“Krazy kontent” — you’re doing it right

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Melanie in Writing

I love it when people use writing to get my attention.

The other day when I was doing some research for my friend’s apartment locator business (hit her up, she’s great!), I came across this Craigslist ad.

It is freaking awesome.

The ad seemed familiar. Eventually, I realized that it sounded like something Noah Stokes would write, if he were a single dude with an extra room.

If you haven’t seen Noah Stokes’s website, you’re missing out. I can only say that it’s simultaneously the best and worst design portfolio site I have ever seen. Go ahead and click it, I’ll wait.

You back? Cool.

This got me thinking about “krazy kopy,” and how effective it can be. How many retweets have Noah and Chris gotten for free, just for being funny?

When you’re doing “krazy” wrong

Obviously, not everyone can, or should, do this.

A few years ago, my husband and I moved to a new town, and we needed a bank. I suggested we try IBC, which I had heard good things about. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of describing it as “the bank with the bumblebee man on the billboard.”

I'd totally trust this bee with my money.

He declined.

Similarly, Ginny Redish cites a great example of krazy kontent gone wrong in her book Letting Go of the Words. She shows a screenshot of an old IRS website styled to look like a tabloid page, complete with big, splashy headlines terminated by exclamation points.

I’m not particularly keen on giving my money (either willingly or compelled by federal law) to an entity that likes to joke about … my money. Business is business, and I trust organizations that recognize that.

But in a roommate or contractor I’ll be spending a lot of time with, I like a sense of humor.

How about you?

Tags: Writing