(2024-05-20) Settle Copywriting Race Wars

Ben Settle: copywriting race wars. Tolkien’s races (hobbits, dwarves, elves, orcs, etc) and their respective copywriting styles

My opinion:

1. Guys like Dan Kennedy & Gene Schwartz have a “dwarf” copywriting style: Not much subtlety (pure sales pitch).

2. Guys like the late copywriters Jim Rutz & Gary Halbert had an “elf” copywriting style: Almost the exact opposite as dwarves... Very little brute force. Lots of nimbleness - ebbing & flowing rather than pushing & imposing.

The reader was just so caught up in the story, sucked in, not even realizing they are being sold, some would hunt the client down to buy anyway.

3. Then there are “hybrids” of elves & dwarves (dwelves?) who do both brilliantly. i.e., guys like John Carlton and Email Players subscriber Gary Bencivenga.

4. There are also Hobbit-style ads.
I think of these as ads that look “otherworldly” and that may be complete nonsense — but come off as innocent, fun, and even if you know they are a bit exaggerated (or outright fantasy) you don’t care.
Think the Sea-Monkeys ads of yore in old comicbooks.

5. Then there are orc-style ads.
Those are the ads that may or may not (usually not) pull like crazy but are hot, steaming piles of bull shyt, filled with lots of hype, lies, & deceit, preying on the public’s sense of trust or low information.