Tone of voice can be tricky to nail down—until you see it in action. So we brought you 17 of them to show how brands make their voices stand out. Forget the usual Nike, Disney, and Coca-Cola lineup. We're talking unexpected picks, with tones ranging from fun (and even a little unhinged) to sleek and sophisticated.
17 tone of voice examples
Let’s start with the slightly unhinged ones to ease us in. 🤭
1. Surreal
Wait… A cereal brand, unhinged? Oh yes.
Surreal is literally giving main character energy on the cereal market with their “don’t give a dang of how it should be done” attitude on socials. As an example, check this LinkedIn post with a carousel titled “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.” or the Instagram post above.
They toned it down a little but still stayed fun on their website with pieces of copy like “nope not a character from Star Trek” or “don’t need to “do a Rocky” and chug raw eggs”.
Cause why should healthy eating be bland and boring? Both in terms of taste and style… 🤭 We love.
2. Liquid Death
The name already speaks for itself—cause what would you expect from a water brand called Liquid Death? 😅Their tone of voice is just as unexpected and unhinged as their name:
We bet you didn’t expect something like “waking up to a psychotic apple tree in your bedroom pouring cinnamon into your mouth while tickling you to death with its branches” from a can of flavored water, did you?
Or for that matter, a page where you literally sign to sell your soul to join their loyalty program—to “collect skulls, get cool sh*t”, ofc. 💀
3. RyanAir
And of course, how could we forget RyanAir? Funnily enough, RyanAir on its website and RyanAir on social media are like two different people.
On the website, they keep a mostly friendly but neutral tone. But on socials? Totally wild. Like they don’t even care. And guess what? It’s working.
They got quite a reputation for their posts and comments—but hey, even bad PR is still PR, right? People actually seem to find them more entertaining than anything, so miraculously they went viral instead of getting canceled.
4. Duolingo
Who’s just as (in?)famous on TikTok as RyanAir? Yes, it’s Duolingo and their owl, Duo. Or maybe not anymore, as they’ve been posting about his death (??) leading up to the publishing of this post. Their announcement in itself tells you all you need to know about their tone of voice.
Casual, flippant, sometimes bordering on mean. All for the entertainment and shock value, going amazingly with their brand personality. And as you know, it’s worked out great for them, even landing super cool brand partnerships like the one they had with Scrub Daddy. Remember this announcement? 🫣
5. Oatly
Sailing away from the unhinged side of brands to just pure fun, next, we have Oatly.
Like Surreal, they stand out in the health food world with their bold tone, personality, and some totally unexpected copy. Dropping words like 'sh*t' and 'Satan’s diarrhea'? Not exactly what brands are 'supposed' to do—yet here they are. But they don’t overdo it. By mixing in casual, conversational lines like 'Confusing, huh?' they keep things balanced—fun and edgy, but not so unhinged that they’d scare people off.
They’re fun and cheeky without being too much on social media too—like in this marketing BTS Instagram caption, saying:
“...we build suspense in this post by not telling you what awesome stuff we’ll do at Nespresso stores worldwide to celebrate our collab. This will surely increase our click-through rate for the link in bio, taking you to the first-come-first-served limited events without stealing the attention of everybody’s excitement…”
6. Smart Sweets
Sweets are not just for kids—and as Surreal and Oatly already showed us, healthy doesn’t have to be boring. Smart Sweets says that not just with their treats but with their tone of voice as well.
This female-lead business has a playful but empowering, transparent, and community-oriented communication style.
Of course, their tone is also fluid: a little more reserved on the website, a little bolder on Instagram. They know their people and talk to them how they’d chat between themselves (“it’s time bestie”), creating relatable and sharable content for them.
7. Minecraft
Minecraft is one of those examples where you see how powerful tailoring your tone to your audience is.
Aimed at kids, their writing is…
- fun: “Explorers, gather round!”,
- clear: “You can now find sheep herded into biomes by color”,
- conversational: “Oh, and you can also find…”
But they also use super-niche words that non-gamers wouldn’t really understand. Not gonna lie, we stared at that CTA saying “Sheep spawning” for a second there. 😅
The same goes for their social media, where they’re even more casual, writing things like “but tbh we love you everyday” or posting a (literal) post saying “this is a post” and saying exactly that in the caption too. We went “what?” but their players probs found it hilarious.
8. FairyLoot
Another niche brand and tone—but very different from Minecraft.
FairyLoot is a fantasy book subscription box and their tone stays true to that. It’s whimsical and magical—casual, but not too much. Instead of turning to humor, they’re leading with this ethereal language and lots of related emojis.
9. Stardust
Keeping the mystical vibes in design but adding a dash of humor in tone, we have the cycle-tracking app, Stardust.
They know their audience and their painpoints (literally). And every bit of their copy reflects that. Reading their text feels like getting a message from your bestie, instantly making an otherwise awkward topic feel a whole lot more chill.
10. Planoly
To show you how brand tones can change, we wanted to share our previously-favorite ToV example: Planoly.
Up until maybe a year ago, the marketing planning tool Planoly had a super-genZ branding. No wonder, as their main target audience is (was?) younger social media marketers. Their site had the typical genZ colors and ace copy like “take a joyride through social media planning, no strings attached”, or “Procrestination who?”.
But maybe they realized they weren’t talking to the right audience—or that the tone was just a little too much. So came the rebrand that toned it down (🤭) a lot. Their copy and tone of voice are much more neutral but friendly, typical of SaaS brands these days. The only hint of their previous genZ identity we managed to dig up is this headline that says “Get the tea”.
11. Gymshark
After the difference of new and old for the same brand, let’s check two examples from the same industry: fitness.
Gymshark makes fitness fits for people who live for the gym—and their relatable tone reflects that with every word. They not only use “gym slang” like “make your glutes pop” but also lots of casual things like “IYKYK”, “broken it allllll down”, or “you (obviously)”.
Their tone is dynamic, assertive, motivational, and energetic. Kinda like this: 💪🏻
12. Alo Yoga
Alo Yoga on the other hand is serene, calming, soothing, and inclusive.
They’re targeting the girlies who love yoga, holistic well-being, and mindfulness. Instead of making your glutes pop, they encourage people to slow down, breathe in, and look at their health from all perspectives. Kinda like this: 😌
13. Monzo
That was fun! Want another pair as we’re moving to more professional waters? Let’s see how banks do it.
Normally you’d think banks are stuffy, boring, and distant, right? Well, not necessarily. With the rise of fintech, some banks are taking on more casual and likable tones, just like Monzo.
Their attitude is friendly and transparent, their copy conversational. Like this, it really feels like they’re talking to you, not just into the void.
14. Goldman Sachs
Don’t worry, your prejudice wasn’t all wrong though. Loads of banks, especially the big investment giants are still on the traditional side.
As you can see, Goldman Sachs has that kind of distant, formal copy that wants to feel authoritative—like they’re the best of the best. Given how much money they want people to trust them with, it makes sense.
But it still ends up being the kind of copywriting you need to read twice to fully understand. Or be able to pay attention to. 😅Sorry not sorry.
15. MET
Traditional doesn’t have to be stuffy though and a great example of that is the MET.
Notice how they use pretty long, not-so-conversational sentences? Yet it’s still easy to read and more informative than boring. For a museum with such heritage, this tone of voice is expected and suits their brand identity perfectly.
And of course, with ToV being a fluid concept, they can still ease it a little at certain places: like when they’re talking directly to people, trying to convince them to join their Met Member program.
16. UXfolio
Just as traditional doesn’t need to be stuffy, professional doesn’t need to be cold either.
UXfolio nailed the balance between keeping it straightforward and friendly—perfect for UX designers who appreciate clarity and ease of use. The result? Clean, focused copy with just the right amount of personality. No notes from us.
17. Copyfolio + here’s how we created our new tone of voice
Forget the same old, generic tone of voice guides. We’ll show you exactly how we nailed ours when we revamped Copyfolio’s branding in early 2025—so you can do the same for yours.
Step 1: we got clear about our brand personality
There’s no tone of voice without brand personality, so we started right there. We did it the old-school way: brought tons of snacks to the office, grabbed stacks of post-its, and sat in a workshop until we perfected it. It took 6 hours and we were all so dead by the end. But it was 100% worth it.
The end result? We had a bunch of adjectives to describe who we are—and a better idea of who we are not. Plus, total clarity on who we’re talking to, which was key for the next step.
Step 2: we checked how our audience talks online
Knowing who you’re talking to is handy but knowing how they talk helps avoid sounding totally off. So it’s time to do a little research.
First, find out where they’re hanging out online. Are they deep in TikTok and Instagram? Or are they more of the posting-lots-on-Linkedin kind of peeps? Maybe super active in niche subreddits or Facebook groups?
Whichever it is, set aside some time for a little digital detective work. 🕵🏻♂️ Screenshot phrases, slang, and writing styles that are giving them.
Then drop it all into a tool you love—Milanote, Canva, Figma, whatever works— and start grouping. Here’s what ours looked like:
We pulled out things like their go-to emojis, love for pop culture references, and some GenZ slang.
Step 3: the magic happened when we merged the two
You can’t base everything on your brand personality—but you also can’t just copy your audience word for word. The sweet spot? Blending the two.
Here’s what we did and how you can find your perfect tone of voice:
- Lock in your non-negotiables. List your brand’s most important values and traits and make sure every piece of copy and guideline aligns.
- Match their vibe (but stay true to yours). If your audience keeps it super casual, a stiff, corporate tone will feel off. But if their style clashes with your brand personality, meet them halfway.
- Check their emojis and sentences. Do they love emojis and punchy one-liners? If you’re a fun, youthful brand, go for it. But if your brand is more polished, find a balance—engaging, but not cringe.
- Steal (some of) their favorite phrases. Using their go-to expressions makes your brand feel relatable. Just don’t overdo it—pick a couple that fit, and tweak them if needed.
It might not be perfect on the first go. You might also need a little time to get used to it, and that’s okay. Keep on tweaking and testing until you find the right balance.
