Dr. Seuss Day is coming up on March 2. Could you create effective marketing copy by imposing limits on how you write—as Dr. Seuss did? Should you?
For his best-selling children's book Green Eggs and Ham, Seuss set himself a strict limit of only 50 words. Considering that he successfully got an entire generation of kids learning to read and having fun doing it, his writing techniques are worth examining.
Using literary devices you wouldn't normally use might hem in your writing ability—or completely unleash it.
Seuss not only used small amounts of simple words but also explored repetition, alliteration, and rhyme, and he invented new words while crafting his stories. Kids couldn't get enough.
As we celebrate Dr. Seuss Day, what can we learn from him?
1. Rhyming helps solidify memory
Why is it that you can remember marketing slogans from 5, 15, or even 35 years ago, but you can't seem to remember anything on the shopping list you left at home? I wager that many, if not nearly all, those memorable slogans rhymed.
Rhyming is the literary device that most people associate with the works of Dr. Seuss. Rhyme turns out to be a powerful element that made his books both treasured and unforgettable.
Children—heck, even adults—are able to rattle off line after line of Seuss's books. And that was his intention: getting kids to connect the words on the page with sounds they hear in their mind and say out loud. When words in a phrase or series of lines sound alike, it is much easier to connect the words together and to remember them.
Throughout the '90s, Pringles had us chanting, "Once you pop, you can't stop!" and accompanied the slogan with commercials full of rhythmic percussion. It's the brand's most memorable campaign, and it successfully boosted sales.
Timex put its watches through famous torture tests, including placing a watch in a washing machine, having one shaken by a jackhammer, tossing a Timex over the Grand Coulee Dam, and being worn during a cliff dive in Acapulco. The slogan proclaimed, "Timex. It takes a licking and keeps on ticking." By 1967, the company had cornered the watch brand market.
Folgers added the benefit of music to the rhyming pattern of its slogan. Rhyming itself gives words a singsong cadence. But add a melody and you've upped the impact. "The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup." Just try to say that in your mind without hearing the jingle. To top it off, the melody has been sung by the likes of Ritchie Havens, Randy Travis, and Aretha Franklin (my idol).
Marketers have used this technique—and been celebrated for it—pretty much since marketing became an industry. You can toil over your taglines, slogans, and other essential marketing copy for as long as you need, but the bottom line is they must be instantly memorable.
2. Use repetition of sounds to create rhythm
Seuss used repetition consistently in his books, and by the midpoint of Green Eggs and Ham you're pretty certain that the man does not want that particular breakfast.
In marketing, you may not have the copy length to repeat phrases over and over. But, strategically squeezing in that branded tagline just one or two more times could get you closer to having your product better remembered.
Seuss also used alliteration, the repetition of the initial consonant sound. You see this device in the names of Coca-Cola, Dirt Devil, Range Rover, and other brands.