What is a metaphor for something that seems simple or straightforward but is actually complex or has many considerations involved?

Question

For work I'm writing about a product that on the outside seems simple but has many factors. We are manufacturers of this product and want to sell customers on the idea that we take care of the complex details so they can just reap the benefits of a properly built product. Wanting to start with a sentence like

"x is an x, except it's not. While seemingly simple, there are many considerations that go into the proper make and use of x. They are the _______ (metaphor) of the xy industry."

Something like that.

Thank you.

Answer 1

They are just the tip of the iceberg.

From TheFreeDictionary.com:

Only a small, often unrepresentative portion of something much larger or more complex that cannot yet be seen or understood.

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They only scratch the surface.

From TheFreeDictionary.com:

To do, engage with, or understand something to only a minimal or superficial degree.

Answer 2

More than meets the eye has the look and feel; but, I think it falls short of a metaphor in form, per se.

It seems to fit into your suggested ad copy without losing its idiomatic significance.
"They are more than meet the eye as with the xy industry."

Answer 3

When I head out into the great beyond on a mission, I want the best capable, handy, versatile tool with me to complement my opposing thumb. I carry a "Swiss Army Knife." When I want the best all-purpose vehicle to get me through hell, I want a "Land Rover." When I want an example of something that is the epitome of perfection yet, on the face of it, easy to use; I want the best—something that runs like a "fine Swiss watch".

"x is an x, except it's not. While seemingly simple, there are many considerations that go into the proper make and use of x. They are the Swiss watch of the xy industry."

Failing that product association, I'd suggest a generic, and defendable "the best."

Answer 4

The first sentence of your question suggests that your want a metaphor for "the truly complex (truly disguised) as simple". I don't know if it's a metaphor, but would "deceptively complicated" work as a phrase? It has a rhyme to it. Another might be "deceivingly convoluted".

Answer 5

under the hood/bonnet

This is a metaphor taken from the automobile industry for the technical implementation details and complications of something hidden beneath the user-visible surface.

a metaphorical area that contains the underlying implementation of something - e.g. a piece of hardware, a piece of software, an idea, etc.

You could phrase it something like this:

"x is an x, except it's not. While seemingly simple, beneath the sleek exterior there's a lot going on under the hood."

"Lifting the hood" is a similar metaphor for moving from the perspective of the end user to the engineer, revealing the technical details of a system and its complexity.

Answer 6

"We are manufacturers of this product and want to sell customers on the idea that we take care of the complex details so they can just reap the benefits of a properly built product."

Since you said this is for work, as someone with a degree in advertising and marketing communications (I'm a journalist by trade), I'm going to give you some practical advice that my advertising copywriting professor always drove home: Sell the benefit, not the product.

Frankly, customers couldn't care less about the behind-the-scenes details, especially not if they're complex. They want to know how your product will actually improve their lives.

Bottom line: What's in it for us if we buy what you're selling?

Answer 7

"x is an x, except it's not. While seemingly simple, there are many considerations that go into the proper make and use of x. They are the _______ (metaphor) of the xy industry."

• "(proverbial) booger on the finger"

You asked for a metaphor, not an established metaphor. This metaphor would be a great hook because of its crassness, but its crassness ends up being excused by its aptness. That's because getting a booger off your finger always seems easy.

We've all been there, rubbed our hand across our nose and found a booger stuck to the side or back of our finger. It's an easy enough problem. Just flick and it's gone in less than a second, right? Wrong.

Time and again, it proves to be much more difficult than that. You spend the next 10 to 30 seconds flicking and having it to this finger and that finger, but you're never rid of it. Soon you're walking around for another 30 seconds looking for something you don't care about that you can smear it on. Aha! The underside of your desk. You start smearing, but it doesn't stick to it. You try for 10 or 15 seconds, and still that booger's on your finger. Now you end up having to get up and go get a Kleenex or some toilet papers or go wash your hands. What seemed like it would be one easy step that you got done in a fraction of a second, ends up involving you in a multitude of steps that take 60 or 100 times longer than you had originally thought.