“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”

That’s a quote from photographer Dorothea Lange.

I was inspired by Jonathan Alger’s piece about whether or not you want visitors to a museum exhibit asking, “Wow, who designed that?

In my mind, copywriting (and, in fact, marketing in general) falls into this same category.

The focus should be on the thing being sold, on the idea being promoted, not on the person or team hired to sell or promote it.

This is interesting because, at the same time, we all (copywriters and marketers) seek to develop our own style, our own brand—only to then distance ourselves from it once hired to write/design/market for someone else.

I don’t really have an answer here; it’s just something I find interesting.

What do you think?

Should you be able to say, “That’s a Harmon Brothers video,” or “This is definitely a Punchline page”?

(Either way, kudos to those brands for being so identifiable as to be the first that sprang to mind when I tried to think of examples.)

Transparently,
James