WTF is that?!?

          I defiantly think copy is a very different style in the UK as opposed to the US
          I'm curious... what was that word?

          We call dresses dresses too. Was it a skirt? That's a short dress, without the top part.

          Frock maybe?
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          • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
            Originally Posted by Nick Brighton View Post

            I'm curious... what was that word?

            We call dresses dresses too. Was it a skirt? That's a short dress, without the top part.

            Frock maybe?
            We call a dress a dress and a frock a frock.

            Having different words to describe things is not a big deal. You get that everywhere.
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          • Profile picture of the author Affiguy
            Originally Posted by Nick Brighton View Post

            I'm curious... what was that word?

            We call dresses dresses too. Was it a skirt? That's a short dress, without the top part.

            Frock maybe?
            or maybe a gown?
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Brighton
    The key difference is cultural references and choice of words. Apart from that, hype is hype. It works internationally.

    Having said that, Americans are more conditioned to over the top advertising... in fact, no offense, but over the top everything. Even the news has to have teaser trailers and mini launches during the previous show's commercial break (ad break in the UK.)

    So yeah, US writing is more hypey I guess, but it depends on the market.
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  • Profile picture of the author MontelloMarketing
    I find this humorous (humourous)...

    I see brit ads as being much farther over the moon than US ads. Not in all cases but in many.

    And talk about hypey...

    Have you ever seen a story in a British tabloid advertised? You'd think Posh Spice or Gordon Ramsey did something that was going to end the world.

    And the use of sex in advertising... far bigger in the UK.

    Now on to dr campaigns... I've seen quite a few UK marketing events advertised. No less hypey than the US counterpart. I've seen diet ads... no less hypey than US.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
      Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing View Post

      I find this humorous (humourous)...

      I see brit ads as being much farther over the moon than US ads. Not in all cases but in many.

      And talk about hypey...

      Have you ever seen a story in a British tabloid advertised? You'd think Posh Spice or Gordon Ramsey did something that was going to end the world.

      And the use of sex in advertising... far bigger in the UK.

      Now on to dr campaigns... I've seen quite a few UK marketing events advertised. No less hypey than the US counterpart. I've seen diet ads... no less hypey than US.
      I was wondering when someone was going to catch on.

      Despite what I said in my OP, the fact is, hype sells. People want to be told they can get (not build) huge muscles by drinking the latest 'protein shake'. I know this for a fact because my martial arts students are the same as everyone else.

      And they buy supplements based on the picture on the tin. Seriously. It doesn't seem to matter what's inside it.

      Edit: I do stand by what I said about the home improvement market, though. I have no idea what that's like over where you are.

      Originally Posted by maximus242 View Post

      No its a cultural difference in the US people smile and stuff but in Brittan its seen as inauthentic. Like are you smiling because your happy or are you smiling because your trying to get something. Where as in US its like your smiling to be nice.

      But yea its a culture difference its one of the biggest things you notice being in brittan is they hate the BS in people with a passion
      Oh, please. I thought copywriters are supposed to research and find out about the market.

      You've just made some ridiculous assumptions.
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  • Profile picture of the author maximus242
    What I mean is not hype but what they percieve as BS they have a different perception of authenticity. Its very important in their culture, at least my experience, that people be authentic, even if that means being rude at times.

    They have hype, just a different kind if you ask me
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  • Profile picture of the author MontelloMarketing
    No offense... but I just don't buy it.

    I can't prove it, I know... but I usually get a good read on people, both individually and as a group.
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  • Profile picture of the author maximus242
    You asked for opinions and you got one from my experience of traveling in the UK, im not saying what I said was something set in stone just my impression.

    I forget what the name was but I didnt even know what the word meant. Seriously regular ads (non DM) in the UK are wierd. First few days I could hardly believe we were speaking the same language.

    You do get used to it after a while but there are defiantly differences especially in communication with people.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
      Originally Posted by maximus242 View Post

      You asked for opinions and you got one from my experience of traveling in the UK, im not saying what I said was something set in stone just my impression
      No, I didn't ask for opinions. I asked copywriters what they found in their 'experience'.

      Going by what you said, I visited the US once in 1988, and all I saw was danger. I was even stopped by a police woman at 1am in the morning when I was out for a stroll. She told me I could be killed, even though it looked calm.

      So should I assume all over the US is like that?
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    • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
      Originally Posted by maximus242 View Post

      You asked for opinions and you got one from my experience of traveling in the UK, im not saying what I said was something set in stone just my impression.

      I forget what the name was but I didnt even know what the word meant. Seriously regular ads (non DM) in the UK are wierd. First few days I could hardly believe we were speaking the same language.

      You do get used to it after a while but there are defiantly differences especially in communication with people.
      I've got to ask: Are you definitely 'defiant', or defiantly definite?
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  • Profile picture of the author maximus242
    Oh ffs cry me a river
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  • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
    I lost the thread of why I started this discussion...

    While there are outrageous ads in the UK, the most successful are the ones which are restrained.

    Every ad. I've seen that has done exceptionally well has been way removed from the US style... at least from the stuff that's online.

    Having said that, the UK online stuff is no different to the US.
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    • Profile picture of the author MontelloMarketing
      Rezbi... I'd be interested in seeing a well received "successful" tv ad from the UK so I can see what you mean, and maybe show something similar from the US.... or not, of course.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
        Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing View Post

        Rezbi... I'd be interested in seeing a well received "successful" tv ad from the UK so I can see what you mean, and maybe show something similar from the US.... or not, of course.
        I don't have a TV, so I couldn't tell you about others, but...

        This is the site of the most successful home improvement company in the UK: Everest TV Ads - Watch Them Here! | Everest Home Improvements

        In fact, as far as I know, they're the only profitable HI company here at the moment.

        I know how well the ads are doing because I know who made them.

        And this company is a stickler for testing.

        For anyone interested, I'd recommend getting their sales literature. It's converting in the 40%+.

        You can download it on that site.

        A few more: http://www.youtube.com/user/EverestTv
        One of the old ones which were very successful: - This one of my favourites, along with this one
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        • Profile picture of the author MontelloMarketing
          Still not sure I'm seeing it. We have soft ads... and hard ads.

          Here are a couple similar ones from the US. Am I missing something?

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          • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
            Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing View Post

            Still not sure I'm seeing it. We have soft ads... and hard ads.

            Here are a couple similar ones from the US. Am I missing something?
            I know what you mean. It's a matter of seeing the different ads.

            I still think the Everest ads are better ones, though.
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            • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
              My experience with writing a piece for Agora's London office was that it was not suitable.

              Yet they said it would be for the American market.

              Two reasons...

              #1 Promise too big

              #2 England has tighter regulations on what can be said
              regarding financial investments.

              That's an example in the investment newsletter field.

              Best,
              Ewen
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              • Profile picture of the author Russell Wilks
                Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

                My experience with writing a piece for Agora's London office was that it was not suitable.

                Yet they said it would be for the American market.

                Two reasons...

                #1 Promise too big

                #2 England has tighter regulations on what can be said
                regarding financial investments.

                That's an example in the investment newsletter field.

                Best,
                Ewen
                1) Hmm Promise too big. That would seem to be a rejection of your deck and not a 'cultural' thing. In that the Promise is just too big to be relatable to the Prospect. But I wasn't there so I could be kerwrong.

                2) The UK (England, Scotland, Wales, northern Ireland) has more stringent compliance in terms of what the FSA (Financial Services Authority) and the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) will allow you to say or do.

                Compliance at Agora go through everything with a toothcomb.

                Agora are a case in point. A lot of their U.S copy is adapted for the UK market, to make it seem a little less 'pie in the sky'.

                However it's still red-hot smoking supercharged. And it still follows the 'Agora Model'.

                Obviously it depends upon what the Lead-Style of your copy is. And for what purpose? This would of course, determine your approach.

                - Good Luck
                Russell
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                • Profile picture of the author robcs
                  I've only just found this thread - a mere 2 years too late.

                  I'll start by saying that I'm in the UK and I've been writing copy for 4 years.

                  I also spend a LOT of time in the US, where consulting clients have had to get used to the fact that just because I'm not high-fiving everyone and "a-whooping and a-hollering" every 5 seconds doesn't mean that I am a) depressed, b) hungover, c) "not a team player" or d) incompetent (and yes I've been accused of all of those in my time!) These days a simple "it's OK, he's British" seems to do the trick 90% of the time

                  When I started writing copy I wrote hypey american-style copy, but it was mostly for the biz-op crowd, who lapped it up. Let's face it, the get-rich-quick mob are the same everywhere: show them how they can make a million while stuffing themselves with burgers and fries (large in the UK, supersize in the US - so there is a difference) and not have to get off their fat, pock-marked arses to actually 'do' anything, and they'll trample you into the ground you like hippos charging into the Nile in their rush to buy whatever tawdry, over-hyped crap you're peddling.

                  You have to hype everything up, because you're having to overcome a lot of inertia (and body fat) to get them to move!

                  Then I started working with more general types of businesses, especially in B2B, and they hated the over-hyped copy, and (more importantly) so did their market. So I toned it down. I had to.

                  British audiences particularly seem to hate false scarcity constraints. You have to have a watertight reason for any constraint or they'll question it (or ignore it).

                  And if you ask them a yes/no question in copy, they'll almost always choose the option you didn't want them to take (e.g. "here's your free seat. Should I give it to someone else?" => "go on then, see if I care!").

                  Now, TV ads.

                  In the UK there is one type of ad you just don't see: the wide-eyed loon with flecks of spittle flying at the camera, beating his fists on the table and screaming "I'm crazy. I'm so crazy, if you buy a motor policy from me I'll let you sleep with my wife. And my daughter. And my son too. Hell you can sleep with me too. Have the whole family. Just buy a &^%**^ policy already!"

                  Infomercials are also pretty much unheard of, except on shopping channels.

                  Critically though, UK (and indeed wider european) audiences demand a level of professionalism from TV ads that is sometimes lacking in many 'local' US ads. Most UK ads are cinematic in their execution (search for Stella Artois on youtube for an outstanding series of examples) and small businesses are pretty much excluded from TV advertising as a result.

                  Yes, you have that in the US, but you also have the lower budget stuff that just wouldn't be allowed onto a UK TV channel.

                  Our ads are also typically longer, to match the fact that we have fewer, longer commercial breaks (you have to give people enough time to go and make a cup of tea after all!)

                  The result, of course, is advertising that leaves you feeling entertained, but thinking "what the hell were they selling? was it a perfume? painkillers? a car? medical insurance? I'm really not sure. And I don't care; it was beautiful"

                  Back to the original question: styles of copy.

                  It's not a clean-cut question.

                  It's down to the audience. For some audiences, hypey long-form copy works extremely well. But there are far fewer of those audiences in the UK than in the US, and they're pretty much all consumer markets.

                  I have no idea if anyone will even read this, but that's my 2c (or 2p) worth.
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            • Profile picture of the author MontelloMarketing
              Originally Posted by Rezbi View Post

              I know what you mean. It's a matter of seeing the different ads.

              I still think the Everest ads are better ones, though.
              Maybe Rezbi... but not fair. You went and found your favorites and I countered with just some ads I found on youtube in 3 minutes.
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              • Profile picture of the author Rezbi
                Originally Posted by MontelloMarketing View Post

                Maybe Rezbi... but not fair. You went and found your favorites and I countered with just some ads I found on youtube in 3 minutes.


                I only found those because they're the only ones I really know about.

                Not having a TV, I don't look into those types of ads.

                Although, maybe I should.
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        • Profile picture of the author Pusateri
          The best work I know of on the subject is The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille.

          A quick and dirty summary: each culture has a 'code' for a given product or category. Advertising that is 'on code' will resonate with that culture. To a large degree, the culture code will dictate the style that will be effective.

          His company elicits these culture codes through lengthy interview sessions, singly and in groups. Basically, he exhausts the subjects to the point that they are giving their deepest emotional responses, as opposed to the reason based responses they give early in the process.

          Luxury as an example:

          For the French, luxury is about enjoying pleasures not available to others. For Italians, luxury is defined by an item's artistic value. For Americans, luxury is the equivalent to military stripes (i.e. you earned it.) For the British, he says that luxury is used to underscore a sense of detachment. I didn't quite get that one.
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        • Profile picture of the author Cam Connor
          Originally Posted by Rezbi View Post

          I don't have a TV, so I couldn't tell you about others, but...

          This is the site of the most successful home improvement company in the UK: Everest TV Ads - Watch Them Here! | Everest Home Improvements

          In fact, as far as I know, they're the only profitable HI company here at the moment.

          I know how well the ads are doing because I know who made them.

          And this company is a stickler for testing.

          For anyone interested, I'd recommend getting their sales literature. It's converting in the 40%+.

          You can download it on that site.

          A few more: Everest TV - YouTube
          One of the old ones which were very successful: YouTube - Original Tan Hill Inn - This one of my favourites, along with this one YouTube - Tan Hill Inn revisited

          I think Good copy is good copy, and it's pretty universal, I gotta hand it to you though, I think that first Everest commercial is pretty darn good.
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  • I have used the hypy style mostly for the us market

    but i find the brits prefer a toned down version

    depens on the emotion in think that you are trying to convey
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  • Profile picture of the author MDJonesCopy
    This is a really interesting topic, especially for someone like myself that writes mainly for UK clients but actually prefers writing for a US audience.

    I do believe there are differences in both what the client wants to see and what works for the market.

    This is especially true when it comes to headlines/promises as mentioned above. I've created headlines for clients in the UK that I'm 99% sure would be more effective but they reject them in favour of toned down versions that 'won't cause a stir'.

    It's just my experience but I've found that most small/medium size UK businesses are generally more risk averse when it comes to marketing. They would rather do what everyone else is doing, because that's just what they know, then try something different and stand out - even if it will perform better.

    This isn't true for everyone, I'm sure. Just what I've noticed over the last 18 months.


    My take on the first Everest advert above is if you extract the copy it wouldn't read that differently to anything you'd find in the US market. They mention 50% off 3 times in 30 seconds...

    The main difference to me is in the delivery.

    This can't be controlled outside of adverts and therefore you find that most direct mail, website, sales letter copy etc. in the UK is toned down to fly under us Brits built in BS radar.
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    • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
      I also spend a LOT of time in the US, where consulting clients have had to get used to the fact that just because I'm not high-fiving everyone and "a-whooping and a-hollering" every 5 seconds doesn't mean that I am a) depressed, b) hungover, c) "not a team player" or d) incompetent (and yes I've been accused of all of those in my time!) These days a simple "it's OK, he's British" seems to do the trick 90% of the time
      Well, that is a juicy piece of stereotyping if I have ever seen one.

      Where I live in the US (rural New England), no one high-fives, whoops or hollers. Brits fit right in.

      Marcia Yudkin
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  • I've never had a client that whooped-and-hollered, but I have had a few depressed, hungover, incompetent ones.
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  • Profile picture of the author PhilippaWrites
    The sales copy that I write for UK or Irish clients is definitely not the same as I'd write for US clients. As others have said, IM / MMO copy is pretty similar everywhere, but for many other niches Brits seem to have a stronger degree of skepticism that must be tackled. If you promise the earth you'll get rolled eyes and a quick dismissal.

    I think here we tend to prefer things a bit less in your face, and we manage sarcastic ads that my American counterparts have assured me would never work over there.

    It's interesting, and of course there will always be exceptions, but understanding a market is vital in order to have a chance of making an impact within it.
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