Confessions of a Virgo
For those of you who don’t know, apparently we Virgos are a little bit… how do you say it… particular! There are a couple of other words that have been bandied around at times, but best I don’t share those. Generally speaking, we’re an organised bunch who like things a certain way and get a little frustrated when it’s not, well, perfect!
One thing that gets me every time is the misuse - or more like abuse - of the English language and punctuation in advertisements. Again, I admit I’m not squeaky clean on all things grammar and punctuation, but when it comes to apostrophes and the rules on singular and plural I definitely know when it’s not right.
Those rather annoying “Whats new” (sic) TV commercials are just one constant reminder. And no, that’s not a typo on my behalf. Maybe I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt since it’s been going on so long and assume that it’s a ‘style’ thing. Why? I have no idea, but it begs the question, why hasn’t anyone picked it up?
Spelling is another bugbear of mine. One would think a retailer specialising in jewellery would know how to spell that very word. Apparently not. A new retailer promoting its soon-to-be-opened jewellery store in the Myer Centre splashed the words “exciting new jewllery (sic) store opening soon” across a large window area fronting Rundle Mall. Sack the signwriter or the person who approved that signage!
The Stag Hotel is another who has missed the punctuation boat, using your instead of you’re on its prominent Rundle Street balcony banner - and they have even recognised it and fixed it with a bit of masking tape - which only highlights it further.
And finally, some advertising agencies might want to pull up their socks too. The number of times I hear that mega chain, Target, are having a massive sale instead of Target is, drives me mad.
I enjoy bearing witness to the creative juices that flow from advertising agencies and love seeing how one small concept or idea can be turned into an advertising masterpiece - but it’s imperative to get the copy right to go with the pretty pictures. It’s such a simple thing but it happens time and time again.
That’s me done. Now if you pick up any mistakes in this blog – keep it to yourselves!
- Rebecca Tape, Account Manager
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