Trite Headlines and Old Virgins

The headlines and copy used in big brand ads are often so ridiculous they’re hardly worth commenting on.

But I found this post by Nancy Friedman both funny and interesting. She writes:

“X just got better” [is] a formula frequently employed by headline writers short on time and imagination.

She then lists 18 specific examples where this headline formula was used, each one as dull as the last.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. Among her examples there is one exception that stands out like Christmas lights in July:

My favorite variation, though, comes from the dead trademark database: “The Oldest Virgin Around Just Got Better.” It was registered to the California Olive Corporation between 1997 and 2005.

I don’t know how many bottles of virgin olive oil this headline sold, but at least it’s interesting. If I saw that headline while flipping through a magazine, I’m pretty sure I’d at least read the first sentence to discover the tie-in.

Nevertheless, you ought to avoid trite formulas like “X just got better” or “X just got easier.” It’s not specific and it requires the reader to think too much.

Instead of saying that your product just got better, why not tell your over-stimulated reader precisely how your product is better — right there in the headline!

I know, it’s a novel thought.

But that’s why you read this blog, right?

-Ryan M. Healy