Brand Voice Swap Archive

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Brand voice isn't some vague, fuzzy, woo-woo thing. There's actually a science to it. You can measure the different components - and then you can mimic them.

To create these voice swaps, I pull 25 random bits of content from each brand. These might be web pages, emails, ads, social media posts, or commercial scripts. In the real world, it's hard to get a deep grasp of voice from 25 random lines. But for my purposes here, it works.

Take a look.👇

Here's what happens when you swap the voices of two brands

This is an ongoing list. I post these breakdowns fairly regularly to LinkedIn, so if you want to see them when they're fresh and new, follow me there.

Irish Spring and Old Spice Voice Swap (click the arrows to scroll through the gallery)

Evian and Liquid Death Voice Swap (click the arrows to scroll through the gallery)

Starbucks and Dunkin' Voice Swap (click the arrows to scroll through the gallery)

  • Average reading level: 3rd gradeBalanced use of "you" vs. "me" languageAverage word length: 5 lettersAverage sentence length: 5 wordsDescriptive tones: Community-orientedEmpatheticCaringEncouragingIndulgent
  • Average reading level: 2nd gradeAbout 30% more "me" than "you"Average word length: 4 lettersAverage sentence length: 5 wordsDescriptive tones: IrreverentCasualCheekyPlayfulHard-working
  • Starbucks lines written in Dunkin's voice: Original: Make afternoons delicious. Our food is made with the same care and quality as every beverage we serve.New: Why should mornings get all the fun? Make the Dunkin' lunch run your new thing. Original: You don’t have to “earn” your Pistachio Latte. But it is a nice way to celebrate little wins.New: Daylight Savings: If you're not an hour late today, you earned a Pistachio Latte. If you are an hour late today, you need a Pistachio Latte. Original: Manifesting an iced coffee, no matter what the weather app says.New: Forget the groundhog. Every season is iced coffee season.
  • Dunkin' lines written in Starbucks' voice: Original: Some people wake up at 6 am and go for a run. Others wake up at 6 am and go for a Dunkin’ run.New: Whether you're going for a run or running out for coffee, good morning. Original: Iced cold liquid hustle. Dunkin’ iced.New: Energize your ambition. Together, there's nothing we can't do. Original: Off menu. On trend. Unlock hidden flavors on the Dunkin’ app.New: Discover exclusive flavors when you join our community through the Dunkin' app.

Ford and Lexus Voice Swap (click the arrows to scroll through the gallery)

  • Average reading level: 6th gradeBlue-collar, everyman viewpointBalanced between you:me wordsAverage word length: 5 lettersAverage sentence length: 11 wordsDescriptive tones: PatrioticDependableHardworkingCommunityApproachable
  • most frequently used words in a sample of Ford branded copy
  • Average reading level: 5th gradeLuxuriant toneYou-centric languageAverage word length: 5 lettersAverage sentence length: 8 wordsDescriptive tones: RelaxedLuxuriousCuriousAdmiringIndulgent
  • most frequently used words in a sample of Lexus copy
  • Ford lines written in Lexus' voice:Original: Monday through Friday: work hard. Weekend: play harder. That’s how Ford trucks roll.New: Seamlessly shift from weekday activities to weekend adventures. Wherever life takes you, arrive in style.Original: Then: TOUGH. Now: TOUGH. Some things never change.New: Timeless craftsmanship. Quality construction. Excellence never goes out of style.
  • Lexus lines written in Ford's style:Original: Crafted with luxury in mind and engineered with the environment at heart.New: We're all in this together. Built for you. Engineered for the planet.Original: Effortlessly blurring the lines between human and machine. Just one of the ways Lexus is making luxury personal.New: It's more than your car. It's an extension of you. That's why we build vehicles as tough, as dependable, and as innovative as the people who drive them.

Yoda and Gandalf Voice Swap (click the arrows to scroll through the gallery)

  • Average reading level: KindergartenConscientious viewpointCautionary toneAverage word length: 4 lettersAverage sentence length: 7 wordsDescriptive tones:ExperiencedPessimisticDirectAuthoritativeSteadfast
  • most frequently used words in a sample of 25 Yoda quotes
  • Average reading level: 2nd gradeHopeful toneBalanced between sadness and joyAverage word length: 4 lettersAverage sentence length: 12 wordsDescriptive tones:EncouragingWiseInvolvedSupportiveProtective
  • most frequently used words in a random sample of Gandalf quotes
  • Yoda lines in Gandalf's voice: Original: Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you, it will.New: Be brave and follow the light. For many who stray into darkness find there is no return from that path.Original: Do or do not. There is no try.New: The time for halfhearted attempts is past. It is time now to step forth and do what fate demands.
  • Gandalf lines in Yoda's voice: Original: You can learn all there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you.New: Simple are their ways, yes. But full of surprises, their people are.Original: Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.New: Blinded by power, Saruman is. Power cannot contain evil. The light of the Force shared by all things. That is the weapon you must use to fight darkness.

Brand voice goes so much deeper than a brand archetype or persona. Once you dissect it and document it, any content creator worth their salt can mimic it.

This is why brand voice guides are so valuable. If you're the only one creating your content, it can help you maintain consistency, which builds trust. But if you ever have any hope of scaling, you can't create all your own content forever.

When something's gotta give and that something is the time you spend making content, a brand voice guide lets you delegate and disentangle yourself from the weeds. Armed with a breakdown of exactly how to replicate your brand voice, your creators can build content that sounds like it came right from you.

It's the closest thing to cloning yourself.

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