Longtime followers of the Annual Catalog Awards are well aware of New Pig’s dominance of the industrial supplies category. Well, as one judge says, “This year New Pig does it again.” The cataloger of facility leak and spill products has again run away with the Gold Award.
New Pig’s excellence starts on the front cover, an illustration of its trademark pig character schussing down a ski slope, maneuvering around flags touting new products and special offers. “What a refuge from the same old boring covers that so many industrial supplies catalogs have,” raves a panelist.
And the fun doesn’t stop at the cover. Cartoon pigs dash in and out of product shots; special offers are highlighted with an icon of a piggy bank; a photo of safety suits is propped so that the unoccupied coveralls appear to, as the headline notes, “kick up [their] heels.” As a judge says, “Nobody does a better job of using humor to showcase merchandise.”
New Pig doesn’t let the fun and games detract from its credibility, though; after all, safety products are serious business. Space throughout the catalog is devoted to articles with such titles as “What Everybody Ought to Know About Industrial Spills” and “Recycle Liquid and Eliminate Waste by Vacuuming Spills.” A page selling absorbent socks, pads, and the like details what to do when cleaning up spills of less than 10 gallons and of more than 10 gallons. One panelist marvels, “Although I know nothing about this subject, after reading the catalog I feel like I’m well versed in leak and spill solutions.” And talk about benefit-driven text! It’s hard to beat headlines like “Hey, printers! Removing oil from your water circulators has never been this easy” or “Ship hazardous waste safely-at a fraction of the cost of a drum.”
The cataloger also shows the product in use, depicting workers laying leak containment socks around oily spills, blotting paint with pads, and mopping up greasy slicks. To keep one spill from looking too much like another, New Pig “uses a variety of crisp, clean layouts throughout,” notes a judge. Spreads showing exaggerated “before” and pristine “after” shots reinforce product benefits.
What with the entertaining yet informative creative, it’s easy to overlook New Pig’s stellar service. The order form lists “12 Great Reasons to Buy >From the Leader,” citing, among other benefits, same-day shipping for 95% of all orders, electronic data interchange ordering capability, free fax-back product spec sheets, and trained technical advisers. In the words of one judge, “New Pig means business!”
But New Pig also knows that sometimes there’s no harm in mixing business with pleasure. And that’s why, having worked hard with its benefit-driven copy, abundant customer testimonials, and peerless customer service, New Pig can create a spokespig named Flabby yet still maintain its credibility and sell product-and once again win a Gold Award.