Don’t Sell Products, Sell Superpowers

Superpowers are, well, powerful.

Being able to breathe underwater, be invisible, or turn green and big when you’re angry is something that so many people want to be able to do.

These abilities are simply fantasy of course, but even just the idea of it, is still very appealing.

For example, what if I tell you that there’s a product that can make you feel like you’re flying? Of course I will — at the very least — intrigue you, right?

Well, this is the exact strategy that Red Bull use in their marketing campaigns.

You can tell that the statement “gives you wings” is a very powerful idea. 

The product doesn’t just give you any kind of energy, it provides the kind of energy that makes your body feel so light, it’s like you’re moving with wings from one place to another.

This idea of selling “superpowers” has made Red Bull one of the leading brands in their industry for over 20 years, and you can copy this strategy for your business too.

Being Different is Common, Being “Super” is Not

This article is inspired by a Twitter thread from the user @heykhan where he said:

“Great copywriting isn’t about what your product can do, it’s about what your product can help the reader become.”

Every single product brand has their own unique selling point (USP) that they will push through their ad copies. Which means that unless your product has a crazy strong USP (50 times cheaper/more effective than competitor, or something along those lines), there’s a chance that the audience will only see your product as being different, not better.

This is where the idea of your product having a “magical effect” can help.

Do you remember the advertisement for Axe, the men’s deodorant? Widely known as “The Axe Effect” ads, they show that just by spraying the product on your body, people will immediately flock to you. Now that’s a superpower that surely every men wants!

You want to tell the audience that your product is special, and that it will affect them in ways that no other products can.

Let People Know How Extraordinary Your Product Is

Let’s try a more practical example:

We are a copywriter in charge of making an ad for a mattress product. 

We can write the USP of our product on the ad copy like:

“20% softer than other products”

“Made from high quality, environmental-friendly materials”

And so on.

This is by no means a bad thing.

We want to tell the audience the strength of our product.

But let’s face it, everybody else is doing the exact same thing. Which means that the ad copy itself might not become a very strong reason as to why the audience should choose our product.

As a copywriter, we can do better than that.

What if we use some “superpowers” on the ad copy? Something like:

“Feels like sleeping on the clouds”

Or..

“So soft, it drove nightmares away”

That sounds so much more appealing, right?

And the great thing is, we can still put our product’s USP on the ad copy so that the reader has even more incentive to buy!

This method requires you to have a very imaginative mind.

You need to put your product on a make believe land and picture how it operates there.

Nobody hates imagination, and when the audience can see how your product affects them in these mythical ways, you’ve captured so much more than just their interest.

Your product could give buyers extraordinary results, and you should let them know.