**By Hannah Young, Creative Copywriter**
I collect copy. Mostly packaging copy. I’ve got (link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/hjyoung/copywriting text: a Pinterest board) full of envy-inducing examples. And my phone’s camera roll is littered with odds and ends I find when I’m out and about. I’m a word nerd, so I love how brands choose to fill the gaps on their products. There’s a lot of potential in those blank spaces. After all, Innocent’s renowned tone of voice famously began with one of the founders filling some space on a smoothie bottle.
But I have an even bigger problem. I get a particular buzz from bad packaging copy. I can’t explain it, but there’s something thrilling about uncovering a peculiar turn of phrase on the back of your packet of crisps or can of cider. (And then probably tweeting about it.)
I find myself reading everything. Especially in the bathroom. Hand soap bottles. Air freshener cans. Packs of toilet roll. Toothpaste tubes. Nothing is safe. I read every word. All the way down to sodium lauryl ethel sulphate in pursuit of a hidden message. After all, the test of a good tone of voice is in how it approaches its small print.
That’s why I firmly believe good intentions lie in packaging copy. At least they’ve tried! But there is such a thing as trying too hard…
Here are a few examples of dodgy copy I’ve found that made me smile for all the wrong reasons.
I was already pickled in cider when I read this at Bestival so I took a photo and reread it sober. It made even less sense…
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I broke a plate when I washed up with this…
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‘There is such a thing as taking it too far, you know’…
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Brand purpose is something we do a lot of at Superdream – basically helping brands tell people about what they do and why they do it. Here’s a great example of a brand that almost got it…then leapt straight into what The Human Half eloquently calls the (link: https://blog.usejournal.com/brand-purpose-without-all-the-nonsense-2eedef7d1953 text: Twatosphere) (this product is a pet comb)…
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I think Linda was after some free toilet paper…
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Said no one ever…
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But when packaging is done right, it’s the perfect place for brands to say a little more to people. If someone’s reading your packaging, you’ve got a valuable window to make a bit more of a connection with them. It might just be the nudge they need to pop it in their shopping basket rather than back onto the shelf.
Here’s a smattering of particularly palatable packaging…
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And finally, a shameless plug. Here are some bottles of BBQ sauce and hot sauce we did for mac and cheese restaurant, Holy Moly…
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If nothing else, your packaging copy might prompt someone to take a picture and write a blog about it…