Hey! I went through 300+ brand taglines. Most of them use one of these 24 rhetorical devices:
Download this cheatsheet (pdf)
So, usually, a copywriter has two tasks:
• Decide what to say.
• Decide how to say it.
Today we’re focusing on the “how.”
Let’s break it down 👇
1. Personification
Give human traits to non-human things.
2. Allusion
Mention a well-known person, place, concept, or event.
3. Hyperbole
Exaggerate to make a point.
4. Paradox
Make a statement that contradicts itself but is actually true.
5. Chiasmus
Reverse the order of words in two parallel phrases.
6. Asyndeton
Skip conjunctions (like “and,” or “but”) in a list.
7. Alliteration
Start two or more words with the same sound.
8. Pleonasm
Use more words than necessary to explain the benefit.
9. Onomatopoeia
Find words that sound like the product or its benefit.
10. Dialogue
Use a sentence the customer would say in a real conversation.
11. Antithesis
Put two opposite words or ideas in the same sentence.
12. Oxymoron
Combine contradictory terms.
13. Paraprosdokian
Twist a familiar sentence.
14. Anaphora
Start different sentences with the same word.
15. Pun
Ask your dad. Or any dad.
16. Rhetorical Question
Ask something not to get an answer, but to emphasize a point.
17. Simile
Explain the product using “like” or “as.”
18. Metaphor
Describe the product by comparing it to something unrelated.
19. Rhyme
Use words that have the same or similar ending sounds.
20. Parallelism
Structure parts of a sentence to mirror each other.
21. Epistrophe
End sentences with the same word.
22. Climax
Present ideas from least to most important/surprising.
23. Understatement
Express an idea as less important than it actually is.
24. Imperative
Give instructions or commands.
