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# How to use literary devices to write sticky headlines
- URL: https://www.unbore.com/how-to-use-literary-devices-to-write-sticky-headlines/
- Published: 2026-02-25T19:09:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-06T15:10:49.000Z
- Description: I went through 300+ brand taglines. Most of them use one of these 24 rhetorical devices.
- Author: Shlomo Genchin
- Tags: Copywriting

Hey! I went through 300+ brand taglines. Most of them use one of these 24 rhetorical devices:

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379272104-c5E5GzUpDCScxGWeejZfw9-724x1024.jpeg)

[​Download this cheatsheet (pdf)​](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-uhn5HCmFKEOGkt8uoJcqYTfblFTApnj/view?ref=unbore.com)

So, usually, a copywriter has two tasks:

• Decide what to say.  
• Decide how to say it.

Today we’re focusing on the “how.” ​

### Let’s break it down 👇

## 1\. Personification

Give human traits to non-human things.

## 2\. Allusion

Mention a well-known person, place, concept, or event.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379272492-sPWLTcks7czziuE7qoSqPJ.jpeg)

## 

## 3\. Hyperbole

Exaggerate to make a point.

## 4\. Paradox

Make a statement that contradicts itself but is actually true.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379272799-m7djAT6qr7LNcz95WQWNir-768x576.jpeg)

## 

## 5\. Chiasmus

Reverse the order of words in two parallel phrases.

## 6\. Asyndeton

Skip conjunctions (like “and,” or “but”) in a list.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379273230-akvAwS3GiYfBkkFvhMpEEd-768x576.jpeg)

## 

## 7\. Alliteration

Start two or more words with the same sound.

## 8\. Pleonasm

Use more words than necessary to explain the benefit.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379273741-ufTxui8b3qFS7jArYNvGaS.jpeg)

## 

## 9\. Onomatopoeia

Find words that sound like the product or its benefit.

## 10\. Dialogue

Use a sentence the customer would say in a real conversation.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379274253-36dRwirxR6AAM118STptyh.jpeg)

## 

## 11\. Antithesis

Put two opposite words or ideas in the same sentence.

## 12\. Oxymoron

Combine contradictory terms.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379274629-ezApiUy9FNqyr2CtESNSh8.jpeg)

## 

## 13\. Paraprosdokian

Twist a familiar sentence.

## 14\. Anaphora

Start different sentences with the same word.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379275071-gV77hbEimjWsbks1A6Cm1.jpeg)

## 

## 15\. Pun

Ask your dad. Or any dad.

## 16\. Rhetorical Question

Ask something not to get an answer, but to emphasize a point.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379275447-6bjbTwgxr51bEaQpyxrYaQ.jpeg)

## 

## 17\. Simile

Explain the product using “like” or “as.”

## 18\. Metaphor

Describe the product by comparing it to something unrelated.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379275942-ttxKRjtqtToyBcDEYewKHr.jpeg)

## 19\. Rhyme

Use words that have the same or similar ending sounds.

## 20\. Parallelism

Structure parts of a sentence to mirror each other.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379276404-fZQvq1FQ6AaPuHJFmqb4Df.jpeg)

## 21\. Epistrophe

End sentences with the same word.

## 22\. Climax

Present ideas from least to most important/surprising.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379276883-kk6Yty6KWcMo5nqVjBuhHc.jpeg)

## 23\. Understatement

Express an idea as less important than it actually is.

## 24\. Imperative

Give instructions or commands.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/7c/567cd7c2-834c-4b5b-a024-a798f2ebbdf8/content/images/2026/03/1772379277426-8JMCQCAaqarZQ5XErmDqJs.jpeg)