I think Innocent Drinks started the cutesy copy trend. What better way to make your brand seem more friendly, approachable and quirky? It’s why they tell you to “shake it up baby” on their smoothie labels (translation: shake before drinking).

But over the last couple of years it’s taken off. Big time. Everyone wants their brand to be cuddly, and it’s starting to grate a bit.

Why sell sparkling water when you could sell “bumpy water”? Why put up a sign saying a house is sold when you can say it’s been “spoken for”? These are just two examples I’ve spotted in the past couple of weeks.

I think there comes a point when quirky, cutesy copy just looks contrived. Like the bloke in the pub wearing designer gear and talking a bit too loudly, it just makes you cringe.

I’m not saying there isn’t a place for it. But there’s a fine line between looking clever and looking like you’re trying too hard. And right now, I don’t think cutesy copy alone is enough to separate your brand from the competition. So maybe it’s time to find another way to be different.

Consistency’s important when it comes to writing for the web. After all, you want your readers to know what you’re talking about. And that means not confusing them by giving one thing several different names.

This was the central premise of a conversation I had last week. And it was absolutely right – to a point. You don’t want to confuse the reader. So if something has a name, you stick to it.

But my view is that there’s a balance to be struck here. When you write for the web, you tend to write in a conversational style. You write like you speak.

Nobody uses the same words over and over again in conversation. It’s boring, and it sounds silly – like talking in a monotone. So any ‘conversational’ copy with the same lack of variety just isn’t going to sound right.

If you truly want to engage the reader, your copy needs to stand up and grab their attention. To do that, variety is vital; without it, you’ll sound stilted and contrived. Almost like a machine wrote the text for you. And that’s not going to impress anyone.