The billboard I walk past often first got me interested when The Good Taste Company’s dips, endorsed by chef Michael van de Elzen, used the term “My great tasting dips are good from scratch”.

Originally, it was the ‘good from scratch component that took my fancy

Good from scratch is very close to, though obviously different to made from scratch. It also ties in too with the company name Good Taste.

But it gives that strong impression they’re doing what I’d do at home myself, starting with vegetables and taking it from there.

The image too is wonderfully reinforcing. It is as if Michael’s chopped up all the ingredients himself and is handmaking these dips, just for me.

Whoever came up with the line and just as important the reinforcing image, deserves a truffle dip, specially made by Michael.

This is because a simple message is really hard to craft in the first instance. Throw in that message also needs to be simple and persuasive, then this mini-story has an even more difficult task.

This is a million dollar message. It is deceptively engaging and believable.

Somebody, literally started with scratch – realised that making a claim ‘made from scratch’ is a harder sell. There’s a danger in its ambiguity of meaning.

There’s an interesting blog here from Robin Shreeves in the Mother Nature Network that asks some interesting questions – around what does the term actually mean.

(Check out from scratch too at the English Language and Usage Exchange – a very interesting read).

The image and words of this advertisement allude to how we’d like to think we’d do it ourselves – we use self-persuasion – that reinforces and reminds ourselves of the superiority of these dips.

It is a million dollar message.