“Well that’s that”, said Grandpa Joe brightly. “It’s just what we expected.” ~ from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Dahl)
Of course it is another.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: a beloved movie for my generation (the exact title of the 1971 movie is Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory). Of course it was a book first and that book was published in 1964 (called Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). A remake movie hit the scene in 2005. I happen to love Johnny Depp but I still vote for the original Gene Wilder.
Last year a family member who shares our love for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory grabbed a Roald Dahl book from the shelf of her local bookstore to give to us as a gift for Christmas. The book is a collection of short stories called, Roald Dahl Omnibus, and the aim of our loved one was for us to have something at the bedside to read to each other before we went to bed each night.
We were delighted to receive this gift.I have to confess I only knew of two works by Roald Dahl: the aforementioned C&CF and I had vaguely heard of James and The Giant Peach. So when I nestled in one night to read a Roald Dahl bedtime story I was ready to be whisked away to a world of childlike wonder. My heart danced in anticipation of the tales that would be spun around me as I wound down to sleep each night. If you are familiar with Dahl and his comprehensive body of work, you are already chuckling to yourself right now about my ignorant embarkment.
The Two Sides of Roald Dahl
If you are unaware like I was then I must let you know that the writing of Roald Dahl, while brilliant, is twisted and dark when it is aimed at adults. The children’s books have their edge, too, of course (who can forget the tripped-out journey on the pink boiled sweet boat careening down the chocolate river with psychedelic swirls in the backdrop and Wonka’s urgent musings leaving you to wonder what Dahl was on when he wrote this stuff -and how much the movie-makers enjoyed bringing it to life).
But the children’s stories are whimsical, too and frankly, reading C&CF makes my heart swell and cry for joy when the hero Charlie Bucket finds a coin in a drain and purchasing one last candy bar…
Omnibus was interesting and well-written but brooding and cynical and in the end it left me feeling hopeless and sad about the state of the world (and curious about the mental stability of Roald Dahl). The stories also gave me bad dreams. I was overly disappointed in the book since I was expecting something else. What does this have to do with copy writing? Nothing.
And everything.
How many sides are there to the product you are crafting, selling, or highlighting in your writing? Is there a hidden side? Will the customers come to the site or open the brochure or download the one-sheet hoping to find one thing and discover another?
Misleading copy written to attract clicks or google-bots for better rankings is frowned upon. Bots are constantly learning to detect and punish such treachery. Worse than bots, customers hate to be mislead. Consumers will not trust the site if the campaign is to lure or attract with one thing and then switch bait another. As a copywriter, your name isn’t on the site, right?
Who would ever know? You will. And if referrals produce the desired effect, soon others in your industry will know it too.
The Omnibus was an honest mistake not a deliberate trick to mislead or deceive; we teased our family member relentlessly as she has a caring and sensitive heart and wanted only for us to have something fun and joyful to read.
This year we got the paperback, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the delightful illustrations of Quentin Blake. The Omnibus will stay on the shelf for now.
What do your readers expect? Be innovative. Get their attention. Surprise them with whimsy and wit. But make sure your client can deliver what you promise in your writing. If the customer comes back the client will see that your work delivers and come back for more.
post script, breaking format but I couldn’t resist
“There’s no earthly way of knowing/Which direction they are going!/ There’s no knowing where they’re rowing,/Or which way the river’s flowing! /Not a speak of light is showing,/So the danger must be growing,/For rowers keep on rowing,/And they’re certainly not showing/Any signs that they are slowing…” ~Willy Wonka