Comments on: 6 Things I’ve Learned Writing for the Beauty Industry http://karen-goldfarb.com/copywriting/6-ive-learned-writing-beauty-industry Tips from a copywriter and marketing strategist Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:21:28 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jens Ode http://karen-goldfarb.com/copywriting/6-ive-learned-writing-beauty-industry/comment-page-1#comment-805 Jens Ode Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:21:31 +0000 http://karen-goldfarb.com/?p=907#comment-805 I think you're right. It would be interesting to see a split test or similar where chemical terms are used contra emotional copy. In a technical industry it does make sense to use strange terms and abbrevations such as Gb, RAM etc, but with products that you actually put on your skin you would think that using more emotional copy would work better. Especially since the chemical terms are used as key selling points, which feels really odd, since you wouldn't expect any person with an average education to be able to tell what it is. You would never give candy to your kids which were marketed as "Improved Formula - Now Contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate!", but somehow it works when marketing beauty products. I think you’re right. It would be interesting to see a split test or similar where chemical terms are used contra emotional copy. In a technical industry it does make sense to use strange terms and abbrevations such as Gb, RAM etc, but with products that you actually put on your skin you would think that using more emotional copy would work better. Especially since the chemical terms are used as key selling points, which feels really odd, since you wouldn’t expect any person with an average education to be able to tell what it is. You would never give candy to your kids which were marketed as “Improved Formula – Now Contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate!”, but somehow it works when marketing beauty products.

]]> By: Karen http://karen-goldfarb.com/copywriting/6-ive-learned-writing-beauty-industry/comment-page-1#comment-804 Karen Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:37:37 +0000 http://karen-goldfarb.com/?p=907#comment-804 It's a good question. Honestly, I think it's an old habit and primarily due to regulatory requirements that the industry puts these terms in. I also suspect that in some cases, because they've never been questioned on it until recently, it was easy to just list an ingredient and not define what it is or does. If the law states that you have to list ingredients, and you just list "sodium lauryl sulfate" and "methylparaben," you've met your requirement. It's left up to the consumer to determine what these things are and if there's any cause for concern even though (here in the US at least), they've been ok'd by the FDA. Interestingly, I remember an old ad campaign by Cadbury who owns Certs, the breath mint. It literally said "Certs! Now with Retsyn." Obviously, at the time, that was designed to make the consumer go "Oohh, Retsyn..." and assume this was a good thing--as you said, it lent credibility. If <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retsyn" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia</a> can be believed, apparently "Retsyn is a trademarked name for a combination of copper gluconate and partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil." At best, copper gluconate is a low hazard but at worst, it's toxic in large doses. And while we didn't know it at the time, partially hydrogenated oils are now commonly known to be health hazards. So, so much for Retsyn, eh? It’s a good question. Honestly, I think it’s an old habit and primarily due to regulatory requirements that the industry puts these terms in. I also suspect that in some cases, because they’ve never been questioned on it until recently, it was easy to just list an ingredient and not define what it is or does. If the law states that you have to list ingredients, and you just list “sodium lauryl sulfate” and “methylparaben,” you’ve met your requirement. It’s left up to the consumer to determine what these things are and if there’s any cause for concern even though (here in the US at least), they’ve been ok’d by the FDA.

Interestingly, I remember an old ad campaign by Cadbury who owns Certs, the breath mint. It literally said “Certs! Now with Retsyn.” Obviously, at the time, that was designed to make the consumer go “Oohh, Retsyn…” and assume this was a good thing–as you said, it lent credibility. If Wikipedia can be believed, apparently “Retsyn is a trademarked name for a combination of copper gluconate and partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil.” At best, copper gluconate is a low hazard but at worst, it’s toxic in large doses. And while we didn’t know it at the time, partially hydrogenated oils are now commonly known to be health hazards. So, so much for Retsyn, eh?

]]> By: Jens Ode http://karen-goldfarb.com/copywriting/6-ive-learned-writing-beauty-industry/comment-page-1#comment-803 Jens Ode Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:11:39 +0000 http://karen-goldfarb.com/?p=907#comment-803 How important is the use of terms such as "sodium lauryl sulfate" in the copywriting for beauty products? Will it increase the sales if these very technical terms are used or is it because of old habits and that the beauty industry believes it gives credibility to the products? How important is the use of terms such as “sodium lauryl sulfate” in the copywriting for beauty products? Will it increase the sales if these very technical terms are used or is it because of old habits and that the beauty industry believes it gives credibility to the products?

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