There’s Copywriting in my Underwear – ‘Copywriting Encounters Inevitable’

Wherever you fix your gaze it’s inevitable that you will come across copywriting in one of its many varying forms.

Advertising billboards, discarded packaging as you enjoy a leisurely stroll through your hometown or city; heck, even the tag in your underwear, all feature some form of copywriting.

Copywriting has infiltrated all areas of life and as a copywriter I guess I notice it more than most. Words positioned perfectly to pique the interest of unsuspecting consumers, placing subliminal messages in one’s head that seem to stick for a lifetime.

Copywriting is something we encounter with greater frequency than most other things in life.

That toothpaste you use in the morning, that deodorant you spray over yourself and the shower gel you use (presuming that you shower of course) all feature a form of copywriting. Whether it is a catchy little slogan or an ingredients list, these words represent the phenomenon that is copywriting.

What’s my point you ask? My point is the impact that it has on us, the consumer, without us even realising it.

Just recently, whilst curled up on the sofa with ‘Mrs Write House’ I was subjected to the O2 advert, you know the one, the advert featuring a cat with the slogan ‘Be More Dog’.

I cannot tell you how compelling I found this advert, the idea of a cat switching its mindset to that of a dog in an effort to grab all of life’s opportunities stirred me.

Silly, no? Maybe not, copywriting has done its job, the days that have followed my encounter with that advert have been some of the best of my life and it was an attitude changer.

Copywriting cannot be ignored as it serves a purpose.

Copywriting in my underwear

In my latest adventure towards the vicinity of the washing machine to load my unmentionables, I took the, later to be regretted decision, to ignore the guidance of the tag. I’ve always viewed clothing tags as an inconvenience, especially in underwear.

Come on we’ve all been there, the tag pops out of your underwear and some ‘Smart Alec’ always has to point it out to you. To me, the tag in underwear epitomises the word pointless! Or so I thought. I set my underwear on wash at 90 degrees, blissfully unaware of what was to come.

Those of you familiar with washing will know that washing underwear at 90 degrees results in one outcome, shrinkage. Imagine my dismay when, upon retrieving my perfectly clean underwear, I discovered that they were more befitting of my 5-year-old son’s underwear.

What was more frustrating is that having ignored the copywriting on the label, which advises the right temperature to wash the items, the writing on the label had now faded rendering it unreadable.

There are two morals to this story, the first being copywriting is in your underwear for a reason people. This leads us to the second moral, ALWAYS READ THE LABEL.