Can a high-end brand use funny copy?
The short answer:
ABSO-FUCKIN-LUTELY.
The long answer:
Your customers will associate "high-end" with your branding. Your brand is — *simply put* (don't come at me, brand strategists) — your colors, your fonts, your look. It's core to your business.
But …
COPY IS DIFFERENT FROM BRANDING
Think of it this way:
Your BRAND is the picture on your dating profile.
Your COPY is the nerdy joke you tell on the first date that makes them fall in love with you.
On your website, your copy supports your branding. But, copy has more tentacles.
Thanks to the near-endless number of marketing channels available to us, your copy can reach a lot further than your branding can, and it can shape-shift based on where it is (see: every brand on Threads).
DEFINE "HIGH-END"
When you work with me, you'll quickly realize I push HARD for specificity.
You're a business coach? I want to know just how many pieces of hair your client has on fire right before she books a one-on-one call.
You sell coffee? I want to know the exact sex dream your customer is mulling over on the way to order her americano.
The same goes for "high-end." It means SO many things. Are you ...
Unattainable, like Hermès?
Clever, like Gucci?
Gaudy, like Bulgari?
Rare, like Rolls-Royce?
Douchey, like Balenciaga?
Minimal, like Bang & Olufsen?
You’ve GOTS to define your high-end.
Then …
DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE
(Ah, defining your audience. You can't get away from it! But I’ll illustrate the importance fast.)
Let's say, for the sake of this point, that high-end = expensive.
Well ...
There are rich people who think they're better than everyone.
There are rich people who want quiet luxury.
There are rich people who don't give a fuck about a brand name.
If you’re a "high-end brand," which one are you selling to?
THERE ARE NO RULES.
Traditionally, people assume that a high-end brand needs to be serious, elevated, restrained.
But where's the personality in that?
REMEMBER: The unexpected gets noticed.
Your brand DOES NOT automatically dictate your copy style.
You don't have to match luxury branding with serious copy.
On the flip side: You don't have to match kitschy branding with silly copy.
I argue that it's more impactful to do the opposite. Because different gets noticed. Your brand can totally ooze high-end while your copy brings it down to earth.
It's all about the audience you want to reach.
DEFINE YOUR HUMOR.
For as many versions that exist of "high-end," there are infinitely more ways to "be funny" in your copy.
Humor can be nerdy. Dirty. Childish. Punny. Crass. Elevated. Subtle. Ironic. Slapstick.
The one thing they all have in common?
HUMOR = RELATABILITY
If you can make your reader chuckle, they'll remember you forever.
And that last sentence is enough reason to start trying.