Originally commissioned by the Westinghouse Company in 1942, the iconic “We Can Do It!” poster was painted by artist J. Howard Miller. The poster, part of a series created to boost the morale of the company’s female employees during World War II, was only displayed at company locations in the Midwest for two weeks before disappearing for around 40 years. Rediscovered in the early 1980s, the poster was nicknamed “Rosie the Riveter” and used to promote feminism, self-empowerment and other important issues.
When I created my “Phasma the Riveter” parody ad, I decided to flip the script on the original image’s message. While the Captain Phasma character gave us a woman of strength and authority in the new Star Wars trilogy, she’s still a villain. So I figured she’d be more likely to command, rather than lead. Because of this, I switched the message from we can do this to you can do this. It feels more authentic for her character.
As a copywriter, you not only have to create an engaging message, but you have to deliver it in the voice of the client. Plus, no matter how beautiful or awesome an image is, without the words to go with it, it’s just a picture. It’s the copy/content that makes it an ad.
Until next time… May the Force be with you