The “pocket” is underappreciated

When marketers rave about one of the greatest ad slogans of all time, they tend to overlook the most important piece.

I’m speaking of the iPod ad: A thousand songs in your pocket.

A lot has been said about how brilliant it was to translate 3GB into 1000 songs. Because what’s 3GB, right? It can’t be overstated how much better 1000 songs is than the default tech slogan of “The 3GB MP3 player”.

And yet, the “pocket” is way underappreciated.

If the slogan ran like this: “The MP3 player that carries a thousand songs.” … it would still be better than “The 3GB MP3 player” … but not even close to Apple’s version.

What the “pocket” does is that it translates the slogan into a story. With this device, you can carry your whole music library (back then) in your pocket. It’s not about the device at all, neither 3GB nor MP3 (or AAC, for that matter).

It’s about you! You are going to have your entire music library with you. How cool is that?

Now, how does your product transform your customers life? Don’t stop at translating the numbers. Translate it into a story that relates to our life.

Check out my new book
The PATH to Strategic Impact

Get The Art of Communicating in your inbox.
Short and actionable posts on how to find words that drive action.

I value your privacy. No spam. Just “Great stuff, brilliantly articulated” (to use the words of longtime reader David).

Read More

The Taxi Incident

So you’re the CEO.You’ve just landed from a business trip and need to get back to the office.You jump into a taxi. But instead of

Read »

More than fun

Wow is fun.Aha is fundamental. Wouldn’t you agree that one of them is more fun than the other? What do you think? Keep lighting the

Read »