DAVID ABBOTT: BRITAIN'S FINEST COPYWRITER

Morning!

I’m writing this back at my favourite brunch spot.

Gym session done, brunch eaten, and the sun is absolutely cooking me through the window on my left.

I feel like a rotisserie chicken that forgot to rotate. But there’s a breakdown to be written, so let’s crack on!

Here’s what you’ll learn today:

• Who Britain’s finest copywriter was.

• Why we should all study his copy.

• The 5 key lessons he taught me.

Should take 4 mins to read :)

P.S. You can listen to the audio version of this breakdown HERE

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSION

BREAKING DOWN THE STRATEGY

Last month, David Perell pulled this ad up during his interview with Harry Dry.

It was an ad from ‘The Economist’.

I’d seen it before and I regularly see copywriters talk about how great it is, so at first… I thought nothing of it.

Then this week, I rewatched the interview and this ad stopped me in my tracks.

Because it was so different from the other ads they walked through.

It was wittier. More distinct. More impactful.

“I wonder who wrote it?” I thought.

3 hours later, I was down the rabbit hole of the copywriter - David Abbott.

You may not have heard of him, but he is one of the most prolific British copywriters to ever live.

• He’s responsible for the rise of Sainsbury’s in the UK.

• Created one of the most infamous print ad campaigns ever with The Economist.

• And worked with major brands like IKEA, Volvo, Yellow Pages, and more.

But the most magnificent thing about Abbott isn’t the brands he’s worked with or the great results he’s delivered.

It’s the way he approaches things.

I spent the last 4 hours watching his interviews, reading his lessons, and analysing his work.

Here are 5 of his greatest campaigns + the key lessons we can learn from them: 

Lesson 1: Say The Most Interesting Fact

Today, I think of Sainsbury’s as somewhat of a luxury supermarket. Not quite as posh as Waitrose, but with better and slightly more expensive food than Asda.

(And I think most people would agree with me on that.)

But in the 1980s Sainsbury’s was a very different brand.

For years, they had been pushing the tagline “Good food costs less at Sainsbury’s”, but their ads were much more “costs less” than “good food”.

And that “costs less” marketing had left them in a brutal price war with their supermarket arch rivals - Tesco.

That’s when Sainsbury’s reached out to Abbott and his agency.

They needed a campaign that showed Sainsbury’s food to be better than Tesco’s.

At this stage, most copywriters would:

• Write some lavish words.

• Use a bunch of adjectives.

• Tell you how good the food is.

What did Abbott do?

He simply showed Sainsbury’s food was great with the most interesting fact.

This ad headline doesn’t:

• Describe the mince.

• Tell you about its quality.

• Use any adjectives at all.

Instead, it tells you a fact that SHOWS you that their mince is high quality.

Talk in facts and always show don’t tell.

2 lessons for the price of 1. Both crucial for anyone writing copy.

Lesson 2: Don’t Make It Look Like An Ad

The problem with best practices in marketing and advertising is that when you follow them, you make it obvious it’s marketing.

You tick all the boxes…

✔️ Includes a logo
✔️ Outcome-focused headline
✔️ Sub-headline explaining benefits
✔️ Fancy creative image

But all you get is a big sign that says “I’M TRYING TO SELL TO YOU”.

And Abbott hated this.

Take a look at this other Sainsbury’s ad he created about their potatoes.

Notice that there is no Sainsbury’s logo?

At first glance, it doesn’t even look like an ad at all.

Abbott said that when he was creating these campaigns Sainsbury’s asked him to add their logo. He refused.

He then compromised and promised to include the word Sainsbury’s in every headline to include the brand.

This philosophy from Abbott is even more prominent in his infamous Economist ad.

Again, no logo. But this time, no image and with an unorthodox layout.

It looks like a simple quote. Then you look again and realise that ‘The Economist’ is clearly featured front and centre - with their brand colours to go with it.

Sometimes the best ads, don’t look like ads. Something more marketers need to embody.

Lesson 3: Sometimes The Best Copy Is No Copy.

A copywriter recommending you write less copy?

Quite the irony.

But Abbott says, ”Think visually. Ask someone to describe a spiral staircase and they’ll use their hands as well as words. Sometimes the best copy is no copy.”

And that’s exactly what his greatest ads did.

In particular, this ad he made for Volvo:

This ad has 4 words. 4 words and 1 picture.

Yet it communicates exactly what Abbott wanted to get across - that Volvo is safer than other cars.

As much as Abbott loves to write clever copy, his main focus is always communicating one simple idea.

(And that’s the big lesson here.)

Pick what idea you want to put across → Find the best way to communicate it.

Sometimes, that will be with very few words.

Lesson 4: Admit You Aren’t Perfect

In 1965, Abbott walked into the DDB office for the first time.

Back then, it was just another advertising job for him. But what he failed to realise was being mentored by the great Bill Bernbach was going to change his life forever.

One of the many things he learned from Bernbach was the importance of being honest in your advertising.

Abbott once said:

And he embodied that in so many of his greatest ads.

This ad he made for VW is a prime example:

We spend so much of our time in marketing trying to make ourselves look better than we are.

Imagine if we just admitted what we were bad at and then explained what made us great.

That’s exactly what Abbott would tell us to do.

Lesson 5: Use Your Life To Animate The Copy.

In 1984, Volvo released the Volvo 740 with its selling point being how safe it was.

For a while, they’d pushed this message that their spot welds were so strong that they could support the entire car’s weight.

But let’s be honest here, we could all fall asleep thinking about the strength of spot welds.

Abbott knew they had to spice things up. They needed something that would SHOW how safe the car was and show the strength of their welds.

Something that everyone could relate to, not just people who understand the importance of a spot weld.

So what did Abbott do?

He suspended the car 1 metre above himself, attached it to a spot weld and took a photo.

The ad read:

Common consumers can’t visualise the strength of a spot weld. I’m writing this and I still don’t even know what a spot weld is!!

But we can all understand a car above someone attached to a hook.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the Volvo must be strong - and therefore safe.

 🌱 THE GREENHOUSE

Things I’ve saved this week that are worth seeing:

• Some of Dave Abbott’s greatest ads. (See here)

• Learn more about Abbott’s Sainsbury’s campaign. (See here)

• A fantastic breakdown of Dave Abbott’s work. (See here)

TL;DR

1/ Say The Most Interesting Fact
2/ Don’t Make It Look Like An Ad
3/ Sometimes The Best Copy Is No Copy
4/ Admit You Aren’t Perfect
5/ Use Your Life To Animate The Copy

Sometimes I come across ads that stick with me for a long time.

After going down the Abbott rabbit hole, I think it’s safe to say these lessons & his ads are going to be with me for a while.

I honestly can’t believe more people don’t talk about him.

I think everyone has seen at least 1 of his ads, yet very few know the mastermind behind them.

Well, now you do.

Hopefully, you learned something from reading this.

If you did, why not forward this to a friend?

Until next Sunday.

— Niall

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THAT’S ALL!

This has been a breakdown of marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!

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