Beat the bots with this clever copy trick

You’ve probably messed around with getting AI to write your copy by now. The results are … fine, right? But they’re missing a certain something that brings it all to life. Let’s call it a spark, a beating heart. Like trying to cook Thai food without holy basil or Indian food without turmeric. It’s okay, but you know there’s something missing.

Equally, those of us that are still sweating it out putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard want clear signposts that we’re doing so. And that’s what I want to talk to you about today.

Cultural references are those little in-jokes that everyone in your culture will instantly understand. They might get a laugh, at the very least you’ll get a wry smile. Like Kat Slater responding to the cry of “You’re not my muvva” with “Yes I am!” if you’re British. (If you’re not, you’re probably wondering what the hell I’m on about. And that’s kind of the point.)

They work because they turn you and your audience into this magical little club of people who get the joke. And if we learnt anything from our school days, it’s that being in on the joke is the best place to be. Or think about when you’re hanging out with your mates and someone drops a deep cut reference to the Malaga holiday you all took when you were fresh-faced 16-year-olds. Just the act of making, hearing and laughing at the joke bonds you. It brings you closer together. You’ve got this shared set of references, this collective history. It’s the essence of what it is to be human. What a time to be alive.

So, we’re talking about a really simple way to cram the essence of what it is to be human into your copy. Check out these brands that do it brilliantly:

TaskRabbit has run a set of ads on the London Underground that riff on popular song lyrics to let you know the myriad of tasks their contractors can help you with. They’re smart because your brain clicks into gear to get the song, then it goes all fizzy enjoying the wordplay. Or maybe that’s just me. Either way, they’re fun, memorable and on-brand. You get the sense of TaskRabbit as being familiar, friendly and energetic.

I really like this Instagram ad from travel company Kuoni. “Because you’d much rather eat, than pray or love”, referencing and gently mocking the book title Eat, Pray, Love. It feels super relatable and positions the brand as the travel company for foodies, not for folks who want to find themselves on the hippy trail. It’s saying this is our gang and if you get this joke, you’re in it.

My last reference isn’t from the world of copy, but music. Irish icon CMAT’s latest album is absolutely lousy with cultural references (just stick on The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station), and it makes her songwriting instantly more hilarious, more relatable and more memorable. All things we want for our copy, right?

Think about your next social post or even a bit of website copy. Where could a good little cultural reference elevate your writing and make it feel uniquely yours? You could use a metaphor (comparing something to something else), take a classic song lyric, book title or line from a film and rework it, or reference a famous person, scene or event.

 If you’d like to chat more about writing for your business, I’d love to hear from you.