I love it when brands have a personality.
Yeah, in today’s D2C, ecomm-and-distribution-focused world it seems that many brand sites lack spark. This is probably strategic - getting the tone right is tough, and in many cases investing in extra zing in copy is not needed. But in many cases I feel it’s either because of a lack of imagination (“hygiene works”) or watering down (“this is too edgy, it might alienate some people, not everyone gets puns involving HR SaaS tools and progressive metal Chuck stop it”).
Still. I feel one remembers and appreciates good copy. I often point to The Whole Truth as an example - I have heard from so many people the impact that the copy on their box and packaging leaves. (here’s a full case study that their design firm did).
So today, in an age I wanted to share four websites that I think are imminently readable. And it a bid to keep this uniform, I’m only sharing brand websites that made me laugh - I am sure there are several other well-written ones in many other tones of voice.
dBrand
They are a phone case / digital accessories brand that has one heck of a sassy tone. The below is on most product pages:
They don’t mind ruffling some feathers:
Neither do they mind mocking customers:
I can go on and on, but will just leave the website link for you to enjoy.
Bonus: Analysis of their copywriting style by Edify Content and Pepper Content.
Oatly
Now see Oatly deserves a full edition by itself. Its campaigns, its social media spunk, its packaging content - are all fabulous. But let’s stick to the theme here and talk about the website. I mean the metadata itself flies in the face of SEO best practices which in this overengineered day and age should get some points:
At first blush the site is just nice. Good illustrations, memorable font… Nice happy stuff.
But then dig around and you find some absolute gems, like this, hidden away in the FAQs:
(And yes, fckoatly is an official site devoted to brand hate)
And have you seen anyone de-sell their no sugar product as much?
Or welcome complaints?
Going beyond product pages - their blog and updates section is filled to the brim with very readabale content and not the usual corpobabble.
And if all this makes you want to work at Oatly, you’ll like the company page:
Nice. Explore Oatly here.
Schiit
A relatively brand of audio products (DACs, amplifiers and all those things) from the US. This site has the tone of voice that can only be described as “two nerdy engineers who know their stuff, and are confident enough about their products to not be bothered with social niceties”. Not that the site is rude, but it’s clear they’re not exactly bending over backwards to fill the top of the funnel.
Let’s start with that name, which proudly adorns their classy metal-clad amps:
While the product pages have a fair bit of sass, it’s the individual product FAQs - painstakingly written - that are the true gold (and yes, it’s nerdy - but it’ll appeal to a certain kind of chilled-out audiophile):
The brand is at its best with their cheapest products. Go to the product page, and pick stuff under $200 and enjoy gems such as:
And they are unapologetic.
Beyond FAQs, they have some nice values they translate into text, like why they don’t do deals:
It’s a bit of a niche site and perhaps even a dated design - but heck, the company seems to be doing well and they even have a book.
So check Schiit out here.
DiveIndia
Had to sneak this one in. When I first got into scuba diving, I discovered DiveIndia’s website and loved the funny, unpretentious tone with honest, non-salesy info.
Sample these:
As far as the islands go, Havelock is one of the more “developed” destinations: we now have 2 ATMS, taxis and even regular ice-cream! And of course, great white sand beaches, diving, snorkeling, fishing and a lot more.
Their bios are hilarious, even by dive site standards. Here’s the owner:
Given it’s a small operation, it’s remarkable they have written as much stuff on their site as they have, and I’ve read a fair number of dive sites from around South East Asia. While it’s not all funny/sass, it’s still a damn good site targeted to divers. Read it here.
These were some sites I remember - I’m sure you have a bunch too, so hit me up with them. Love getting examples from readers.
Updates
Moar antitrust regulation against Big Tech - this time from India, and Europe’s Digital Markets Act is meant to stifle these firms’ unfettered growth. Here’s how some of the gatekeepers are responding.
FigureAI, a humanoid robot startup, has got a lot of funding recently, notably from Bezos, OpenAI, and Nvidia.
Here are all the winners of India’s first National Creators Awards.
Musk sues OpenAI for… abandoning its mission, it seems. OpenAI fights back, saying he was always on board for the profit motive.
Whistleblowers are calling out AI’s flaws.
Expect ads in AI chatbots soon.
TikTok is moving towards being banned in the US - and its users are letting lawmakers know they’re livid.
TRAI is looking to build a new audience measurement platform, replacing BARC.
Another year, another attempt by Flipkart to crack quick commerce. Meanwhile, the incumbents are adding all kinds of categories.
Even Alphabet and Meta are surprised at how much Temu - the Shien competitor - is spending on them in its US push.
Apple’s being damn petty, cancelling Epic Games’ developer account in the EU after the Fortnite developer planned to open its own app store. This, in the same week that the Cupertino company was fined $2b for hindering music streaming competition… Ah, just the cost of doing business.
It’s nice that Flipkart launched its own UPI thingy with Axis Bank but did it really need to name the handle fkaxis?
Reads
Meet Microsoft’s new default font - Aptos. (from a year ago, yes, but the font has only recently worked its way into Office).
You might not need a screenguard for your phone anymore.
Was only a matter of time before we saw a ‘prompt engineering is dead’ headline.
An excellent analysis of English vs regional languages for apps. This part in particular:
Song for the week
Tenacious D’s magnificent cover of Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time. That man, Jack Black!
See you next week with more things from the internet. Don’t forget to send me cool brand websites!
Chuck