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On Christmas night, after a wonderfully soft lit and sparkle tinged forty-eight hours of high calorie togetherness with family…
… I headed off to the theater with my family to see the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the third time.
THIRD FRIGGIN TIME!
Despite there being several new movies out that I’m eager to see… with better acting (“Ben is Back”), better storytelling (“Welcome To Marwin”), more historical significance (“Vice”)…
I not only decided to spend another two hours of my life watching kids in wigs lip sync classic rock tunes…
I orchestrated it — inviting other fans of the movie to join us.
Pushed for it — despite my wife not wanting to go on Christmas day.
And I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Even more “cliche”, I’ve been on a “Queen kick” ever since the first viewing, way back when it first came out on November 2nd.
Listening to the band’s entire catalogue non-stop, diving deep into their history through Netflix documentaries and YouTube rabbit holes…
I even listened to most of “The Cosmos Rocks,” the 2008 record Queen made with former Bad Company frontman, Paul Rodgers. (Official review: “Actually, not that bad”)
I’m not only unashamed of all this… I’ve been gladly harassing uninterested friends and family with the finer details of the band’s history throughout the holidays.
As I sat there Christmas night, the theater 80% sold out (I’m not the only weirdo, a woman in our party was on her 4th viewing)…
… I took note of the elements of the film that set me off on this minor obsession, and how they might be valuable to us as marketers.
Surely, if you can tell a story that ignites enthusiasm to the tune of $600 million and counting, launches 40-year-old songs back into the Top 10, and makes a whole new generation get up and cheer (the audience applauds wildly at the end of every showing of this film), you’ve tapped into some social marketing elements worth exploring.
So, here are a few ways my geeky rock dad obsession with Queen can help make us better copywriters…
#1 Create “small moments”. The film Bohemian Rhapsody opens with an over the shoulder shot of Freddie Mercury standing before the curtain before entering the stage at Live Aid. Without seeing his face (only his anxious “caged tiger” body language) you are immediately drawn into the moment. What could it feel like to step out in front of 100,000 people, and another 1.5 billion TV viewers? It’s a fantasy we can’t wait to experience.
Do this in sales copy by taking time to share the details of the story; the visuals, the smells, juicy dialogue, the sense of community. Set the scene and invite your reader to experience a specific moment. Those are the ones that resonate emotionally and stick.
#2 Give new meaning to familiar things. Most adults around the world have been hearing the music of Queen on the radio, at sports stadiums, and in films like Wayne’s World for a good chunk of our lives. My typical reaction to hearing Queen on the radio was to change the station and look for something else. I never considered myself a “fan” of the band. And I thought it was pretty annoying when everyone went out and bought Queen records after Wayne’s World.
So, what changed? Why would I even want to see this film once, let alone three friggin times?
Obviously the music didn’t change. But it endured. And over the years, because my perspective changed, my experience with the music that changed.
My kids love the band Green Day. We finally had a chance to see them live a few years ago. Before the band came out, the song Bohemian Rhapsody blasted through the arena. 20,000 people launched into a sing-a-long (including my pre-teens who I didn’t realize knew every word of the song) and set a bonding tone the band capitalized on for the next three hours.
That was one of the greatest examples of Social Proof for a band and a song I’ve ever seen. I never skipped the song when it came on the radio after that. My relationship with it was now positively anchored to that night with the family.
Do this in sales copy by creating a meaningful context around your facts. The great copywriter Dan Ferrari recently walked our members through one of his big control sales letters for an anti-aging product.
In the lead he brings the reader into a scene (small moment) where celebrities and billionaires are gathered in a California living room to hear a woman reveal her age-defying secret. It’s a fantastic lead, but the reason he used it is even better.
See, Dan knew that his “expert” behind the breakthrough for this product had been overexposed in the market. If he were to reveal her name up front, reaction would be “already tried it” and a hearty death click away from the page.
So, instead he opened with astonishing Social Proof and colorful scene setting that sucked you into the IDEA of the product, and the potential results first. That way, when he revealed the familiar name you will have new context and remain open to a familiar idea.
#3 Write BEFORE you research. The first time I saw the film, I was alone in a theater on a Friday night. I didn’t walk out in love with the film. I saw why critics were bashing it. However, my fascination with the music was high and I began diving deeper the next day. Just a week later, when I brought my family to see the film, my brain was loaded with facts about the band and the songs and the making of the movie that every scene became more interesting. Especially the epic recreation of Queen’s legendary Live Aid performance.
I had the “Curse of Knowledge” which is actually a detriment for a copywriter, but in this case, it made the film more enjoyable. Watching my kids fall in love with the band and the music just like I did helped, too.
Do this in your sales copy by writing everything you know, and don’t know, and believe and don’t believe about the product, the company, the offer BEFORE you begin your research. I call this the “golden time” of research because it’s a short period just before your research delivers the Curse of Knowledge where you can best empathize with the customer avatar. All the things they need to understand and believe about the product to be “won over”.
Writing down your perceptions, your opinions, and your dissolutions about the product will remind you where you are meeting your prospect when you deliver the copy.
Did you enter the conversation happening inside their head?
Do you meet all the objections?
Did you turn those objections into benefits?
Are those listed as subheads in your final draft?
(There’s a step-by-step for this in one of our most popular trainings inside Copy Chief)
There’s a saying about the psychology of selling that goes, “when you help someone see their problem in a new way, they will instinctively believe you are the person uniquely qualified to help them solve it.”
Defining the problem before the Curse of Knowledge inevitably skewers your view towards that of a shop-talking “insider” is essential to writing the copy that makes the empathetic case for seeing it your way.
So there you have it…
If I’ve done my job here, this post will allow my brain to close the loop on all things Queen and dutifully infect you with something new to listen for when “Another One Bites The Dust” plays for the 700th time on your drive home.
Enjoy it.
BTW, did you know that song’s opening lyric is,
“Steve walks warily down the street
with the brim pulled way down low
Ain’t no sound but the sound of his feet
Machine guns ready to go”
Great example of visual writing and small moments right there… but, “Steve”! The gangster’s name is Steve?
Somehow I can’t imagine handing over “protection money” to a guy named Steve.
Or is Steve just a guy walking home when he is attacked by gangsters?
Deep questions, man.
Either way, the song was their biggest hit and it was Michael Jackson who convinced them to release it as a single. He was a huge fan of the band.
Interesting, right?
Ok, that’s enough. Quit bugging me about Queen.
It gets annoying you know…
Kevin Rogers
P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are a few ways Copy Chief can help…
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Kevin Rogers Inc. 411 15th Ave N St. Petersburg, Florida 33704 United States
