Practical copy tips for mission-led e-comm and lifestyle brands, every Tuesday. Written by two brothers lucky enough to have written copy for some massive (and rad) brands.
Share
⚡ Want 21% more engagement? Say the thing other brands won't.
(And, if you're anything like Joe and you just got back from a stag do and then a festival back-to-back, I hope Tuesday is as kind and uneventful as possible.)
☝️ Father of 2 Jack when Joe describes this radical concept of "having a life"
👋 Before we get into this week's article, can we ask a favour?
Do you know somebody who you think would enjoy this newsletter? Maybe somebody you met at a conference, somebody who wants to start their own brand or even a colleague who loves wordy stuff...
If so, can you send them this link and ask them to sign up? Thank you. We'll love you forever 💛
Right, let's crack on with this week's post.
💡 This week's big idea: Want to grab your audience's attention? Say the quiet thing out loud.
Have you noticed that the algorithms have been all weird lately?
We've had ads that usually do numbers suddenly churn through the budget and get no results. It's weird.
But the most consistent performing ad we've ever run? A variation on this Instagram post called "F*ck yeah, your brand can swear."
And that's because we broke a taboo. (A B2B brand swearing and giving people permission to swear isn't exactly high treason, but it's unusual enough to stop an eager-to-scroll thumb.)
In fact, in 2024, Ipsos & Effie UK published a study called Breaking Taboos wherethey analysed thousands of ads and found a consistent trend: "campaigns that broke category conventions or tackled taboos delivered a +21% lift in ad attention.”
Why does this matter?
Because further into the study, Ipsos found that grabbing attention is the #1 leading indicator of long-term brand growth and short-term sales.
In other words, the clearest indicator that your brand is on the path to success is how much attention you can grab (and hold).
And while you can buy reach and impressions, you have to earn attention.
Here's a time-tested way of doing just that 👇
If you've ever read this newsletter before, you'll know we 💛 brands that are bold and say the quiet part out loud.
And this week is a deeper dive not into the mechanics of the language and the copy, but into the HUGE value and upside of being the first brand in your space that really says what customers are thinking.
A masterclass in using taboo to drive engagement: Thinx's 2016 campaign
We're winding the clocks back to 2016 (when Vine was still a thing!) for this week's example, not because there aren't more recent examples, but because it's when Thinx pretty much created the playbook on how to use taboo and brave messaging to grow fast.
And it all started when they took over the New York subway with ads like this 👇
This was the first mainstream campaign to use the word “periods” on the NYC subway.
They didn't hide behind "time of the month"-style euphemisms.
There was no blue liquid anywhere. (In fact, Thinx have a rule where their creative has to feel "fridge-worthy" AKA would we put this on our fridge next to postcards from galleries and museums? Love that.)
And definitely no patronising "Don't let your period stop you" language. (Or, worse still, "have a happy period". 😣)
🧠 Did you know? The word “taboo” comes from the Polynesian tapu/tabu, which was originally used to mark forbidden or sacred things, specifically including menstruation. There's not really a copywriting lesson here, but we thought it was a neat nugget of etymology. (And a crazy indictment of the fact that talking about periods in 2016 was still considered taboo.)
So why is Thinx's ad campaign so good? Where does it succeed where other brands have failed?
Being shocking for the sake of breaking a taboo and getting cheap attention is easy.
Throw in some f-bombs. Punch down. Proclaim your edginess.
Basically, pretend you're Ricky Gervais. (🤮)
(We've talked about some awful examples of brands like Brewdog and Sprite doing this before. We'll just link to that article rather than rant about them again.)
But the crucial difference is that shock and clicks are cheap.
Shock doesn't create trust. It doesn't deliver value. And it doesn't lead to people wanting to buy your stuff.
The key is to use taboo to grab attention and then making your customers feel seen, understood and respected with what happens next.
☝️ That right there's the sweet spot.
It's when you mix shock + empathy that you end up with a real winner.
And the studies back it up, too...
“Surprise and empathy are the emotional triggers that drive both short-term engagement and long-term brand impact.”
Ipsos & Effie UK, Breaking Taboos, 2024
📚 Want more insight into how to talk about taboo topics without being edgy and offensive? We broke it down in our deep-dive into Who Gives A Crap. (Spoiler alert: it involves something fancy called the Benign Violation Theory.)
Take a look at these other ads from the same Thinx campaign 👇
Woman *or any menstruating human. Love that.
This one goes a bit bolder with the taboo. But it feels like a real, lived experience. Not shock for shocks sake. (Plus, the playful voice and self-awareness helps.)
This screams "we get you".
What do they all have in common?
They're not breaking a taboo just for the sake of shock value.
Instead, they're doing things like...
👉 Naming a real customer problem. Not “monthly discomfort,” but things like "stuck in a v long meeting with v soaked tampon". 👉 Being inclusive. See the tiny text? “Women” is footnoted with “or any menstruating human.” Bloody love that. 👉 Meeting the audience where they already are AKA dealing with this every month, with very little decent representation. These ads scream "we see you" and "we're just like you too". That's huge. 👉 Speaking their customers' language. There's no euphamisms here. They speak plainly and they use their target audiences' lingo to feel like a friend rather than a brand selling them something.
And they're doing it all with a little tongue in their cheek that says "this really shouldn't be taboo to talk about this."
It's all wicked smaht. Love it.
The result? 20X growth 🤯
Breaking the taboo and grabbing attention didn't just help change the conversation around menstruation. It helped Thinx grow really, really, really fast.
Those subway ads alone saw a 2,000% increase in visits to the website on the print ads and annual sales revenue grew 20×. Unreal.
Why is this? Well, breaking a taboo leads to an increased sense of a bond between your brand and your customers. You make them feel seen. And they want to come with you on your journey.
We’re finding that people want to break the taboo with us. They're interested in the fact that we're not doing it with negativity, we're doing it with pure positivity, great design, and a product that works. One of the clear examples of that support and customers getting behind us was when my director of marketing sent an email out to our entire customer base and said ‘We're getting writer's block. Can you fill in the blanks about Thinx?’ Usually, If you get an email from a brand asking you a question, you delete it. We got 1000 responses from customers in 24 hours.
And this backs up what psychology tells us too.
When you name the unsaid and invite people to join the conversation, you’re doing more than grabbing attention. It's playing on the self-reference effect, where we remember things that we relate to much better than something we don't. And that effect creates an emotional co-ownership that can help turn curious onlookers into passionate brand advocates.
"But what if we don't have a topic like women's health? How do we break taboos without being political or doing social commentary?"
We hear you.
Clients have asked us the same thing before. How can you grab attention in a "safe" vertical? Or how do you do it without being full Brewdog?
The answer? Not every taboo is a societal taboo. There are safer taboos too that relate to your niche.
And they're much easier to break.
☝️ TLDR: this. Also, off to watch some more Tim Robinson.
When we talk about “taboo-breaking,” it’s easy to picture big political statements or issue-led activism.
(And we 💛 when brands do that.)
But here’s the thing: your copy doesn’t have to start a cultural revolution to feel taboo. You just need to say the thing no one else in your category is saying.
Because in our brains, it's the same thing.
Whether it’s Thinx saying “periods” or a meal kit saying "cooking after a long day sucks, so we've made it easy" or a brand for parents that acknowledges the hardships of parenting, your brain processes both in the same way:
👉 Pattern interrupt AKA woah, didn't expect that. 👉 Emotional jolt AKA actually, I like that. 👉 Validation AKA I feel seen, they get me. 👉 Trust AKA they get me, therefore I can trust them. 👉 Commit to memory AKA I need to remember to buy from them.
And that's the same mental process whether you're breaking a societal taboo or an industry one.
So if full-blown activism isn’t your lane (or not yet), no worries.
You can still punch through the noise by naming an overlooked truth, calling out a dusty cliché, or simply showing up more human than the rest.
Look at FridaBaby calling their product a SnotSucker (rather than a nasal aspirator) and marketing their products to new parents like this 👇
Is it as taboo-breaking as talking about periods and using suggestive tangerines? Not really.
But it acknowledges that parenting isn't all soft focus, sepia-toned memories that last a lifetime. Sometimes, it's snot or exploding nappies or sleepless nights.
And saying that when most parenting brands focus on the sunshine and rainbows feels a bit subversive. And as a result, it doesn't just make customers feel seen, it makes them feel understood.
And that's the secret sauce to short-term and long-term growth.
Want to grab more attention for your brand? Start here 👇
If you want to find a way to "say the unsaid" for your brand, try asking yourself these questions.
(These are based on some of the questions we ask when we're helping brands figure out a brand voice.)
What’s the one thing that your customers experience that no one in your category talks about?
What do your customers laugh about or complain about privately about brands in your space?
What’s the default way of talking in your space? How would it feel to do the opposite? Does it feel more natural?
What's something you can say that people would screenshot and send to their friends with a "this is us" message? What's your "v long meeting with a v long tampon" message?
👀 Let's see it in action
We've taken some run-of-the-mill headlines for different made-up brands and given them a bit of a taboo-tinged rewrite 👇
Before:Try the hazy alcohol-free beer packed with hops and stone fruits
After:Finally, an alcohol-free beer that *feels* like a beer, not water.
Before:Science-backed ways to improve your gut health
After:Say goodbye to feeling like a messy, bloated, gassy, crampy mess.
Before:Ethically made with organic cotton
After:Because looking good shouldn't f*ck the planet.
☝️See how just being a bit braver, a bit bolder and making more of an effort to meet your customer where they're at can make a HUGE difference to your copy?Give it a go!
You can even start by rolling them out in social media captions and email subject lines to test them and get them fine-tuned before you change bigger things.
But we guarantee they perform better than benefit-led headlines. (Note: this is for top of the funnel copy. You still need benefits at the middle and bottom of the funnel!)
You're getting this email because you're awesome. (Well, that and you signed up to the Do Words Good newsletter through our website, social media or a guest post somewhere.) If you're reading this far, then we don't want to get too weird and overly friendly, but we like the cut of your jib. Not many people read the fine print and the little bits and pieces. But we do, and so do you. Hell yeah. Unfortunately, there's not much to read here. Just the usual gumpf we have to include to stop lawyers breathing down my neck. Stuff like this 👉 The unsubscribe links are here: Unsubscribe · Preferences (Side note: don't you hate it when emails say "Here's how to unsubscribe if you hate me/want to crush my dreams/want my children to starve? We do. That really pisses us off.) Anyway, we can't let you leave empty-handed now you've read this far. So here's a super interesting video about how language shifts and changes and how even the Miriam-Webster dictionary think we should use language how people use it, rather than how it is "supposed" to be used. So take that, grammar pedants. Beware: Vox have a tonne of awesome videos. Be careful you don't fall down a 2-hour YouTube hole. (Unless your boss is off sick today...) And if you want to send us gifts, cool stuff or postcards from your travels, you can send it here: Suite 1, The Courtyard, The Old Monastery, Windhill, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire CM232ND
(Please, we don't want any Enduring Love scenarios. If we move our curtains in a certain way, that doesn't necessarily mean we're madly in love with you.)
Do Words Good
The weekly email helping ecomm and DTC brands take their copy from "meh" to "f*ck yeah"
Practical copy tips for mission-led e-comm and lifestyle brands, every Tuesday. Written by two brothers lucky enough to have written copy for some massive (and rad) brands.
Been forwarded this email? Subscribe here! Hello there 👋 A few quick bits of housekeeping before we dive into this week’s email… We’re now booking projects for the end of July/start of August. If you’ve got a copy project you need a hand with or your brand voice needs some love, let’s chat 👋 We’ve just launched a new service that’s a super-affordable way to get our eyes (and feedback) on your copy. TLDR: we realised last week that the single most impactful bit of any project is almost always...
Been forwarded this email? Subscribe here! Hello there 👋 It's that time of year again when our feeds are going to be full of ads for grills, nice whiskeys or beers, power tools and (for reasons still unknown) socks. That's right, Father's Day is on the horizon. And that means the collective idea of what it means to be a dad is reduced to little more than Ron Swanson stereotypes. (And I say that as a dad of two who is currently (slowly) renovating a house, who enjoys nothing more than a good...
Been forwarded this email? Subscribe here! Hello there 👋 We're just coming back from a well-deserved 4-day weekend, so we're keeping this week's email light, easy and actionable. Less pondering on how to be an ethical brand in 2025, more immediately useful tip that's statistically guaranteed to sell your stuff better. (Pssst, speaking of selling stuff... we've still got some spots left for Power Hours this month. If you've got a copy headache you just can't fix or want to pick our brains for...