Made simple. How many times have you reared your ugly head in copywriting, marketing and lazy branding?
Just today, by looking around the web, I can tell you there’s a marketing company called MadeSimple. A reality show called Home Made Simple. A video by the guardian called Bitcoin made simple. A content management system called CMS Made Simple. Dog food called Raw Made Simple. Punctuation Made Simple. Web design made simple. WordPress made simple. House made simple. Travel made simple. Wardrobes. Volatility. Digital. Purity.
And even Church Insurance Made Simple.
I’ve had enough. The list goes on ad nausea.
If you’re thinking about what to call your product, how to market it to masses, just stop. Don’t use these words.
You might think it “simplifies” your message. Or maybe it conveys the essence of your product in two easy words.
What you’re actually doing is being a lazy bastard like everyone else.
[Blank] made simple is not only over-used and lazy, it’s also terrible, and using it in your marketing copy makes you a terrible person.
It’s a vernacular transgression. Word-based sin. It’s awful and meaningless and should condemn your product to the fiery hells of bad marketing.
Think about it.What are you conveying with “volatility made simple” or “purity made simple”? What do either of these actually mean?
“You know, it means our facial cleanser is simpler than all the other complicated ones.”
Oh yeah? How so? What makes yours so simple and magical and different? Does it fly out of the bottle and apply itself or do you have to put some on your hands and rub it on your face like everyone else?
What about Church insurance made simple? Are all those other bastards mucking it up for everyone with their over-complicated, mechanical, soulless church insurance policies?
How many people on earth even need church insurance to be made simple? Where are the masses crying out, cursing the skies because insuring their church is just too damn complicated?
The worst part it, “made simple-ism” isn’t going to go away anytime soon.
Every day new products, new websites, new crappy brands emerge from the either and demand lazy ad copy. The people behind them will hire some marketing agency made simple, get the same regurgitated copy as everyone else, and pat themselves on the back while giggling about how clever they are.
If you’re one of the bastards writing this type of copy. Just stop. Please. For the love of good words and better phrases.