How To Be A Better Copywriter—Think Like A Rascal.

Wanna write ads that make people say 'shit, that hits hard, that hits good'? Change the way you think, the way you act.

Paula Scher (if you don’t know, look her the fuck up) perfectly sums up what it is to be a Creative.

Sure, think “smart” when you’re writing. But also think smart-ass. You’re a Creative, motherfucker. You are the idea-maker, the brand-builder, the entertainer. You are the Show.

Too many of you, in 2023, have become too polite, too supplicant. Pussies. Don’t cross the line to “douchebag”, but you need to be more of an asshole sometimes. It’s your job, your fucking purpose, to misbehave.

When you write, you don’t want to write “nice” headlines. You don’t want to write “safe” headlines “with the nervous borrowings of other people’s mediocrities” (George Lois). You want to write headlines that go a little too far, that make people nervous, queasy even, that make them think that maybe, you’re a tad insane. Risky writing. Or, as Mr Lois also said:

Three examples of great headlines and copy that upset people, below. For paid subscribers only.