15 Powerful Copywriting Examples (and Why They're Great)

Copywriting is a criminally underrated part of content marketing. This is often where writers flex their skills, improving any company’s ability to talk with its target audience.

Lots of copywriters keep a “swipe” file—a collection of successful copywriting examples—to help inspire them.

This list of 15 examples is our own copywriting swipe file that we are excited to share with you!

They highlight some of the best examples of copywriting used by companies—including why we like them—when it comes to creating good copywriting.

1. BarkBox—Speaking your audience’s language

BarkBox is a company that offers a monthly subscription service for dog toys and treats, helping dog lovers keep their furry friends entertained.

The copywriting is clever because it builds on the growing trend of dog owners treating their pets like furry humans.

BarkBox appeals to the dog’s autonomy when it comes to offering refunds, pledging “no disappointed pups” as part of its satisfaction guarantee.

The top line of this Call To Action (CTA) snippet also reads “Our Pack Has Your Back!” in a traditional “jingle” style, making it fun to repeat and easy to remember.

2. Cards Against Humanity—Copywriting with clever use of sarcasm

Cards Against Humanity has long described itself as a party game for horrible people.

It appeals to its target audience by using humorous copywriting that makes fun of people for wanting to buy the game in the first place.

These two quick-to-read paragraphs do a great job of explaining the game. It also demonstrates the type of humor you can expect to enjoy while playing.

Cards Against Humanity stays true to its roots by offering a downloadable version of its game, giving would-be players the choice to sacrifice quality for free goodies.

At the same time, it also shows more of the company’s trademark humor by urging people to “steal the game.”

3. Death Wish Coffee—Challenging perceptions of “seasonal” products

Death Wish Coffee appeals to punks and rockers of all stripes with its skull and crossbones imagery, heavy-metal inspired product names, and—of course—artful copywriting.

The top line featured on this product page for pumpkin spice-flavored coffee is really powerful copywriting.

It reminds consumers that the traditionally autumnal drink can be enjoyed year-round.

The description explains clearly and succinctly how this flavored coffee is made, while setting the product apart from other flavored coffees which contain “chemicals you can’t pronounce.”

It also appeals to coffee fanatics—the company’s target audience—who might dismiss flavored coffees as gimmicky, telling them “If you think pumpkin spice is basic, then you haven’t had ours.”

4. GiveDirectly—Putting the audience in charge

Advocacy group GiveDirectly helps people donate money directly to some of the poorest households in the world.

The organization’s “about us” page appeals to the reader to get involved, throws out some impressive statistics, and then dismisses fears that poor people will unwisely spend this money.

Addressing the reader as “you” and including them in the same demographic as the group’s existing donors is a great example of persuasive copywriting.

After all, who wouldn’t want to join such a positive peer group?

The statistics paragraph uses just two big numbers to show GiveDirectly’s impact, before employing humor to address a question that some people might find awkward to ask.

It’s a great example of using copywriting as part of a larger CTA to get people to donate.

5. Oatly—Upfront and honest copywriting

Oatly, which makes oat milk and other related products, is known for employing upfront and punchy copywriting to sell its flagship Oat Drink, as well as everything else.

This text taken from the company’s Oat Drink page manages to explain a potentially boring, technical topic—whether a product can or can’t qualify as organic—and makes it light-hearted.

The decision to describe the debate over whether or not organic Oat Drink would be better adds a shot of humor to a dry topic.

It then offers the reader a clear CTA where they can investigate the issue further, if they wish.

6. Chubbies—Community building 101

Clothing company Chubbies appeals to that demographic of the fashion market they say is ignored: men with regular bodies who want high-quality, well-made clothes.

However, they also don’t shy away from building a community of like-minded people who might want to enjoy their products.

This listicle, taken from Chubbies’ landing page, interweaves descriptions of the company’s chief product offering alongside the team’s core values.

In a world where many brands opt to avoid politics altogether, this is a brave approach that employs good copywriting and formatting to quickly communicate what the brand is all about.

7. Headspace—Kicking out clutter

Mindfulness app Headspace uses copywriting sparingly but to great effect on its landing page.

This copywriting example puts the reader front and center, listing three quick benefits you (the audience) will enjoy from using the Headspace app.

It’s easy and uncomplicated to read, which is perfect for someone who might not be feeling their best at the time of researching the product in the first place.

It is a masterclass in considerate copywriting aimed at gently persuading the audience to sign up and benefit from what's offered.

8. Squatty Potty—Challenging taboos

Squatty Potty is a bathroom stool that pledges better bowel movements. It shot to fame with great copywriting—including the company slogan—that makes a normally taboo subject much more approachable.

This pop-up uses great wordplay, urging people to “join the bowel movement” rather than something boring like “sign up to our mailing list.”

Squatty Potty’s playful wordplay can be seen across its entire website, billing itself as “The #1 way to #2!”. This is a great way of using copywriting to talk about an uncomfortable subject, breaking down barriers to help communication.

9. Omsom—Step-by-step success

Omsom appeals to people who want to cook delicious Asian dishes in a short time with zero fuss.

It also uses copywriting sparingly on its website, employing a mix of infographics and text to show people how it works.

This is an example of good copywriting which succinctly explains what the product is and how you can combine it with other ingredients.

The simple three-step process is explained in just seven words and three images, making it easy for anyone to understand.

10. Velocity Partners—Communication through humor

B2B marketing company Velocity Partners is unsurprisingly very good at employing an economic use of words in its copy.

One of the best examples of this is the way it pushes people visiting its website into signing up to the company’s mailing list.

The messaging is clear and to the point, while making fun of the fact that no one really likes signing up to mailing lists in the first place.

The text pledges not to send too much content to your inbox, while promising that what you do receive will be relevant to your work.

Directing the message toward the reader by using “you” gives it a personal touch, too.

11. Lush—Colorful copywriting

Cosmetics company Lush uses colorful copywriting to paint an attractive image of the experience of using their bathroom products. Check out this example to see how it works:

Rather than just listing the ingredients, Lush creates a narrative of the experience of using its Epsom salt bath bomb. After reading, the audience is aching just to have this bath!

It also includes a well-placed CTA that could persuade readers to buy the company’s massage bar.

This is a great example of using imagery in copywriting to create an aura of luxury that customers want to buy into.

12. Cultivated Wit—Make the technical terms fun

Tech-and-comedy mashup Cultivated Wit strives to use wit and humor in copywriting to communicate with its audience.

Fortunately, they do this excellently! Here is an example of how they sprinkle some fun into some of the normally boring bits of the company’s website.

Cultivated Wit has put considerable effort into humorizing links to the company’s social media pages and email, as well as getting the reader to sign up to its mailing list. While this may not be a possible option for companies dealing in more serious subject matter, for light-hearted industries this is an excellent approach to take.

13. Who Gives a Crap—Artful origin storytelling

Toilet paper company Who Gives a Crap is a socially conscious business that donates profits to sanitation projects the whole world over. The company’s “about us” page is also a good example of how storytelling can make for powerful copywriting.

Stories are well known for being more powerful means of communicating with audiences than relying purely on statistics and facts. Who Gives a Crap lays out its origin story here, impressing the company’s good works on the reader and building a stronger relationship with that person at the same time.

14. Innocent Smoothies—Thinking about your brand tone

Innocent Smoothies makes use of really simple language to convey that its smoothie fruit drinks are equally as simple, using only fresh fruit and vegetables, with no added ingredients.

The subheadings apply to the text boxes directly beneath them, but also form the sentence “simple honest goodness,” a catchphrase that Innocent uses to describe its smoothies.

The text is direct and to the point without being abrupt or brusque, selling the company as a friendly and open organization that really cares for its customers.

Innocent has clearly thought a lot about its brand tone, which is clear here; the whole website reads like it was written by your favorite primary school teacher.

15. KLM—Appealing to responsible consumption

The Dutch airline KLM has a campaign urging travelers to fly responsibly, where the company is able to show off its green credentials to a more environmentally conscious audience.

This is a strong example of copywriting because, straight out of the gate, KLM puts its hands up and says “we know we have to do better.” The text then goes on to lay out what the airline is doing to reduce its emissions.

In a separate section aimed at showing customers what they can do to help the environment, KLM even goes as far as urging travelers to choose other transport options where available.

This is a daring move for any company but, done well, it helps the airline demonstrate its transparency.

Are you looking to save time on rephrasing your copy? Try our free Semrush Paraphrasing tool.

Conclusion.

Copywriting done right can have a powerful impact on readers and potential customers.

Among them, these 15 examples show how different copywriting techniques can work for a variety of industries and business types.

Sometimes the best option is to use humor; other times it’s best to take a more serious approach.

Have a look back over this list whenever you need some inspiration, and maybe even share it with your wider team.

If you find copywriting difficult or want to save time, get help from AI writing tools like ContentShake.

It’ll help you craft copy faster, rewrite, simplify, or expand text with AI, and optimize your content for engagement and traffic.

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