Could this be the most enticing job ad ever?

Every morning, my inbox is littered with job ads. The Guardian, Brand Republic, Monster... Not that I’m especially looking for a new job – freelancing from the comfort of my own office at home makes me very happy – but it’s always worth keeping an eye on what’s out there, just in case. By and large, though, I hit the delete button pretty quickly.

But this morning I didn’t. Because I saw a job ad for a creative based in the Maldives.

Yes, the Maldives. The place where I’m going to take my wife once we’ve won a troubling legal battle, just as a reward to ourselves for getting through it. The Maldives. Where there’s nothing to do but eat, sleep, swim and relax. The Maldives. Where those around you make you feel like the king or queen of the world. The Maldives. Where your troubles will slip away into the crystal clear waters.

Why wouldn’t I want to take my laptop and be creative by the Indian Ocean?

But it was a joke. You people at Innocent are evil, EVIL people to play with my emotions so! (Disclaimer: they’re not evil; they’re funny and clever.) Here’s the ad – one of the best I’ve ever seen:

job in maldives

creative

Just joking. But keep checking back.

If you'd like to send us your CV just in case we do open up in the Maldives, or your dream job comes along a little closer to home, then click below. We'd love to hear from you.

skills

Applicants should be a team player, have a keen eye for detail, and should possess the telekinetic ability to command all creatures of the ocean to do their bidding.

Should also be at least semi-conversant in Maldivian.

perks

Use of the company hover-car.

Free pens.

It’s pretty clear what makes this ad so good. It’s friendly, it’s humorous, it’s bang on brand, and it makes me want to work for them. A joke it may have been, but it got me clicking through to their website – and while I was there, I had a good old nose around.

Innocent have a very particular style, but the overriding quality can be pretty much summed up in two words: friendly and fun. Well, those are my offerings, anyway. Even for something as simple as a sign-up box to receive their newsletter, there’s a consistency of tone that will just make people want to insert their email address:

Sign up for love, friendship, a weekly newsletter

Do you want to call them? You can do so on their bananaphone. What’s the name of their HQ in West London? Fruit Towers. Even on the serious stuff like sustainability – which is often a massive yawn to read (and honestly, how many people DO read the sustainability page on any other website?) the Innocent tone of voice shines through and manages to sound sincere even when it’s funny:

“It might make us sound like a Miss World contestant, but here at innocent, we want to leave things a little bit better than we find them.”

As you can tell, I like Innocent. I think their copy is bordering on genius. The only down side is that I know various copywriters whose clients ask them to mimic it. Not only is that tricky to do, it’s also inadvisable. It only works if it’s across the entire brand. There is no point whatsoever in trying to mix and match when it comes to tone of voice. Consistency is key. Innocent’s ToV is very specific – and brilliant. But it is also completely across the brand.

So here’s a tip if you’re engaging a copywriter. Never say to them, “we want to sound like Innocent.” Oh, and the same applies to Apple as well…

by Ashley Morrison

Ashley is a copywriter, blogger and editor