Taking the Piss and Turning LOLers into Dollars with Dave Harland, Chief Copywriter at Copy or Die

Dave Harland LOVES words. Big ones. Little ones. Silly ones. Serious ones.

He has a talent for taking the world’s most boring categories and breathing new life into them with a few flourishes of his pen and some rat-tat-tat-clickety-clacks at his keyboard.

During our conversation, we dig into all kinds of things, including the micro dignities of daily life that are threatened by automation and generative AI, as well as the unmistakable human quirks that make insight building and copywriting an act of creative joy.

We also connect the dots between The Knowledge of London (the rigorous exam that London Cabbies must pass to show they know their way around the city without a map) and the cultural tension between British formality and British humor (e.g. taking the piss).

Some of my favorite aha moments from our conversation include:

• The scrappy, homemade billboard that taught Dave his first big lesson in strategic copywriting
• Dave’s issues with AI shatbots and the limits of AI in copywriting
• How a lackluster acronym led to one of Dave’s favorite brand taglines
• The real-world insights that led to surprisingly punchy (and funny) B2B headlines for a speakerphone brand
• An American phrase that has inexplicably made its way into British business discussions

Show Notes:

Below are links to inspiring ideas that came up during our conversation.

Dave’s Online Copywriting Course

Write the Funny

Books:

Copywriting Is…:30-or-so thoughts on thinking like a copywriter by Andrew Boulton

Videos:

Bob Mortimor Top Moments | Would I Lie to You?

Monty Python: Ministry of Silly Walks

Life of Brian: Colosseum Scene