I'm not anti-AI, but check this out...

Yesterday, I wrote about how VW took a massive risk with their 1962 “Think Small” campaign (for the Beetle).

That ad torched the "rules."

And based on the prevailing marketing-think of the era, it shouldn’t have worked.

But it did.

Because copywriter Julian Koenig tapped into the cultural fatigue—and used the over-saturation of recycled ideas to his advantage.

Dude had a feeling people were ready to hear something completely different (and the guts to act on it).

The results changed the world forever.

Now imagine trying to get there with AI. No freakin' way it's happening.

It'll be a cold day in hell before GPT has an original idea.

And because large language models just match patterns and spit out homogenized, sanitized reconfigurations of what’s already out there...

It’s never been easier to stand out.

Thing is, most businesses are scared to be different.

And, believe me, I know it's scary.

I used to show up online totally buttoned up, tattoos hidden, hair immaculate.

Trying to sound like a well-polished brand instead of a person.

But the unfiltered, (semi)-lovable rabblerouser you’ve come to expect in your inbox was never far from the surface.

And when I finally leaned into what makes me unique, things got a whole lot easier.

The right people showed up, the wrong ones effed off, and my business finally started to feel like mine (instead of some facade I had to maintain).

There really ain't nothing like the real thing. And that's especially true with sales copy.

Because writing great copy isn’t just about language.

It’s about understanding the human experience.

That takes emotional intelligence and TONS of empathy—only way to get that is by, ya know, being alive.

Later,

Graham

P.S.

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