At Large with Scott Norton #19: Thomas Kemeny - Writing Your Way Ahead
Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” That's how I feel every time I try to write something. You don't really realize how hard writing is until you actually sit down and do it. If it’s any consolation, just remember the copywriting law of physics from this episode’s guest: If a problem exists, so does the solution.
Thomas Kemeny has made a career writing for advertising, one of the most challenging written mediums. You need the copy to sell, but it can't be salesy. It's gotta make people smile, but you can't come off as trying to be funny. The shorter the better, but make sure to pack in all the features and benefits. Got it?
For people who have practiced this all their life, like Thomas, writing for advertising is an art, a science, and a business. And for the rest of us to learn, Thomas wrote one of the very few books on how to write advertising copy. The book is called Junior, and today we'll talk about many of the lessons he shares in this book.
In this episode, Thomas will take us through copywriting exercises to generate headlines using the shortcuts and “dirty tricks” the industry has used for decades. He talks about how his creative process involves tricking your brain into never thinking it’s done, so that you can push from the logical and into the nonsensical before arriving at an unexpected solution. Best of all, Thomas reveals what he calls “the secret rule for great work” which no company will ever actually abide by.
Enjoy the show, enjoy his book, and enjoy making Hungarian chicken paprikash.
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Website Show Notes:
- Junior: Writing Your Way Ahead in Advertising
- Hey Whipple, Squeeze This
- Oscar Health campaign
- Sir Kensington’s Fries of New York
- Hungarian chicken paprikash
📸@swhnorton
🐦@swhnorton
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