Everyone's doing it. The subtle digs. The "unlike others" positioning. The comparison carousels somehow make everyone sound _exactly _the same.
Position yourself against someone else, and you're not building a brand. You're building a shadow.

ACCIDENTAL ADVERTISING: THE BURGER KING PROBLEM

Burger King spent decades taking shots at McDonald’s.
• “Have it your way.” • “Whopper vs Big Mac” taste tests. • Flame‑grilled > fried.
Here's what happened: Burger King became the place you go when you can't find a McDonald's.
Every attack ad was free publicity for McDonald's. Every comparison reinforced who the real king was. Burger King accidentally turned themselves into McDonald's biggest advertiser.
Now think about your LinkedIn feed. How many brands are accidentally advertising their competition while trying to stand out?

THE SMALL FISH SYNDROME

Those billion-dollar comparison campaigns between giants? That's a different game entirely.
When Samsung takes shots at Apple, they're both titans fighting for market share. When you're a startup throwing stones at the giants, you're not the underdog with a slingshot. You're just... throwing stones.
The difference? _Giants use comparison to steal customers. Everyone else uses comparison to steal attention. _
One works. The other just makes you look desperate.

**BORROWED RELEVANCE: THE LAZY STRATEGY **

“We are not like others.” Cool. So what ARE you like?
Crickets.
When you define yourself against someone else, you're not creating your own story. You're borrowing theirs and adding a "but different" sticker.
Look at how political campaigns work. The challenger always defines_ themselves_ against the incumbent.
Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign started as “I’m with her” and slowly became “I’m not him.” Every rally, every ad, every conversation somehow centered on Trump.
The result? He owned the narrative.
It’s the same in branding.
If your big move is pointing out what others do wrong, your audience will start looking for your flaws. But here’s the more uncomfortable truth about insecurity: comparison positioning is lazy thinking disguised as strategy.

“You just show how you do it right.”
Excellence doesn't need a foil. It just needs to exist.
_Slack _made work chat not suck. Dollar Shave Club said razors shouldn't cost more than your lunch. _The Whole Truth _makes protein bars that taste like dessert.
None of them spent time explaining what was wrong with everyone else. They just showed what right looked like.

THE REAL COMPETITION

The biggest threat isn’t your competitor down the street. It's the version of yourself that needs other people to look bad for you to look good.
The version that thinks there's only one way to win: make everyone else lose.
But here's what confident brands know: there's room for everyone who's genuinely great at what they do.
Next time you're about to explain why you're different from everyone else, try this instead: Explain why you're exactly what your ideal client needs.
One creates comparison. The other creates connection.
We’re here for the second kind. Always. 🥝