The About Samsonite page throws around important sounding phrases about embodying the brand, leveraging craftsmanship, and creating unique solutions.
By identifying trends and interpreting travelers’ needs, Samsonite continues to infuse innovation and new ideas into travel, re-igniting the sophistication and experience of the past.
Yawn.
It’s a good example of the way big companies wind up talking. Bloated language is what happens when copy gets filtered through a committee.
Compare that to The Saddleback Story, the tale behind bagmaker Saddleback Leather.
It all began when I had my first bag made while living in Southern Mexico as a volunteer English teacher to kids who needed a little help. I had looked everywhere for just the right bag, but with no luck…
In my search, I walked into a little leather shop and met the fellow working leather in the back. I asked him if he could make me a bag if I were to draw it out. I told him that I wanted this bag to be made so well that my grandkids would be fighting over it while I was still warm in the grave. He said “Si” and I said “Bueno” and that’s how it all started.
And it continues from there. Now that’s copy with a pulse. A personal story like that is something a little guy can deliver that a big corp can’t. A tiny company can bring people inside the fold this way and turn a perceived weakness (small size) into a strength.
Saddleback also does a great job of promoting through education, like at the site’s Leather 101 page.
Whether or not you buy a leather piece from us, you need to understand leather so you don’t get burned. After reading this short page, you’ll know why some bags are so expensive and some aren’t. You’ll know why some leather cracks and tears quickly and some doesn’t. And you’ll also know what to look for and what to look out for.
The site even offers links to competitors.
Do you think that our competitors would actually put a link to our website on theirs? I’m so confident that you’ll find our classic look and over-engineered durability so hard to resist that I want you to shop around. Go ahead… the more you shop, the better we look.
After a purchase, the good vibes continue:
Just wanted to let you know that I sent your leather out just a little bit ago. Your tracking number is listed below along with a link to the shipping company so you can track your leather piece every couple of hours. To care for your leather piece and read about the photo contest please see the Questions page on the website. I have all sorts of tips to keep your leather in top shape. Oh, and by the way, I didn’t want to tell you this before you joined, but 10% of the gross amount that you gave to Saddleback went directly to one of those aid organizations on the Dave’s Links page. If you spent $500 + $20 for shipping then $52 went out to love people. Basically, you just contributed to drilling a well for an entire village or partially sponsored a 5 year old street kid in Rwanda to get into a loving orphanage and go to one of the best schools in the country. This is the main reason Saddleback Leather exists. Just wanted to let you know… between friends. Thanks for helping.
The way I see it, out of the thousands and thousands of companies in the world, on the Internet or down on the corner selling leather goods, you chose mine and I really do feel honored. You are very much appreciated.. Welcome to the family.
Above: Beautiful guitar strap made by Saddleback for Anthology Gear Wear.
max
on 10 Dec 09Yeah, but at some point, it comes of a little masturbatory.
I’d rather more big pictures of leathery goodness and less stuff about Jesus (on the home page).
Mark
on 10 Dec 09Interesting. Saddleback’s approach to copy is reminiscent of the J. Peterman Catalog’s. All makes it seem more human. Approachable. Good stuff.
Andy T
on 10 Dec 09A sense of humor too (zoom the license):
http://www.saddlebackleather.com/categories/90-Wallets-Small/products/1710-Leather-Small-Wallet-Dark-Coffee-Brown
Blue Sail Creative
on 10 Dec 09I think the idea is a solid one its just I agree with max, that after at little bit it gets to be too much. the whole part about,
“Oh, and by the way,”
it sounds forced.
I think what connects more is the nice gesture you do afterwards and the welcoming to the family. Those two issues after the fact make me feel warm inside.
Blue Sail Creative
on 10 Dec 09Ahh j peterman haha
JF
on 10 Dec 09Andy: Great find with the license!
merle
on 10 Dec 09That big suitcase looks like the Harvey Keitel model.
Jeff Hartman
on 10 Dec 09I absolutely love the part in Common Questions about choosing a color product based on your personality type (Sanguine, Choleric, Phlegmatic, or Melancholic).
This is some of the best writing I’ve seen on the web. I’ve not purchased from them yet, but I’m already a customer for life.
gvb
on 10 Dec 09More good copy from their Leather 101 page, a nice turn of phrase:
All of our edges are unfinished and unpainted so you can see they’re the same color throughout. They don’t look as perfect and “Pretty boy” this way, but that’s fine. They’re not perfect and that’s what makes them perfect.
Nick
on 10 Dec 09Reminded me Tom Waits song “Just the right bullets”.
You must be careful in the forest Broken glass and rusty nails If you’re to bring back something for us I have bullets for sale
http://www.lyricstime.com/tom-waits-just-the-right-bullets-lyrics.html
KL
on 11 Dec 09But Samsonite is a multimillion dollar company. Frankly I don’t mind boring corporate-speak if that could help me create a company that big.
Duff OMelia
on 11 Dec 09Jeff Hartman – I found some of the answers in the Common Questions tab to be quite funny, especially the “How can I get my spouse to understand that I need this” question. Great stuff.
Dave’s passion for making something of quality is evident throughout the site.
They even have a video of a crocodile biting one of their bags.
Jason Zipperer
on 11 Dec 09Masturbatory?! Just because his passions don’t line up with yours? I wonder if the same critique would be made if it was about how ‘green’ his products were.
His passion is what makes his site so unique. He puts himself out there. If his passions include his faith, then so be it.
Berserk
on 11 Dec 09If the same text appeared on a multi-billion dollar website it would still feel ‘false’. What I mean is the simple fact that we (at least I) can’t judge the text separated from who wrote/said it. A personal text from a big company is not trusted as such (maybe excepted if the company has one strong character (Bezos, Jobs, Branson, ...). But it still feels more enterprise-talky than a Saddleback sized company’s copy.
Jagath
on 11 Dec 09@Berserk, Good point. When we read something, we also associate that with everything that person (or company) has said before. So if Samsonite were to use a more personal style, they’ll have to build it up gradually or else it will sound fake.
Neal
on 11 Dec 09Definitely makes me think of Elaine and Peterman in Seinfeld-
Peterman- “Then in the distance I heard the bulls. I began running as fast as I could. Fortunately I was wearing my Italian Captoe Oxfords. Sophisticated yet different; nothing to make a huge fuss about. Rich dark brown calfskin leather. Matching leather vent. Men’s whole and half sizes 7 through 13. Price $135.”
Elaine- “Oh, this innocent looking shirt has something which isn’t innocent at all. Touchability! Heavy, silky Italian cotton, with a fine almost terrycloth like feeling. Five button placket, relaxed fit, innocence and mayhem at once!”
Bill Giovannetti
on 12 Dec 09“Worship service?” he said, mockingly.
“Ahh,” I replied, rubbing the three day stubble on my chin and regretting I’d only drunk decaf that wintry morning. “Our 10:30 service is tinged with the chaste insouciance of youth but without the artifice of the emergent movement; a kind of pneumatic flair that captivates the imagination even as it rocks your soul to the foundation. Dress is casual, and coffee is served.”
—-Like that, right?
Chris
on 13 Dec 09Yes, there is something great here, but at some point it does become too masturbatory.
It reminds me of Virgin Mobile (Austraila). I go with them because their prepaid prices are the lowest and the clearest (or at least, the least unclear). But their constant trying-to-be-cool youth branding is really just annoying.
I might be more up for making an emotional connection with a leather travel goods specialist than a mobile phone provider, but still, they are pushing so hard to act like an old friend that it all seems quite phoney.
A story, promotion through education and a bit of “good vibes” does make a good impression though.
Ben McGrath
on 13 Dec 09Has anybody commented on the sharkdiving photo yet? Hilarious http://www.saddlebackleather.com/19-saddleback-story
Phillip Harrington
on 16 Dec 09I’d rather take a stab at incorporating this inspiration into my own writing before I wrote it off as masturbatory.
The end of the follow-up email was downright touching.
Phillip Harrington
on 16 Dec 09Pretty urls too. Always nice to see.
This discussion is closed.