The Importance of Pygmalion

Tuesday comes yet again and I find myself wishing I was in the distant lands of Ancient Greece, bathing on the golden or white sands of distant shores or perhaps listening to orators passionately defending whatever new philosophy they may have imagined up.

Granted, I have a heavily romanticized take of Ancient Greece, but truly, who doesn’t? So, let's cut to the chase. Pygmalion and Galatea — perhaps a name you haven’t heard of before. But, just like most tales from Ancient Greece, here we the readers find a tale of love, creation, and transformation, but more importantly, a parable for copywriting.

Pygmalion was a skilled sculptor. A true legend of his time. Who had a passion for his craft, but he was never satisfied with his creations — which is something a lot of us can relate to. He longed for something more, something that would truly capture his heart — the more discerning and sharper minds among you may see where this is going.

One day, Pygmalion created a statue of a woman that was so beautiful, he fell in love with it, similar to how I view some of the copywriting I make or sarcastic responses I generate. He named the statue Galatea and prayed to the goddess Aphrodite, upon her clouds on high, to bring her to life, which, granted, I don’t do with my own copywriting. The goddess, perhaps playing a trick on him, granted his wish, and Galatea became a living, breathing woman for him to hold in his own human arms. Although you could definitely debate if it was Pygmalion’s love — his prayers, and probably a lot of begging, had transformed his creation into something real and beautiful.

But just like the story of Pygmalion and Galatea, the world of copywriting revolves around a similar concept. We must create something that does just capture attention but also captures want. Captures passion. Captures desire. Captures action. Just like Pygmalion’s statue, our copy and writing needs to be in a form that almost makes you want to ask Aphrodite herself to make whatever it is you’re writing about come true. The language we use has to want people to act and give them enough desire for them to act.

However, like Pygmalion, we must also be willing to transform our creations, to shape them like clay. To place ourselves in the shoes of the beholder, reader, or customer. The requirement for making something close to perfection is that we also have to be open to being imperfect. To be open to feedback that may potentially wound the ego. And to make changes to improve our copy so that the best possible versions of it exists. Experimenting to and throw with different techniques, different materials, different angles and a variation of different styles — just like Pygmalion.

To wrap this up, I think I would be scolded for saying that the story of Pygmalion and Galatea isn’t strange — in terms of romance that is — but it is also a fantastic parable about another variation of love. The love of one’s own craft.

It teaches us that the art of copywriting is a journey of love and transformation. Just like all professions and endeavours that require creativity, it takes sacrifices, skill, passion, and dedication, but it also requires us to be open to change and growth — which at times can be painful. If we can create copy that captures the hearts and minds of our audience, we too can transform our creations into something real and beautiful.

And as usual, ending the article with a screenshot from ZeroGPT