Writing a tagline that grabs attention

I was thinking about Itsu’s line ‘Eat beautiful’ recently while I ate my omega-3 salmon poke 🍣

I think it’s a great line, and here are my salmon-fuelled thoughts on why. 

Why it works

It works because it’s unexpected. We’re constantly being told to eat well or eat better or eat healthily. The word ‘beautiful’ is out of context. It’s not usually associated with food or the effects of food. 

And despite the unexpected combination of words, we aren’t in any doubt as to what the phrase means. I don’t know about you, but I find it pretty compelling. I love the thought of ‘eating beautifully’. It sounds so simple, so radical, so appealing. 

And it has a lovely double meaning. The implication is that not only is the food beautiful, but that you’ll be more beautiful for eating it. It says something lovely about what you put on the inside being important for affecting what’s on the outside. Which I’d say is at the core of Itsu’s mission as a brand. 

“We’re on a mission to share delicious, healthy, Asian-inspired food with as many people as possible.”

Elsewhere on their site they talk about respect, precision and passion, words you might more likely associate with an art form than with premade sushi. Which ties nicely back with that use of the word ‘beautiful’.

Grammatically, it’s a close cousin (and likely inspired by) Apple’s ‘Think different’. Instead of a verb and an adverb (‘Think differently’) you’ve got a verb and an adjective. It’s not technically correct, but it works. It feels more concrete, more confident. More like the destination, less like the journey.

And remember that it’s in the imperative form, it’s an instruction. Like ‘give way’ or ‘mind the gap’. We’re being told what to do. It’s powerful, it’s strong. It’s a great way to start any sentence where you want your customer to sit up and pay attention.

Make it work for you

Is there an unexpected verb + adjective combo that could describe what your business offers? First, think up some verbs that best describe what your service or product enables your customers to do. Next, describe the state they’ll reach once they’ve used your product or service. Take a look at your two lists of words and start matching them up to see if any stick. 

If you’d like to chat more about writing for your business, I’d love to hear from you.