Ever come across a situation where you’re searching for a word to describe something and the word simply doesn’t exist? Yes? Then you, my friend, have encountered what’s called a lexical gap. Lexical gaps occur when a word is absent…
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The Home Depot recently revealed a new tagline. And to a copywriter, that’s a big deal. Especially when your old tagline is: “You can do it. We can help.” Inspirational and empowering, yet supportive and non-intimidating—that is one well-written tagline. But let’s not get into that…let’s talk about the new, the now, the undoubtedly current-economic-condition-inspired:
The Beatles were masters of music…and they were masters of language. I imagine their late night brainstorming sessions to sometimes be like those we have here at Dixon Schwabl…some great ideas, some not so great ideas, some far-fetched and some predictable… But the lyrics that made the final cut had a profound impact on those listening…they tugged heart strings, they motivated social action, they made a difference. The Beatles were magicians of the sung word, and their music taught me many things about writing powerful (and effective) copy. Here are just 3 of those things:
Sale-O-Rama, Bowl-O-Rama, Farm-O-Rama, Booze-O-Rama, Any-Darn-Thing-O-Rama.
I love all words, but a few annoy me. It’s not the words’ fault I guess, just the way they’re used. Right now the #1 on my Annoying Word list is “even” – not even as in “I’ll buy the next round and we’ll call it even,” or “bust the heel off the other shoe and you’ll look even.” Even as in “save 30% or more on sofas, loveseats, even chairs!”