If you’re like me, you might have giggled the first time you heard an advertisement for an underwear subscription service on your favorite podcast—and laughed when you considered the idea of buying matching briefs with your partner. But, as lucrative startups in this space have proved, underwear is no joke.
Online retailers have disrupted the market for drawers and delicates, partially thanks to their genius website copy. Here are a few copy lessons marketers can take away from modern undergarment brands.
Humor hooks customers
Perhaps the most prominent of the bunch is MeUndies. The private company, whose 2019 revenue was reported to be at least $75 million, is one of many transforming this retail niche. When describing this brand, unconventional is an understatement. Their copy is as vibrant and zany as the graphics on their underwear, which range from donut briefs to cannabis-leaf joggers.
In their copy—and quite literally through their products—MeUndies is saying goodbye to tighty whities and hello to unicorn boxers. Take, for example, the suggestive peach emoji sprinkled around their website or the headline on their landing page, “WTF Is MicroModal?”
Do all brands need to be quite as bold? Of course not. But this strategy works so well for MeUndies because underwear are, well, funny. (There’s a reason Captain Underpants has been translated into 20 languages.) For those who want to take their passion for panties a step further, MeUndies allows customers to buy matching garments for their better halves and have new pairs delivered to their doors every month.
MeUndies is run by a self-proclaimed “cheek squad,” and this team skillfully aligns copy with their target audience and brand. Their pithy, humorous website is a playground for anyone willing to laugh at himself, and the company’s unabashed personality attracts intrigued consumers. If MeUndies has taught us anything, it’s that a bit of strategic humor can go a long way.
Showcase what makes your brand exceptional
Copy serves as the salesman for a product or service, convincing customers to make a purchase. Expressive, descriptive website copy means more sales—even for underwear brands less brazen than MeUndies, like CDLP, Nice Laundry, and ThirdLove.
A few years ago, most people would have agreed that all underwear is comparable, as long as it gets the job done. But the way we think about undergarments is changing due to shrewd copywriting and marketing.
CDLP is not just a clothing manufacturer—it’s the pioneer of a “boxer rebellion,” or so they claim on their “About” page. Likewise, Nice Laundry touts to be “the most comfortable softwear in the world.” Through such copy, undergarments are taking on a new dimension, sporting more perks and becoming more thoughtful products.
Taking a page from the food industry’s book, these brands are using words to evoke our senses. And according to their websites, comfort is king. ThirdLove, the women’s bra and underwear company, says their Daydream collection provides “a cloud nine feeling in romantic lace.” MeUndies takes a similar approach in describing their MicroModal cloth: “Our super-soft fabric is sustainably-sourced from beechwood trees and feels like pure heaven.” Here, MeUndies is also showcasing its social conscience.
These brands are checking all the boxes that time-pressed, concerned shoppers are looking for today. Not only do their websites tell you endless details about their products—where their garments are made and which factory is manufacturing them, how environmentally sustainable they are, and whether they’re beloved by Gigi Hadid or Kendall Jenner—but they do so in such a way that teaches the reader to see something as mundane as undies in a new light.
Websites are prime real estate
For online retailers, websites can be the difference between flourish and flop. Online retailers have a captive audience because customers must visit their websites to purchase products (rather than buying them in a department store). Through purposeful web copy, these companies can persuasively pitch consumers and maximize the advantage they hold over their brick-and-mortar counterparts.
Today, underwear isn’t just underwear. It’s fashion, technology, and necessity, all at the same time—no need to choose. In an age where our purchases define us and shopping habits are becoming more discerning, we’ll see more products marketed as a departure from business as usual.
“We want our undies to mean something to you,” reads a blurb on MeUndies’ website. They know that great copy can revolutionize an industry and make us desire things we never knew existed. If you don’t believe me, look for yourself. But be warned: after reading, you just might have to make a purchase.
If your web copy needs some sprucing up, MarketSmiths’ team of witty writers is happy to help. Contact us today for concise, effective words for your product or service.
