Secrets of Writing Great Catalog Copy
Here are some examples from the recent Crate & Barrel catalog that I found in my mail box. Especially important are the first sentences in terms of grabbing our attention and setting the tone for the merchandise in question.
EXAMPLE 1:
COPY:
LOOP HOME OFFICE COLLECTION: The minimal lines of our popular Loop collection go to work in the home office…
ANALYSIS:
Take note of how the writer used different meanings of “work” within the same sentence… The “minimal lines” “go to work” in the sense that if you buy this office furniture you’ll do just fine in your business. It’s almost like YOU don’t even have to go to work at all since this furniture set will “go to work” for you!? Isn’t that comforting 🙂 You know it’s not true but still, subliminally, it’s a whole different story. You can’t help but be influenced by that kind of suggestive language.
This furniture set also “works” in the sense that it solves your decoration problem. Two birds with one stone – get the furniture that makes your office look good while it helps you succeed in your business. Great play on the word “work” which is both a noun and a verb.
EXAMPLE 2:
COPY:
ISLA STRIPE QUILT/PILLOW SHAMS. Awake to vibrant color and striking pattern, inspired by the lively marketplaces and exotic landscape of Tangier…
ANALYSIS:
See? You’re not buying a bed set but a trip to the “lively marketplaces and exotic landscape of Tangier”! In the morning you will not be waking up to your regular 8 hours of work but to the “vibrant color and striking pattern” since you’re in Tangiers already! Don’t you love that?
EXAMPLE 3:
COPY:
SPANISH TILE CASSEROLE WITH LID. High-fired earthenware baker is glazed a deep indigo, inside and out, to coordinate with our Mundial serving collection.
ANALYSIS:
When was the last time you’ve seen anything “high-fired”? Doesn’t “high-fired” sound special, an “extremely rigorous” form of kiln firing? It does sound like it and that’s what this talented catalog writer aimed at of course.
All of a sudden you start wondering if the other casserole sold by the other store across the mall is also “high-fired”? Perhaps ALL casseroles are actually “high-fired” but does the other catalog say that? It’s fair and legitimate product differentiation on the go, accomplished with just a simple compound verb.
Subscribe to the free catalogs of Barrel & Crate and visit their showrooms if there’s one nearby to see the best of professional catalog copy at work.
