How a vintage market revealed the art of copy

The story of a walk that turned into a copywriting lesson.

This weekend, after lunch, I went for a walk in the center of Ponte de Lima, a beautiful medieval Portuguese village located in the Lower Minho region. By the waters of the Lima river, the usual regional vintage market was taking place. Dozens of vendors displayed objects from past times—books, vinyl records, linens, machines, and radios.

Among so many exhibitors, it was hard to capture the public’s attention.

For those unfamiliar with this region of Portugal, Ponte de Lima is a major hub for national tourism. On Saturdays and Sundays, the town is filled with Portuguese and foreign visitors enjoying medieval sights and flavors.

Along the tree-lined path near Igreja dos Terceiros, hundreds of people gather every Sunday to listen and dance to traditional Minho music while shopping at the fair. It’s a crowd looking for a weekend escape from their routines.

I walked through the corridor, carefully observing the vintage items on display: some caught more attention than others.

A sharp eye for historical pieces quickly reveals what’s worth buying and what isn’t. I always enjoy this game of analysis, such as discovering rare books among the clutter of things sold at these markets.

The stand that stood out with creativity

I kept walking until I came across a stand that caught my attention thanks to a ’60s song playing on an old radio and record player from the same era. With a retro look, the small furniture piece showcased the beauty and durability of those times (I’m a huge fan of the ’50s and ’60s).

The person behind the stand had the brilliant idea not just to show the items for sale, but to actually make everything work as it did back then. And there it was, that radio and record player playing just like it did in 1960.

Capturing attention through creative words

Copy is present in all aspects of life. It’s not just a marketing tool used in content writing, for example. Copy is used to sell everything. And I mean everything!

Above the 1960s radio I mentioned, the owners had placed a sign: ‘A radio is like your best friend’s wife: you can look, admire, but don’t touch.’ Dozens of people stopped to enjoy the music and read the catchy phrase that grabbed attention by making people laugh.

It created the perfect Copy:

• Music paired with the past: getting the objects to work at a flea market, just like in the era they were made, is a great idea;

• A creative copy that makes people stop at your stand is another excellent way to stand out from the crowd.

Copy and content: the secret to standing out

The retro radio and record player stand from the ’60s became the star of the fair in Ponte de Lima. Everyone stopped to admire that small cabinet playing Frank Sinatra-era music. It became the most compelling sales setup of the entire event.

Marketing lessons hidden in everyday life

My Sunday walk through the Ponte de Lima flea market became a valuable lesson in content creation, intertwined with copywriting.

After all, how do you sell a retro radio at a fair packed with hundreds of people, with around fifty direct competitors selling similar items? The only way to stand out is to innovate.

The owner of a stand selling antique books could have placed a shop mannequin on a chair pretending to read a book from 1910. Or someone selling one of those old charcoal irons could have demonstrated how these objects worked in 1950. Imagination is the only limit!

Words enhance the visual presentation of the product we’re trying to sell. In the case of the radio, a clever and funny phrase was enough to grab the public’s attention.

I took away valuable insights from this experience.

One thing I particularly enjoy is using examples from our routine-filled lives and breaking them down into insights that remain hidden in the cadence of our days.

So much passes us by because of repetitive gestures, behaviors, and decisions. But sometimes, among those seemingly endless days, there is a breath of fresh air reminding us that life is a constant renewal of ideas.