In keeping with the imaginative language used by estate agents up and down the country, Rightmove is vividly describing dream houses in their new ‘Find Your Happy’ ads.
Attempting to read between the lines in a property listing is always fun. Could ‘rustic’ perhaps mean that it needs a lick of paint and some WD-40 on the front gate? Does ‘desirable location’ equate to ‘middle of nowhere’ – because that way the neighbours can’t see you singing into your hairbrush?
Rightmove’s take is that your home is whatever you choose to make it. If you live by the sea and want to call your round windows ‘portholes’ in keeping with the theme, then good for you. There are plenty of sayings on the subject:
Home is where the heart is
Wherever I lay my hat, that’s my home
Home sweet home
The copy is always careful to use the friendly ‘home’ (like all of the above examples) as opposed to the more detached ‘house’. Yes, that was a pun too. One of the ads plays on the old ‘an English person’s home is their castle’ adage, giving the distinct impression of a council flat with a moat around it.
The posters are just as colourful as the words, which conjure up images of happy, cosy homes filled with life and laughter. Stars, butterflies, balloons, leaves and kites in the background all have ‘the sky’ as a common theme. Perhaps they’re subconsciously encouraging future homeowners to be more ambitious in their desires – the sky’s the limit.
One of these posters even starts with the word(?) ‘yay’. Another one begins with ‘ooh’, and a third uses ‘ahh’ to complete the list of things usually said while viewing houses (or fireworks). There’s been a big trend recently for brands to write in the same way that their audience would talk, and from these examples that’s set to continue.
As for the strapline, ‘Find Your Happy’, it’s a turn of phrase used as an inspirational saying to motivate people. The line’s a call to action – go on, get out there and find something to call your own that makes you smile.
What would really make us happy (as well as a mansion of our own) is for our followers on Twitter to suggest their favourite ads. Tweet @strattoncraig with your ideas, and follow up with one telling us why it made you smile.
Ad of the Week – Rightmove 'Find Your Happy'
