Copywriters are the anti-hero

There’s a moment in the series Justified—pretty much once per episode—where Raylan Givens, a man who treats conflict resolution like a contact sport, gives some lowlife one last chance to reconsider their choices.

It’s polite. Measured. Almost friendly.

And then, about two seconds later, the guy’s on the floor, leaking.

That’s Justified in a nutshell. And I love every second of it.

But here’s the thing: we shouldn’t root for Raylan. 

He’s reckless. He bends the law whenever it suits him. He shoots so many people, you’d think the Marshals Service would have an HR rep whose only job is to process his disciplinary hearings.

He’s all but ignoring his baby daughter, whose baby mama is the one girl he should want to be with. All his life decisions are the wrong ones.

And yet, we want him to win. We’re with him, even when he’s the problem.

Raylan’s not some loose-cannon cop who “doesn’t play by the rules” in a corny way. He does play by the rules. His rules. And that’s why we love him.

He’s got a moral compass, it just happens to be slightly cracked and pointing in whatever direction lets him shoot the guy who needs shooting.

And we admire that. Because deep down, we all wish we could bend the rules when it makes sense.

Ever been on hold for 45 minutes and wanted to go full John Wick on the automated menu?
Ever watched a coworker fail upwards and thought, “Oh, so we’re just doing that now?”
Ever fantasized about throwing a burrito at the car that cut you off?

Raylan does the thing we wish we could do. He’s not chaotic; he’s precisely as reckless as the situation requires.

Look, Raylan is a problem. But he’s not Boyd Crowder levels of problem.

Boyd is his old friend turned career criminal turned occasional preacher turned back into a career criminal. And the man is good at it.

Boyd could talk a nun into a Ponzi scheme. He’s the guy who, if he asked for your wallet, you’d thank him for the privilege of giving it up.

So, in contrast, Raylan seems downright responsible. That’s the trick to writing a great anti-hero—make sure the world around him is so crooked that his slightly-less-bad behavior feels justified.

The best copywriters? They’re anti-heroes.

They don’t just follow the rules. They play with them. They know when to color outside the lines, when to drop in a joke, when to go straight for the throat, and when to let the audience connect the dots themselves.

Same reason we love great stand-up comedians.

Comedy, at its core, is about tension and release. A comic sets up an idea, lets the room get just uncomfortable enough, then breaks the tension in a way that makes everyone laugh. The best ones say the thing nobody else will, but in a way that makes you realize you were already thinking it.

Great copy works the same way. If your writing has confidence, wit, and a clear sense of direction, your audience will want to follow you—even if you’re bending the rules.

So next time you sit down to write, channel your inner Raylan Givens.
Be sharp.
Be direct.
Be impossible to ignore.

And if your copy isn’t landing the way you want? Well, as Raylan would say…

“Next one’s coming faster.”