Language of advertising

Unit 5 the language of advertising

Homework: the war of words between copywriters and language purists

Among the various professional groups, the war between language purists and advertising writers is of special intensity. Purists are making every effort to “preserve” the language - to set a kind of standard as to what is right and what is wrong. Copywriters, on the other hand, say that today's writers “dare to be different”. They must find new ideas and fresh ways to express them. Never hesitate to inject colourful thoughts and expressions into your copy.

Of course, in some areas, both sides are right. And in others, both sides may be wrong.

Copywriters

Copywriters consider themselves as word mechanics, skilled professionals with a fondness for words. They must be imaginative, and still, their writing must be succinct and eye-catching. They are good writers, even though some of their vocabulary and structures may be somewhat unconventional. After all, their job is to attract the reader. If their copy is grammatically perfect but lacks fire and vitality, readers will not be interested. And the product will not sell.

One legend in the advertising world, Claude Hopkins, summed it up this way: “Copy writing is salesmanship in print. The consumer must find something attractive in the ad”.

Another way of saying the same thing is that copy is communication. It should attract, inform, interest and persuade the reader to think about the product. Advertising copy is not intended to ‘educate’ the reader in the general sense of the term. It is not intended for language purists.

Purists

To the horror of the purists, some copywriters say that it is permissible to forget about some of the generally accepted rules of writing, if the copy attracts the attention of the reader. Readership - not grammar - is the heart of the situation.

Another problem for the purists is that copywriters must use the vernacular of the day. Use of stilted style, literary illusions, or pretentious phrases assures next to no readership. If an ad seems to lecture the reader or to show a sense of superiority over the reader, it will do more harm than good. Simple words, short sentences, catchy phrases, apt comparisons - these are the tools of the copywriter.

But the purists consider this kind of language as an abomination. They believe that they must be guardians of correct English. Even though they understand that change is inevitable, they hope to limit the changes as far as possible. Particularly, they want to guard against what they consider to be mistakes. Their objective is ‘grammatically correct’ writing, using words and phrases generally accepted as standards by the so-called educated elite.