OLIPOP’S CLEVER SNEAK DISS

Problem-Agitate-Solution has been the dominant copywriting formula since the Mad Men days. Basically, identify a problem, stir the pot, present your product as the answer. We don't like it at all. Which is why we love Olipop's copy.

Most copywriting advice on the internet will tell you to find your customer's pain point and lean into it. P-A-S. Problem, agitate, solution. Make them feel crappy then get them to buy. And for SaaS products and B2B products, that works, sure. But do you really want to make somebody buy your fizzy drink because you made them feel a bit shitty? And the data is kinda on our side here. Research has found that customers are twice as likely to engage with positive messaging than fear-based or negative framing. Plus, positive copy drove more trust, higher recall and greater purchase intent. A 2023 study found that even using negative framing to highlight a positive — like mentioning the problem your product solves — makes customers mentally simulate the bad outcome, which actively suppresses conversion rates. And Unbounce back it up too: the more negative words on an ecommerce landing page, the worse it converts.

Olipop's Cherry Cola PDP is a great example of what we call P-A-S 2.0, Picture-Amplify-Show:

Picture: they describe cherry cola as you already know it. All positive wording. No jab.

Amplify: "now imagine it made with real spices, tart cherry juice." They're implying other cherry colas aren't made with those things without ever saying it.

Show: "that's what you're holding in your hands." Show the customer the end result.

Without agitating pain points or getting icky, they've managed to position themselves as superior to every other cherry cola on the market without a single negative word. Our brains fill in the gaps for them. We think "oh, so regular cola isn't made with real ingredients?" Olipop never even have to say it. (This is double smart because studies also show that positive comparative advertising beats negative. In other words, research consistently shows that negative comparisons — AKA "we're better than the big brands"  — makes our brains push back and resist. However, positive comparisons — like "imagine your cola but better" — are much easier for our brains to accept.) Nick this: take a look through your PDPs for negative framing or slightly agitate-y copy. Then ask whether you can reframe it as a positive instead? Can you use picture-amplify-show? You might not be able to do it for all of them, but even removing half makes a huge difference. (Especially as every negative word hurts conversion.)