In the city yesterday for a trip to the dentist…

…I noticed this classic headline template being used in an ad at a camera store…

“The Lenses Canon And Nikon Don’t Want You To Know About”

Now, this is presumably aimed at people who are serious about photography (the average person is simply going to use a camera that’s ready to go).

And it plays on a number of classic copywriting themes…

First up, there’s the “secrets” angle, of course.

People hate to think that they’re missing out…or worse that someone else has an edge over them.

(Conversely, impolite of me though it may be to say so, many people love the idea of being “in the know” and hence ahead of the crowd.)

Linked in with this is the very powerful curiosity factor.

What are these lenses?

Secondly, there’s the ‘rant” against the “big guys”.

Now, I don’t really know how photographers view Canon and Nikon.

And I generally deplore mindless attacks against corporations.

However, you have to recognise that this kind of appeal can often work.