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    The S.T.U.P.I.D. Email (Friday June 24th, 2022)

    (Swipe, Thought, Uplifting, Picture, Interesting, Drawing)

    This is a fun email for Friday June 24th, 2022. Hope you like it 🙂

     

    🎤 Listen to this email here:

    Swipe:

    In the 1960's Volkswagen did an ad campaign which featured some clever "Marketing Judo" by turning the laughably small-and-funny-looking Beetle into the top selling car in the world.

    Look at these awesome ads starting in 1960 going to 1969:

    vw-ads-group-a.png

    Almost every Volkswagen Beetle ad they ran poked fun of the Beetle's small size and odd appearance...

    ...but in the copy went on to brag how it's small size was a feature:
    - Almost no maintenance costs
    - Made it very fuel efficient
    - Easily replaceable parts
    - Very high quality
    - Very cheap

    vw-ads-group-b.png

    The formula for each ad was:

    → Sarcastic headline
    → Eye catching image
    → Talk about how it's size/shape made for a great car

    vw-ads-group-c.png

    This was a massively popular campaign, and from 1960 to 1973 the VW Beetle was the top selling car in the world!

    You can see high res versions of these ads on our blog:
    CopywritingCourse.com/blogs/64

    Thought:

    I love it when in ONE FRAME a social media post explains a concept.

    By simply viewing that one image you can learn something new.

    Here's a few examples:

     

    Optimizing an Instagram profile, in one pic:

    how-to-optimize-your-ig-profile.webp

     

    How to pick a watermelon, in one pic:

    how-to-pick-a-watermelon.webp

     

    I like how there's zero fluff in these pictures....just pure information!

    Uplifting:

    I propose a new AirBnb program called “Good Neighbors.”

    neighbors.jpg

    What it is: AirBnB hosts can share a small cut of booking revenue with select neighbors. Easy!

    This program could:
    - Make neighbors happy, and WANT more bookings.
    - Get neighbors to consider signing up to AirBnb.

     

    So I live next door to an AirBnB charging $1,200+/night.

    On occasion I experience:
    • People opening my gates, tripping the alarm system.
    • Wrong Uber Eats deliveries at weird hours of night.
    • Randoms parking by my house.

    These small annoyances increasingly frustrate me since I have no control over them, and don't get any profit from them.

    Solution 👉🏼

    The "Good Neighbors Program" would allow my neighbor to "cut me in on the action."

    This way the "negative externalities" I'm experience would be compensated.

    Even a few hundred dollars a month would turn my neighbor's AirBnB from an Enemy to an Asset!

    Everyone wins 🙂

    It would be Implemented like this:

    The AirBnB host selects account to share bounty with.

    Share Option 1: Share a percentage of revenue.
    EX: "You get 1% of all booking revenue"

    Share Option 2: Share set fee per new booking.
    EX: "You get $50 per booking"

    With this program:

    AirBnB wins!
    Host wins!
    Neighbor wins!

    This was a fun idea, I sent it to AirBnB, and hopefully this gets implemented in the near future.

    Here's where I work from everyday:

    Nevs-office.jpg

    If I have people over to co-work then we sit at this table instead:
    Pictured:
    @nomadicmatt

    co-working-matt.jpg

    I posted this on Twitter, and people responded with their workspaces....some of them pretty awesome looking!! Check em out:

    @michael_soledad: Super sleek and fancy looking!

    FVztX-QUAAEia_M.jpg

     

    @jackzerby: Clean, lots of books, cool art in back.

    FVy9ozwUEAI8Csl.jpg

     

    @jayvasdigital: From a small town in Portugal.

    FV2TlPpXgAI4TpJ.jpg

     

    @C3ODAD: Guy works from an F1 car paddock!

    FV2oZBMWQAEwnQI.jpg

     

    @jack_rnc: Love the minimal and bright look.

    FV3hxZVXwAYX01W (1).jpg

     

    @taskett: Bright, clean, and airy.

    FV4l-ahXoAEY1Y6.jpg

     

    @misskavita: Very Zen.

    FVzctKWX0AkOXoM.jpg

     

    @acquireconvert: 5 feet away from a piano AND hot tub, I like!

    FV0-Y0cUUAADF06.jpg

    Interesting:

    Did you know you can use •bullet points• to create art on a page?

    • You can
    • make a descending
    • list out of them like this.

     

    • Or you can start long and
    • make them shorter
    • and end in a
    • point.

     

    • Or you
    • can make them
    • go up and down something
    • kinda like this
    • too.

     

    You can make awesome "Bullet Points" with Emoji. Examples:

    • This (my fav)
    → This
    This
    ✔️This
    This
    ✘ This
    ✔︎ This
    ★ This
    ☁︎ This
    ► This
    ❒ This
    This
    This
    🔲 This
    ➡️ This
    🆇 This
    ✏️ This
    ◼︎ This
    👉🏼 This
    ⇨ This
    ♥️ This
    ➤ This
    🔥 This
    ️ This

    Drawing:

    One of the most fascinating people in my life is my friend Nick Gray:

    nev-blue-shirt.png

    He moved to Austin two years ago, barely knew anybody, and within 6 months had bigger networks than almost anyone I know.

    He did this by throwing what he calls "2-Hour Cocktail Parties" where everyone must wear a name tag 😂

    Look how every picture has people wearing name tags:

    gallary-nick-gray-party.png

    He insists on name tags because it creates easier communication at his parties...and even gives people something to talk about:

    He's very specific on how to write name tags and has whole blog posts about it:

    name-yes.png

    name-no.png

    Nick doesn't fit the normal mould of a party-thrower because:
    - He doesn't drink.
    - He doesn't like to stay out past 9:30pm.
    - He doesn't like rowdiness or drunkenness.

    That's why he wrote a book about throwing parties...specifically for people who don't normally throw parties (and want everyone out of their house by 9:30pm)!

    Here's his book, which I've personally used all his tactics:
    The 2-Hour Cocktail Party: How to Build Big Relationships with Small Gatherings

    how-to-build-relationships.webp

    I have some awesome friends I've met through hosting events, hopefully this book will encourage more people who AREN'T used to hosting events to host something (his goal is get 500 people this year to host a "2 Hour Party."

    Here's some articles Nick wrote on throwing a "2 Hour Party"
    How to Host a Happy Hour
    How to Plan a Networking Event
    How to Do Icebreakers
    How to Make Party Name Tags
    The 2-Hour Cocktail Party Book

     

    Hope you enjoyed these little tidbits, have a happy Friday!

    Sincerely,
    Neville Medhora -
    CopywritingCourse.com | @NevMed

    nev-head.webp

    Classic Volkswagen Beetle Ads

    image.png

    The Volkswagen Beetle was a remarkably weird car when it came out. 

    • It was slow.
    • It was small.
    • It was gas efficient.

    It was the total opposite of all major cars of the day!

    Since they couldn't advertise the car based on speed and cool-factor, they went the total opposite and showed how cheap and reliable it was.

    Let's go through some of these Classic Volkswagen "Bug" Ads:

    #1.) "Lemon" (1960)

    image for step 1

    This ad makes you do a double take thinking, "why would they call their own car a lemon??"

    Turns out they go into the rigorous process used to ensure your car is not a lemon, and sell the car that way.

    This was a very popular and talked-about ad in 1960.

     

    #2.) "It isn't so" (1961)

    image for step 2

    This was a funny thing some VW Bug owners would do: Make it look like the car was a wind-up toy!

    Volkswagen cleverly used this to show off the Beetle's high gas mileage and low cost. This was great "Marketing Judo" which turned around a funny jab at the car into a selling point.

    #3.) “Why are the wheels crooked?” (1962)

    image for step 3

    This amazing Volkswagen ad has a VERY catchy headline and image that make you want to read the finer copy!

    This is a perfect example of catching the readers idea, grabbing their attention, and sending them down the "Slippery Slope" of reading.

    #4.) "If You Run Out Of Gas It's Easy To Push" (1962)

    image for step 4

    This ad from 1962 shows the insane 32 mile per gallon efficiency of the VW Beetle, and also hilariously shows that if you do run out of gas, it's uniquely small size makes it easy to push. 

    It also "subtley sells" the car by showing how low maintenance it is, so that the driver might "forget about gas stations" since they visit them so infrequently!

    #5.) "A hole in the roof" (1963)

    image for step 5

     

    This VW Beetle ad harps on the fact the car has barely any expensive options, so for the list price of $1,595 you could get pretty much the entire package....no crazy expensive extra options needed!

    #6.) "Sooner or Later" (1964)

    image for step 6

    Oof....this ad will likely not hack it today, but it was meant to display how easily parts on the Volkswagen Beetle were able to be replaced.

    #7.) "It makes your house look bigger" (1964)

    image for step 7

    This Volkswagen Bug ad from 1964 has a catchy headline, but gets the reader to understand that the smallness of the car is it's major benefit....it uses less gas, lower maintenance bills, barely any upkeep costs.

    #8.) "Interchangeable Parts" (1965)

    image for step 8

     

    This is a 1965 Beetle ad that cleverly demonstrated a Volkswagen Beetle has extremely interchangeable parts.

    #9.) "Keeps the Dampness Out" (1967)

    image for step 9

    This clever ad talks about how a Volkswagen Beetle can actually FLOAT IN WATER!

    It goes on to brag about the tight seals on the car, and how it's nearly airtight so it doesn't get damp or let moisture in.

    #10.) "Every new one comes slightly used" (1968)

    image for step 10

    This ad shows how each Volkswagen Beetles undergoes 16,000 inspections, is driven 3 miles, and is broken in before delivering to it's new owner.

    #11.) "It's ugly but it gets you there" (1969)

    image for step 11

     

    Two weeks after the first lunar excursion modules landed on the Moon, Volkswagen promoted their notoriously "ugly" VW Beetle with this ad.

    It's great how much fun Volkswagen poked at themselves!

    Hope you enjoyed all these classic VW Beetle ads! 

    They are amazing pieces of advertising and imagery!

    Sincerely,
    Neville Medhora - Copywriting Course

     

     

     

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