Naked and unafraid.
Odwalla added sugar and preservatives to half its SKUs. Niche-brand Naked Juice didn’t. I wrote, “All we add is a bottle and a lid,” the tagline, “Nothing to hide,” all the packaging copy and a bunch of other stuff.
The headline we used, over and over and over again: “Expose your healthy side” epitomized my theory about how the most successful marketing messages work — by giving the consumer credit for already doing something great. We didn’t say, “Get healthy. Get Naked,” or use some equally banal command to tell people we were coming to save them. We told them they were already healthy — and gave them a way to demonstrate that to the world.
Something worked. Because just 18 months later, the brand sold to Pepsi.
There’ve been lots of others: Atkins, Jenny Craig, Lenny & Larry’s, Perfect Bar — all of which enjoyed exits — but more importantly, created a bond with their consumers.
Speaking of which, here’s some bond-creating work in which I utilized my “Stop selling and start making friends” writing style for the next perfect thing from Perfect Bar Founder, Bill Keith: Greenfat.
Have Better Time.
After it helped him with his own health scare, Bill decided to bring his nutrition-guru Dad’s all-plant Essential Fats formula to people over 40. What’s most marketing say to these people? “Anti-aging.” Along with copious amounts of shame for going through a normal, biological process.
We flipped that: “We’re anti-anti aging. We’re Pro-Aging. Because time isn’t something to be fought or regretted. In fact, without time, we get none of the good stuff in life. So take your Greenfat. And have better time.”