Shampoo is hair soap. It cleans your hair like soap cleans your hands – right?
Yes, in its basic form it does exactly that but if you stand in a supermarket and read the bottles, you’d think shampoo had secret super powers beyond cleaning hair.
The people behind shampoo and indeed cosmetics marketing realised a long time ago that we don’t just want clean hair – we want an experience to go with it and so the storytellers got to work and have, over the years, come up with some massive advertising campaigns, all around this very basic item.
Did you see the Herbal Essences one where the very pretty lady is in a shower in the jungle – all very exotic and most of us know that’s not how we’re going to wash our hair, but we’re swayed to buy it because she’s making it look so nice!
Who doesn’t want to be in paradise like that when they wash their hair?
Here’s what a basic bottle of shampoo usually says – it’s the £1 supermarket own brand one that is going for the functional side of things, not the lifestyle choice!
‘Apply onto wet hair and massage into scalp. Rinse thoroughly and repeat if necessary.’
Now, let’s have a look at Herbal Essences – because they’ve really got it nailed!
‘Revel in dreamy coconut fragrance and fantasise about your next exotic get-away…’
‘Our fragrance conjures visions of a vivid Moroccan flower market…’
‘Our heaven on earth pomegranate fragrance will seduce your senses…’
‘A scent that awakens your senses.’
Can you see how the same product is described so differently, in a way that sells the lifestyle?
What are you words doing for your brand, product or service?
Are you giving the basic information or are you selling them the answer, what they need, solving their problem and making their day better?
Could you be using your words more wisely?
Words are like science to me so if you want a new potion created, just get in touch!
