Tesco’s refreshingly honest ad copy

We absolutely love this ad. Imagine leading the meeting to pitch this idea. "Hey. Well, thanks for taking the time to meet with us today. We think we're going to tell everyone that our product is cheap and comes in an ugly can..."

But this ad is so good precisely because it's so brave and bold. But, even more importantly, it's based in really, really knowing how your customers think about your products.

This is a really great example of matching your copy's energy to the stakes of the purchase.

Sometimes, when you're writing copy, it can be tempting to go all the way with it. Suddenly, the dishcloth you're writing about becomes "a microfibres miracle, specifically designed to agitate and excavate even the stubbornest of stains. Prepare yourself, your dishes will never be the same again."

But no matter how good the copy is, there's a disconnect between the copy and what they're buying. There's a disconnect between how they think about your product and how you describe it.

But when a brand kind of acknowledges what the product is and why you're buying it and they address the elephant in the room, we trust them more. (This is called two-sided messaging.)

Which begs the question: is there anywhere in your copy that you could be disarmingly honest with your customers? Is there anywhere your copy maybe doesn't quite line up with the experience of your product? Anyway to turn that to your advantage?