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Remember when Black Friday was on a *cof cof * Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States?
When thousands of people waited outside retail stores in the cold at 5AM?
When the norm was chaos, arrests and grannies punching strangers just to score a 90% off TV?
Now it’s a month-long yawn. No chaos. No fights. No viral news clips of grown adults wrestling over a $99 TV (*Fun times*).
Not even a goddamn pity segment on CNN showing the human circus.
You see, Black Friday used to be an American thing. Now? It’s Global. Like glitter. It just… spreads.
Now it’s Black Week, Black Month, Black Whatever.
Somehow, there’s even a White Week. I live in Portugal, and I swear I’m not making this up. I heard Hyundai Portugal on the radio promoting White Week the other day — Because apparently Black Friday wasn’t confusing enough.
In fact, right now, as you’re reading this, somewhere a marketer is proudly pitching his marketing team a 42-slide deck. And it’s called ‘Why Our 2026 Black Friday Begins in January’—and everyone’s nodding.
Well...I like doing things differently.
So today I’m announcing new.
Forget Black Friday. Black Month, Black Week or Black Whatever.
Today, we celebrate Yada Yada Yada Friday—the holiday for people who’ve heard it all before.
Because if Hyundai can make up shit like a White Week, I can also make up shit like Yada Yada Yada Friday.
And because I’m inventing holidays now, I might as well invent insane deals.
For 24 hours only, grab Dangerous Ideas To Write Like a Copywriter—the 4-hour crash course for bootstrapping business owners—for 85% off.
This is a pay-what-you-want deal. The usual minimum is $59.99. Today, the new minimum is just $9.
Yada yada yada… get it while it lasts.
And because today is Yada Yada Yada Friday here’s also free chapter of Dangerous Ideas To Write Like a Copywriter—the 4-hour crash course for bootstrapping business owners.
This is just one chapter—think of it as a free peek behind the curtain. My course won’t turn you into a 20-year pro copywriter overnight. But it will teach you subversion: the shortcuts, hacks, and subtle tricks that make people actually read every word you write.
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The Angostura Bitters label is too god damn big for the bottle. But it turns out it was born out of a (happy) mistake.
Angostura was an invention of a German physician called Johann Siegert.
In 1820, Siegert moved to Angostura, Venezuela.
He did it to help Simón Bolívar in his war to liberate Venezuela from Spanish rule.
During this period Siegert treated Bolivar’s soldiers and sailors.
But many of these men suffered from seasickness, stomach ailments and malaria.
So Siegert combined gentian with Venezuelan herbs and spices.
The result was a formula for a bitter herb liquor that relieved seasickness and stomach ailments. And helped Bolivar’s troops fight malaria.
In 1870 Siegert died.
So when his three sons Carlos, Alfredo and Luis, took over the business they reframed Angostura Bitters as an cocktail additive, not as a medicinal product.
One day, to promote the business the Siegert brothers decide to enter a competition.
So one of the brothers designs a new bottle. And the other one designs a new label.
But the brothers forgot to discuss one very important thing: bottle and label sizes and dimensions.
So by the time bottles were done and labels were printed it was too late to fix the mistake.
This meant the Siegert brothers had to be a lil creative.
So they fit the small bottle with the oversized label. Then submit Angostura to the competition.
The Siegert brothers *obviously* didn’t win the competition.
But *surprise, surprise* one of the judges told them something they’d never forget.
The judge said, “No one in this business would be stupid enough to make such a mistake. So keep it as it is. This is what we call signature labelling.”
The Siegert brothers followed his advice.
And it turns out the judge was spot on the money. Because the Angostura Bitters label hasn’t changed.
And today you can find Angostura on nearly every bar in the World.
The lesson here is simple. The human brain is wired to notice things that stand out.
Psychologists call this the Von Restorff Effect.
Which is why illogical and brave always beats mediocre but safe ideas.
Naturally, this principle also applies to copywriting.
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Dangerous example:
If everyone in your industry sounds too corporate-y, do the complete opposite. Inject a lil more personality into your website copy.
The Rochambeau Club does this brilliantly.
This is the most gutsy, original, distinct product launch I’ve seen in a gazillion years.
A fictional tennis club to sell a rosé wine brand called *wait for it*... Racquet Rosé.
⇝ “The tennis here is of a good standard (indeed, we are proud to have sent three ball boys to Roland Garros, and Andre Agassi once smoked in the plunge pool). But Rochambeau members find as much to enjoy off the court as on it.”
⇝ “Note: Due to high demand and Antoine’s ongoing elbow issue, there is currently a significant backlog of membership applications.”
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BONUS DANGEROUS IDEA: The inherent drama is “the most direct route to the mind of the reader”.
If I was the copywriter behind Breeo’s website this is how I’d rewrite their hero headline “Smokeless fire pit” into something a bit more relatable to their audience.
1. Attention Grabber⇝“Breeo Has 3 Words”
2. Emotional Reaction Of Using Your Product (Inherent Drama)⇝ “To Get Your Dad Senses Tingling.”
3. Clarify What They’re Buying ⇝ “Smokeless Fire Pit”
Before