A well-respected advertising agency Creative Director used to say, “Delicious is lazy” when reviewing ad copy.
What did he mean?
“Delicious” itself is not a bad word. What he meant is that if you’re writing copy about food, “delicious” is too easy of a choice and really doesn’t mean anything specific…there is always a better, more descriptive word to describe the taste experience. If you want to write copy that captures attention and creates a mental image that makes it irresistible for someone to run out and purchase your client’s product, then push yourself to find a more interesting, more apt word.
Much copy is overlooked because readers are tired of reading the same thing over and over. Half the time they know what the ad reads, even without reading it. That’s when “delicious is lazy.”
Of course, there is a “delicious” equivalent in every industry. Words that are easy or “lazy.” The actual word “delicious” doesn’t apply to a B2B software or luxury jewelry designer client. In those industries their “delicious” might be “world class” or “beautiful.”
At BrandTuitive we use the phrase “delicious is lazy” as a mantra when we’re writing copy for our brand clients. It ensures we push to create copy that is as compelling as it can be and that sparks the end users’ Movie in the Mind.
Browse our Work page for some examples of pushing ourselves to go beyond “delicious.” In particular, we love the copy in the Infolectual direct mail piece we created for The Economist magazine and the “Designed for Perfection” national newspaper advertising we did for Nespresso during their 25% off promotion.
Maybe the next time you want to describe something as “delicious,” you’ll challenge yourself to find a more interesting option. :)