I really sniggered seeing this web banner (the animated version is much better).
My interest was well and truly piqued. The playful copy 'Whiffy good snacky snacks' points brilliantly to the pet owner mentality. Using 'Feed the weird' instead of the boring 'tear here' shown on the packaging. The 'Gimme gimme' call to action. There were some strong signs of some stonking copy, so I went to explore.
Often I'm deflated when a beautifully crafted advertising campaign promises so much with a refreshing style, and then I read the functional but style-less BAU (business as usual) copy. But not on this occasion. My foray into the Bonkers website was a joyous romp.
I love the lack of words. It's economical but well crafted. It shows their expertise and understanding of the audience (pets and their owners) but doesn't tell you in the 'we're experts don't you know' way.
The puns and wordplay are always going to earn an extra look from me - probably thanks to a childhood of Spike Milligan, Roger McGough and dad's jokes.
Yes there are few jarring bits but they're few and far between. The strange capitalisation in places for example, which I suspect is a compromise for design when using an uppercase title font and marrying it with lowercase fonts. Yes, there's a mix of addressing the pets themselves and then their owners but it's consistent in each section and I'd argue that a writing style which only talks to pets, would become tedious and make it almost impossible to address legal, FAQs and the other business gubbins required.
Look how they've incorporated their customer reviews as well.
Instead of verbatim using the customer review with the individual's style, they've pulled out key points and added their own spin for the headlines. It isn't essential or really necessary, but it's impactful and fits naturally in this style.
And even the usually stuffy FAQs, have threads of the fun stuff too (rightly so, a writing style is for life, not just for Christmas ads).
From what I can tell, this is all the hard work of New Zealand-based ZURU Edge which may explain the happy-go-lucky style (let me know if I'm wrong and you've been involved along the way) and they seem to have a few more brands that warrant a better look.
So, some takeouts.
Talk to your target audience. If you fully understand your reader/customer or target audience and demonstrate that understanding, your writing will be so much more impactful. They'll feel seen, appreciated, comfortable and emotionally driven to engage.
Make sure you can live with your chosen style - it needs to work for all copy. But it should also feel natural for the brand. Lawyers and accountants probably aren't best adopting a flippant or cheeky style.
Be consistent - it needs to apply to all of your copy.
Establish some rules - even if rule one is to break the usual rules. This will help keep you and your team on point, accurate and avoid sounding like you have multiple personalities.