Build to last

We have a saying in our house when a glass or plate hits the floor:

“Ah, well. There are no Greek or Roman pots.”

Of course, that’s not strictly true. Museums certainly have a few pieces on display – mostly fancy, decorative pots and vases.

But the everyday stuff? It was roughly made and roughly dealt with. Disposable.

In fact, there’s a mound in Rome, Monte?Testaccio, made entirely of broken amphorae; pointy-bottomed, earthenware containers used to store and transport oil and wine, among other things. They reckon around 53 million of them make up the waste pile – one of the largest in the world.

History geek that I am, when I visited Rome it was the ruins of the ancient city I was most excited to see. As I stood where Julius Caesar had addressed the Senate and wandered the Forum where Roman citizens had debated matters of law, politics and philosophy, I was struck by an understanding; whatever of these ancient worlds had turned to dust, one thing had lasted.

Ideas.

So many of the mainstays of modern life have their origins in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and Mesopotamia. Sure, they gave us the wheel, but also agriculture, democracy and citizenship, the Socratic method, medicine and the Hippocratic oath, ethics, metaphysics, mathematics and accounting, plumbing, libraries, newspapers, toothpaste and (most importantly, from my point of view) the written word. All have survived.

These things - these ideas - lasted because they were useful and therefore valuable. We continued to reference, repurpose and breathe new life into them.

And, for all their years, they don’t get any older. In fact, they’re getting younger, according to a theory known as the Lindy effect.

The Lindy effect was based on the observations of a bunch of actors and comedians who regularly met in the Lindy café in New York (hence the name). Much later it was referenced by Nassim Nicholas?Taleb in his book,?Antifragile.

In its simplest form, the Lindy effect dictates that the longevity of anything non-perishable (sadly, cheese and job security are out) can be determined by how long it has lasted thus far.

To paraphrase Taleb’s own example, a book still in print 40 years after its publication is likely to survive at least another 40 years. And once that 40-year-old book celebrates another decade, it can be expected to hang around another 50 years after that. Throughout all this, note that it remains exactly middle-aged.

As Taleb puts it,

“Things that have been around for a long time are not ‘ageing’ like persons, but ‘ageing’ in reverse.”

So, what’s all this got to do with copywriting?

Everything.

Because too often our industry fails to hold onto the idea that we humans feel, think and act in much the same ways we always have. Our fears, desires and problems may have updated their wardrobe, but we’re still motivated by the same thing. Survival.

And just because new marketing channels are available to us, doesn’t mean the old ones are ‘dead’, despite the wild-eyed claims. It also doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be learned from how we used to ‘do marketing’.

Believe it or not, you can apply solid promotional strategies and tactics from as far back as 100 BD (Before Digital). I can pick up a copy of Claude C Hopkins’ 1923 book,?Scientific Advertising, and learn plenty about writing copy that sells, even though it’s very nearly old enough to get a letter from the Queen.

Why?

Because when it was first published, the ideas contained within were revolutionary. They’re the proverbial giant’s shoulders upon which the likes of David Ogilvy and Gary Halbert stood in order to reach new heights. And so it goes, on and on.?

It's like Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion (which, by the way, dates back to 1686 and was built upon Galileo’s theory of inertia). An object will not change its motion unless acted upon by a force. In the same way, truly good and useful ideas will hurtle onwards through time and, if anything, gain momentum, since the only force acting upon them is our collective efforts to move them forward.

Until we don’t.

Ironically, advertising’s fascination with all things ‘NEW’ threatens to slow its progress. Yes, adapting to change is essential for survival, but if we continue to put high walls around the past, I think we'll eventually realise it's us who are locked out.

Other industries and disciplines don't do this. Students of literature, film, music or fine arts always learn first by mimicking the greats. Then, once they’ve mastered the basics, they work on finding a ‘voice’; their unique application of the wisdom absorbed.

Not so in this digital-only world of modern marketing, where the 80s is apparently primordial and 'past' has become a four-letter word.

Dazzled by the promise of The Shiny Thing, tactics have all but replaced strategy and creatives are hired based on their experience executing for certain platforms and channels (websites, email, SEO, content marketing, Facebook ads, social etc), rather than their ability to come up with an idea that could work across any and all of them.

I can’t speak for everyone, of course, but copywriters are too often hired as typists, churning out work that is eminently disposable. As a result, we’re creating an online Mt Testaccio of content pollution.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Work that's based on a strong, repeatable idea sprung from an essential human truth can be rolled out across any channel, will last more than five minutes and will increase sales. It?should?be an easy sell.

This industry has been around for over 400 years. If it’s to last another 400, we must direct our energy and focus onto the one thing that is non-perishable.

It’s the?ideas?that last.

---