The world of cinema didn’t start with the first Transformers film (thank goodness!), even though there have been about a hundred sequels to it (or is that just me?). You know that a film is truly great when it stands the test of time. And few classic films have stood the test of time as well as ‘The Wizard Of Oz’.
The film is now 75 years old, yet still regularly features in lists of the greatest films of all time, and the American Film Institute selected it as the greatest fantasy film ever made. There’s one word that sums up the reason for this. No, it’s not ‘courage’ (we’ll come to that later), it’s ‘quality’. The film has quality stamped all over it. Successful copywriting has to put quality first as well, particularly as Google are now making the quality of content its main criteria. Take a look at the film again, and there are plenty of lessons that a smart copywriter can learn. Now, tap the heels of your ruby slippers together, and follow me to a magical land full of incredible copywriting.
Look Magnificent
You could put a 5-year-old child who speaks no English in front of The Wizard Of Oz, and they would love it. Know why? No, there’s no subtitles, that would be cheating. You do know why, because I put it in bold up above. It looks magnificent. No expense has been spared when it comes to the overall appearance of the film.
Do you remember the moment when Dorothy gets transported away from Kansas to the world of Oz? If you’ve seen it, it’s impossible to forget. The screen changes from black and white to amazing color. And what color! It’s one of the most incredible moments in cinema history, and I have to say I always find it strangely moving too. A great copywriter needs to make their content just as exciting. This can involve selecting the right images, and it always involves selecting the right words.
Remember that your writing shouldn’t simply be functional, it should be fun and fabulous! Splash a little technicolor into your content.
Keep Your Copywriting Fresh
How can a movie that’s now three-quarters of a century old still feel so fresh? That’s because it deals with things that everyone can empathize with. Our world has changed a lot since 1939, but, believe it or not, people are still exactly the same. Cinema and television audiences today are just as uplifted and excited by the film as they were when it was first shown. Show it to a child for the first time, and watch the look of joy spread across their face.
The film doesn’t need 3D, it doesn’t need super high definition or CGI, because it has superb writing. Noel Langley. Florence Ryerson. Edgar Allan Woolf. These are the scriptwriters behind the film. Their names may be little known, but their work certainly isn’t. If they were copywriting today, they’d be naturals, because they knew the importance of keeping things simple, to the point, and, well, fresh.
Use The Best Sources
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? (The answer’s ‘the egg’ by the way, because reptiles laid eggs millions of years before birds evolved, so that’s that one cleared up). Which came first, the book or the film? Yes, it may surprise lovers of great films such as The Wizard Of Oz, The Lord Of The Rings, Schindler’s List and more, but before the film there was already a great book. That doesn’t make the achievements of the screenwriters, producers and actors, it simply means that they were smart enough to find a superb source.
Copywriters can learn from this too. Plagiarizing is a complete no-no of course, but we shouldn’t live in a vacuum. We can take inspiration from great writers, and great content, that’s come before us. By adding our own unique thoughts and interpretations we can make copy that’s more useful than a self driving car that tans you en route. The original author, L. Frank Baum, is well credited in the film and its promotional material, so this helped to gather the interest of his fans. Copywriters can achieve the same effect by citing their high authority sources.
Be Truly Memorable
What do you remember the most about The Wizard Of Oz? The dissolving witch (‘I’m melting, I’m melting’), the beautiful ending (‘There’s no place like home’), the flying monkeys, the munchkins, the cute dog, Dorothy’s gingham dress, or the incredible music? Both the American Film Institute and The Recording Industry Association of America named ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ as the greatest song of the twentieth century.
You could ask a hundred people, and get a hundred different answers, but what’s indisputable is that once you’ve seen The Wizard Of Oz, you’ll never forget it. There’s even a mythology that’s sprung up around the film (watch it as much as you like, but you won’t see a munchkin hanging themselves in the background). Copywriters should strive to make their writing just as memorable. There’s a huge amount of data and content in the world today. Humdrum won’t cut it any more. You have to engage your audience, and teach them something that will stay with them. If your work isn’t memorable, then you may as well stop after the first word.
Send A Message That Matters
The Wizard Of Oz, although enjoyed by adults, is a film made for children. Does that mean it’s simple? Not a bit of it. There are more messages in The Wizard Of Oz than you’ll find in ten series of Grey’s Anatomy. It’s packed full of themes. Loneliness. The importance of friends. How to fit in when you’re in a new place. Standing up for what you believe in. Following the yellow brick road, er, I mean following your dream. At the center of the film is a theme that may go over the heads of most viewers. In essence it’s a story of how resilience helped America beat the great depression.
The film makers wanted to send a message that matters, and they succeeded. People from 4 to 104 can watch the film, and find answers to questions that they had in their hearts. That’s just what copywriting should do as well, find answers to real and everyday problems. When copywriting is as jam packed full of helpful content as The Wizard Of Oz film, then readers will love it, and Google will too.
Have A Heart
All the tin man wanted was a heart, but, of course, it turns out that he had one all along. And there’s a heart as big as a whale beating at the center of The Wizard Of Oz. You’d have to be stonier than the Sphinx not to find yourself touched while watching the film. It reaches right for the essence of what we are as human beings, and somehow makes us feel better about ourselves.
Great copywriting can have that effect too. It can make us feel more positive about a business, or a product, a film, or how we live. To achieve that result, copywriters have to accentuate the positive, and show how effective solutions to problems can be easy to enact.
Have A Brain
The scarecrow didn’t have a brain, so he thought, and yet his wise words made him the most loveable character of them all. He shows that something that is, on the surface, very simple can yet be meaningful and profound.
Copywriters will do well to become a bit more scarecrow themselves. Don’t worry, you won’t have to push straw down your pants. All you have to do is to edit your writing, to make it as simple as possible. It will become easier to understand, more direct, much more effective, and frankly more loveable.
Have Courage
You knew that was coming next, didn’t you? Everyone assumed the lion was a coward, but when his friends were in need, he was as brave as anyone. The film itself was incredibly courageous as well. At the time it was the most expensive production that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had ever made, and because it was so innovative, with its use of color and special effects, nobody knew if it would be a success. They displayed courage, took a chance, and the benefits of their speculation are there for all to see.
If you want to be a successful copywriter, you need to have courage too. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, or to agree with what everyone else is saying, but by writing something that’s truly original, you can create an article that becomes both useful and important. Everybody loves creativity and innovation, that’s why writing truly unique copy can see it shoot up the SERPs. When it comes to copywriting, it’s better to stand out from the crowd than blend into the background.
Make Your Writing Fly
The writers and team behind The Wizard Of Oz couldn’t have dreamed of the world we live in today, or know how things such as blogs and websites could change the way that businesses operate forever. Somehow, however, they didn’t just create an incredible movie, they created a fantastic blueprint for copywriters in a very different century.
Well it’s time to go, I’ve got a melody stuck in my head, and a film that I just have to watch again. I’ll leave you with this question: if happy little bluebirds fly, beyond the rainbow, why, oh why, shouldn’t your words soar too?
Image source: Oz.wikia.com