Volkswagen
A German car maker whose classic winter-prep ad gave Harry Dry his layout.
Where Volkswagen comes up2 episodes and tests
How I Write171 Years of Writing Knowledge in 90 Minutes
How I WriteLearn Copywriting in 76 Minutes – Harry DryVolkswagen's classic winter-prep ad set an ordinary car's radiator drain, flush and hose checks against a VW needing only an oil change. Harry Dry borrowed that two-column layout for his own copywriting ad, then kept rewriting until it read "throw money and pray" versus "learn copywriting." Lesson: borrow a proven format, and write specific claims, like the six-number speedometer, that a competitor could not sign.
- Ordinary car: drain radiator, flush, check hoses
- Volkswagen: oil change only
- The corporate way: throw money and pray
- The copywriting way: learn copywriting
Same two-column layout, new idea: "twice as fast"
From Harry Dry's ad teardown
What was said about Volkswagen
Harry Dry borrowed a Volkswagen ad's two-column layout for his own ad. The Volkswagen winter-prep ad contrasted an ordinary car needing a radiator drain, flush and hose checks with a Volkswagen needing only an oil change. Dry copied its structure (two columns, placeholder images, a checklist, headers, matching bullets) and fit his copywriting idea into it.
He rewrote it until he could not improve it, fixing one problem at a time, such as a two-line item that made the page messy. He kept the parallel headers (the corporate way, the copywriting way). The final ad reads "throw money and pray" against "learn copywriting," with "twice as fast" in bold. His phrase for the process: "you bleed the ink dry."
A claim only the owner can check is copy a competitor can't sign. A classic ad said your car's speedometer has five numbers while this one has six. Harry Dry uses it to teach a test: could a rival run your line unchanged? If so, dig for what only you can say.
The tip names the speedometer ad as Volvo's, while the source's summary attributes it to VW, so the sources disagree on the brand. Dry's counterexample is a recruitment line, 'don't just get a job, change an entire industry,' which any recruiter could use. His rule: "never write an ad a competitor can sign."
171 Years of Writing Knowledge in 90 Minutes
Its ad contrasted an ordinary car needing a radiator drain, flush and hose checks with a Volkswagen needing only an oil change. Dry borrowed that two-column layout for his copywriting ad and fit his own idea into it.
Harry Dry borrowed a Volkswagen ad's two-column layout for his own ad. The Volkswagen winter-prep ad contrasted an ordinary car needing a radiator drain, flush and hose checks with a Volkswagen needing only an oil change. Dry copied its structure (two columns, placeholder images, a checklist, headers, matching bullets) and fit his copywriting idea into it.
He rewrote it until he could not improve it, fixing one problem at a time, such as a two-line item that made the page messy. He kept the parallel headers (the corporate way, the copywriting way). The final ad reads "throw money and pray" against "learn copywriting," with "twice as fast" in bold. His phrase for the process: "you bleed the ink dry."
Learn Copywriting in 76 Minutes – Harry Dry
A classic ad said your car's speedometer has five numbers while the VW's has six, a claim only an owner can check. Its winter-prep layout also supplied the template for Harry's own ad.
Harry Dry borrowed a Volkswagen ad's two-column layout for his own ad. The Volkswagen winter-prep ad contrasted an ordinary car needing a radiator drain, flush and hose checks with a Volkswagen needing only an oil change. Dry copied its structure (two columns, placeholder images, a checklist, headers, matching bullets) and fit his copywriting idea into it.
He rewrote it until he could not improve it, fixing one problem at a time, such as a two-line item that made the page messy. He kept the parallel headers (the corporate way, the copywriting way). The final ad reads "throw money and pray" against "learn copywriting," with "twice as fast" in bold. His phrase for the process: "you bleed the ink dry."
A claim only the owner can check is copy a competitor can't sign. A classic ad said your car's speedometer has five numbers while this one has six. Harry Dry uses it to teach a test: could a rival run your line unchanged? If so, dig for what only you can say.
The tip names the speedometer ad as Volvo's, while the source's summary attributes it to VW, so the sources disagree on the brand. Dry's counterexample is a recruitment line, 'don't just get a job, change an entire industry,' which any recruiter could use. His rule: "never write an ad a competitor can sign."
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