Claude Hopkins figured this out in 1923. We just proved him right again.
Why "B12" beats "blood biomarkers" and what the advertising pioneers already knew about specificity
Certain truths are always good to re-test. One truth we’ve always known and followed is that specificity outperforms generics every day of the week.
But it’s always good to revisit these things and ensure they remain true today. Lots of classic advertising advice is permanent, some as outdated their working practices.
Over the last month, we’ve ran a handful of tests where in each example we made sure to include a ‘specific’ version and a broader concept version.
In every single test, the specific version outperformed generic version.
“B12” beat “blood biomarkers”
“Hot toddy” beat “hot evening drink”
Calling out “expensive habit” beat product features
There is a juxtaposition at play in tests like this. Jargon is always one of the great villains of copywriting, and so you never want to stray too close to it.
I’ve also heard the arguments against this historically. Namely that by being niche, you reduce your audience size. And so there’s an argument for being broad and that means generic.
But that’s backwards. The greatest joy of today’s Meta world is that its targeting algorithm is powerful. You create a niche ad, Meta finds the audience for it.
Your copy’s job is to signal who the ad is for, and some of the data we’re looking at now confirms this.
The copy guides the algorithm
Meta knows who to show your ad to. It knows what websites people are browsing. It knows what Reels they’re paying attention to.
I’ve started going to the gym recently and last week was the real turning point when my Instagram algorithm updated to feature gym content and memes. I don’t understand it yet, but I feel like I’ve been let in.
How you interact on Instagram organically has a direct impact on what ads you get served. How you interact on other websites has a direct impact to.
So it knows if you’re interested in classic cars, A line dresses, or international money transfer.
It also knows exactly where you are in that journey. It knows if you’re purchased the entry level product and its time for the upgrade.
Your copy’s job is to stop the right person mid-scroll and confirm that this ad is for them. Generic language can’t do that. “Blood biomarkers” doesn’t trigger anything personal. But “B12” makes someone think *oh, I’ve been meaning to check that.* That’s the difference between scrolling past and stopping.
I used to see this at Wine List too. When we really called out the frustration someone had with not understanding wine menus in restaurants, the ads clicked.
Creative examples
With Thriva, we’ve been testing being specific and highlighting individual biomarkers like “b12” over more generic “blood biomarkers”.
With Mother Root, that might mean using the “hot toddy” as a specific callout. As I discovered during the call, a hot toddy has both regional, national, and age interpretations of what it is.
Not everyone knows what a hot toddy is, and that’s okay. For the right audience, it hits them exactly where you need to.
As for one from the archives where the AB test was extreme:
We wanted to see if “Pay” outperformed “pay £15” (or other variations). The specific message outperform generic, every time.
This is classic advertising principles
“Platitudes and generalities leave no impression whatsoever.”
Claude Hopkins – Scientific Advertising
The advertising pioneers figured this out a century ago.
Claude Hopkins was one of the first.
He gave side-by-side examples that read exactly like our test results:
“Our lamps give 33% more light” beats “Our lamps are brighter.”
“Used by the people of 52 nations” beats “Used the world over.”
And critically, he understood the self-selection piece too:
“Blind, irrelevant or clever headlines may attract a larger number of people, but most of the additional people attracted will invariably turn out to be unqualified to buy.”
That’s the 1923 version of “the copy guides the algorithm.”
John Caples in the excellend Testing Advertising Methods was a fan too.
A building materials company he wrote for advertised that their product was “52.7% higher than the U.S. Government standard of quality.”
The campaign was enormously successful.
Then management softened the number to “over 50%.”
Demand collapsed.
As Caples put it: “’52.7%’ was accepted as definite proof of quality and value, while ‘over 50%’ was discounted as a mere claim.” The precision of the number was the persuasion.
Joseph Sugarman made the same point with a simpler example: “Instead of saying ‘There are a lot of nerve endings at the bottom of your feet,’ you can say, ‘There are 72,000 nerve endings at the bottom of your feet.’ You are stating a fact as opposed to a general or vague statement.”
Why brands get this wrong
“Why such vagueness? I think the reason is one part sloth, one part cowardice and one part presumption”
Drayton Bird – Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing
The instinct is understandable. The more niche you are, the fewer people you can reach. And isn’t the reason we advertise t reach new people? Well yes, but also no.
No. Because you’re confusing message reach with message resonance.
Drayton Bird nailed the diagnosis in the excellent Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing:
“…Sloth being the unwillingness to spend time working out how to describe something accurately. Cowardice being a lack of faith in what is being sold. And presumption because the writer presumes people know what you are selling simply because there is a picture of it, or a vague description.”
He’s right. Generic copy is easier to write, safer to approve, and assumes the creative will do work it can’t actually do.
How to find the specific language
Oddly, in a world where AI can scrape Reddit in a heartbeat and summarise Trustpilot reviews in seconds, specific language is harder and harder to find.
We believe customer interviews to be the richest source of specific language. It’s why we’re now doing interviews regularly for our clients. Never doubt the learning and impact that a 30 minute conversion can have.
Ogilvy was a fan of the factory visit. Famously, he visited the Rolls-Royce factory and interviewed everyone to come up with his famous line:
“At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.” - David Ogilvy
In both cases, we believe that human research is the most vital stage. Estimations and summarisation and projections can do a lot, we use AI there too. But this is one of those human elements that is vital for ad success.
Read your ad out to your friend. Perhaps the find part to help narrow down your language is to read the ad to someone you know. Not someone who works on the brand, but someone who does a normal job. Say to them the generic thing and see if that’s how people really speak, you’ll realise quickly where the gaps are.
What this means for your creative briefs
Your creative briefs should be getting more specific, not broader. The best-performing ads historically and today across our entire roster all had one thing in common: they sounded like one person talking to another, not a brand talking to a segment.
If you’re selling protein crisps, then say “I’ve been trying to hit 110g of protein per day” and not “I want a healthier snack.”
If you’re selling French butter in the UK, say “I first spread beurre d’isigny on a baguette sat in a cafe in Nice” and not “this butter reminds me of France.”
If you’re selling light bulbs, say “At 800 lumens, you actually feel like you’re in The Ludlow Hotel” not “low lighting creates a better vibe.”
The algorithm will find the ad its natural home. And when it does the increase in conversion rate for the specificity will outperform the generic all the time.
What’s the most specific version of your product’s message? I’d love to hear what you’re testing.
🔗 When you’re ready, here’s how Ballpoint can help you
→ Profitably grow paid social spend from £20k/m → £300k/m
→ Create full funnel, jobs to be done-focused creative: Meta, TikTok, YouTube
→ Improve your conversion rate with landing pages and fully managed CRO
→ Maximise LTV through strategic retention and CRM
Email me or visit Ballpoint to find out more.
NB: We support brands spending above £20k/month.
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