Ogrely marketing secrets from Shrek
So I recently rewatched the original Shrek movie with my girlfriend...
And I was amazed by how, even as an adult, Shrek is every bit as good as it was when I was a kid.
Truly a timeless classic lol.
Anyway, depending on how long it's been since you've seen it, you might remember the sad part near the end of the first movie where Shrek and Fiona have an unfortunate misunderstanding that nearly destroys their relationship.
Fiona is under a curse that causes her to transform into an ogre every night, but back into a princess during daylight.
After nightfall, she hides away from Shrek and Donkey so they don't find out.
Donkey goes looking for Fiona on his own, and sees her in her ogre form for the first time.
Fiona, who is in love with Shrek, but terribly insecure about her secret, pleads for Donkey not to reveal it to Shrek.
Referring to herself, she says, "Who could ever love a beast so hideous and ugly?"
And at that exact moment, it turns out that Shrek is listening in on the conversation, and thinks she's talking about HIM.
Shrek is heartbroken.
The next morning, Fiona decides to tell Shrek her secret, and reveal her feelings toward him...
But Shrek walks up, angry and hurt, and reveals that he overheard the conversation and doesn't want to hear any more.
"You heard what I said?" Fiona asks in shock…
"Every word," Shrek says.
"I thought you'd understand" Fiona replies.
"Oh, I understand," Shrek says, "Like you said, 'Who could love a hideous, ugly beast?' "
Fiona (thinking he's talking about HER) is devastated. She says, "But I thought that wouldn’t matter to you!"
And Shrek says, "Yeah? Well, it does!"
Then at that moment, Lord Faarquad comes and sweeps Fiona away…
While their true love is almost shattered by a stupid misunderstanding on both sides.
Shrek thought Fiona was calling HIM an "unloveable, hideous, ugly beast."
And Fiona thought he was calling HER the same thing.
Fortunately, Donkey later reveals to Shrek that it was a misunderstanding, and that she wasn't actually talking about him.
So Shrek goes back and rescues her right before she gets married to Lord Faarquad…
And Shrek and Fiona live happily ever after.
Anyway, even though it's just a fairy tale, there's actually a great lesson in this.
And that is…
The Crucial Importance of Crystal Clear Communication!
It's essential in relationships, as the cautionary tale of Shrek and Fiona's (nearly tragic) misunderstanding demonstrates…
But it's equally important in sales, marketing, and in any situation where you're trying to persuade or influence another person.
One of the "Golden Rules" of copywriting (among others) is that thou shalt NEVER confuse thy reader.
Because confusion and uncertainty is the enemy of confidence and trust — which are prerequisites to persuasion.
As Dan Kennedy says in No B.S. Direct Marketing, "Most marketers’ failures and disappointments result from giving confusing directions or no directions at all. Confused or uncertain consumers do nothing."
This is why all the copywriting greats suggest being ridiculously, absurdly CLEAR in your copy. Particularly in your call to action.
Case in point, Dan Kennedy also said that just by switching a call to action button from "Buy Now" to "Click This Button to Buy Now," he got a statistically meaningful increase in conversions.
Just from that tiny, ridiculous change.
It might seem crazy, but that's the power of extreme clarity.
Even to the point of sounding like "Captain Obvious" and being redundant…
Just as a window can never be "too clean" — just spotless and crystal-clear — the same applies to your copy.
You can never be too clear.
-Beau D. Schultz
P.S. It's been a long time coming, but my email list is finally launching on April 15, and I'll be giving away plenty of goodies for my subscribers — especially the early ones. So if you enjoy these posts, drop a "copy is life" in the comments to join the club when it launches (if you haven't raised your hand for it already) ;)