I was all set to write about something else this week, but then I was besieged by a frickin’ amazing website. The second my oldtime blog friend and brilliant photographer Sarah Bloom posted this link on Facebook, I knew I had to do a “Copy Decoded” on ShipYourEnemiesGlitter.com
As of this attempt to write the post, however, their website is down! The copy was so damn good it went viral and crashed the site!
The power of strong language, well-executed profanity, and to-the-point copy. The entire website maybe has 300 words of copy.
This Australia-based website promises to send your enemies an envelope full of glitter because it will ruin their day and their household belongings. An envelope of glitter with an embedded passive aggressive note ensures maximum spillage.
So, the business has a schadenfreudic premise. Yes. But, let me tell you why this copy is so good.
What they do really well:
You’ll laugh; you’ll cry. It’s better than “Cats:” No matter how angry you are at your frenemy — angry enough to inspire a search for inventive ways to ruin their carpet, and perhaps their eyesight — you won’t click away from this website without a good laugh. They employ humor. Angry humor.
They commit to a consistent voice. Everything is on-brand. And that brand voice is angry. Vindictive. And scheming. They give you permission to embrace all of these. ShipYourEnemiesGlitter is unabashedly going all Denis Leary on our asses. And I love it. Anger is good. A well-executed rant can have us laughing but also nodding in agreement. As Karen Walker on Will and Grace once said, “It’s funny because it’s true.” Ranting is good. Being passionate is good! Being honest is good.
They are speaking to their audience in the same tone their audience is using in their own head — it’s the tone employed by someone who is seriously considering purchasing an envelope piled full of glitter. And you can even picture their facial expressions and body language as you read. I imagine eyes rolling, hand on hip, and perhaps a little “talk to the hand” action.
They employ economy of language. They say what they have to say. Then they drop the proverbial mic. They explain their “process” in 138 words. Three little paragraphs.
So, go thank them for the awesome copy and send someone you hate some f*cking glitter.
PS copy this good with an equally unique albeit sinister offering can result in this.
Let me know which of these tactics you would like to incorporate into your own copy. I know that I, for one, would love to be more direct and employ economy of language. And, I’d also secretly like to use profanity in a natural and humourous way. It’s not me, though. How about you? Tell me in the comments below.
