Advertising insights and language tidbits

Creativity

Creative Whack Pack

by Roger Von Oech

• An illustrated deck of 64 creative thinking strategies that will whack you out of habitual thought patterns and enable you to look at your life and actions in a fresh way. Use the cards alone or with others to seek innovative solutions to issues. Created by best-selling author von Oech, the cards have been used by many organizations, including NASA, in strategy development and problem solving. Complete with detailed instructions.

Donald Gunn’s 12 types of ads

(quoted on Slate.com [1])

1. Demo. A visual demonstration of a product's capabilities – washing powder flushing away grease.
2. Need or problem. Show what’s not right, then show the solution – baby with soiled shirt, washing powder cleans it.
3. Analogy or exaggerated graphic (of problem). Represent the problem with something else – bears using toilet paper that doesn’t stick.
4. Comparison. Show how better versus the competition or other solutions in general.
5. Exemplary story. A narrative that helps illustrate the product's benefits.
6. Benefit causes story. Back-to-front, imagining a trail of events that might be caused by the product's benefit – men cannot fight off the women, because they use Lynx deodorant.
7. Tell it, testimonial, A tells B.
8. Ongoing characters and celebrities. eg, the Duracell bunny.
9. Symbol, analogy, or exaggerated graphic (of benefit). A tiger gripping the road, like your tyres.
10. Associated user imagery. eg, Nike people.
11. Unique personality property. Sportscar boasting German engineering.
12. Parody or borrowed format

Mind maps

• Map your mind (or wording) online at [2]
  • Brainstorm online to

1. create colorful mind maps online
2. share and work with friends
3. embed your mind map in your blog or website
4. email and print your mind map
5. save your mind map as an image

Words and wording

Cliches

• The Cliche Finder [3]
  • Enter your copy into the window, press Submit, and BANG! All of your tired English phrases are highlighted in their full, cliched glory - and in red.

Globish

• The English that everyone can understand - the English used around the world as means to communicate. Major proponents: Madhukar Gogate and Jean-Paul Nerrière.
  • Nerrière's Globish website. Mainly in French but does include links and examples for English readers. Highlights include parallel articles written in native speaker English and Globish (guess which one is bland). The glossary is pretty handy, too.
  • Observer. An article about the Globish revolution...what's this English-lite all about?

Grammar

• Grammar Girl [4]
  • A weekly blog with short, friendly tips to improve your writing. Covering the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers, Grammar Girl answers complex grammar questions with straightforward answers. Ideal for writers with English as a first or second language.

Lingo

• Netlingo [5]
  • Everything you need to know about online jargon and text lingo.

• Reverse dictionary [6]
  • Describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept.

• Buzzwhack [7]
  • A website dedicated to de-mystifying buzzwords. Drill down to leverage maximum synergies? Or is it just a meatball sundae?

On writing

• The Elements of Style by E.B. White and William Strunk, Jr.
  • The bible of straightforward, crisp American prose. Read it. Memorize it. Emulate it.

A note on grammar and punctuation

• Where's the best place to put the fullstop in English? Or the comma? It can all be very subjective and often depends what you're trying to say or how you want to say it.
  • Try putting the punctuation in this paragraph...
    • dear jack i want a man who knows what love is all about you are generous kind thoughtful people who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior you have ruined me for other men i yearn for you i have no feelings whatsoever when we‘re apart i can be forever happy will you let me be yours jill
      

(Click here or scroll to the bottom for some solutions)

Words

• The Word Spy [8]
  • Devoted to recently coined words and phrases, and to old words being used in new ways. Lists new terms that have appeared in newspapers, magazines, books, Web sites, and other recorded sources.

• The Double-Tongued Dictionary [9]
  • This site records undocumented or under-documented words from the fringes of English, with a focus on slang, jargon, and new words - essentially, terms and expressions that are absent from, or are poorly covered in, mainstream dictionaries.

Online articles

• The You Decade
  • Available at [[10]. Slate takes a fresh look at how the field of communications has re-appropriated the word ‘you’. A great counterpoint to the attitudes of the Me generation, too.

• Ad Report Card courtesy of Slate
  • Visit Slate [11] for a weekly column deconstructing the latest in American advertising. What works, what doesn't, and what's ahead. Some truly wonderful and tells-it-like-it-is criticism of live campaigns and marketing efforts.

• Your Voice [12]
  • A hip BBC examines how English is spoken across the British Isles today. Features:
    • debates on how people speak, multilingual nation, stop talking rubbish, language change, classroom talk, language ecology, the linguistics of 'bad language', language and place - untangle the links between language and geography, Received Pronunciation and BBC English, language and time - trace the history of the languages of the British Isles, accents and radio drama, politeness, language and age, when languages collide, why study language?, talking proper - is there such a thing as 'ungrammatical'?, the art of conversation

• mental_floss [13]
  • "Knowledge" magazine with feature articles and content to nurture both the left and ride sides of the brain. Irreverent but always accurate.

Plain English

See also the englishtalk style guide

• Center for Plain Language [14]
  • The Center's mission is to increase the usefulness and efficiency of government, legal, and business documents, so that the people who use those documents can quickly and easily find what they need, understand what they find, and act on that understanding. Includes principles, benefits, and resources.

• Fight the Bull [15]
  • Courtesy of Deloitte and Touche. Bullfighter is the epoch-defining software that works with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint to help you find and eliminate jargon in your documents. It may look like a little toolbar with three buttons, but it's actually much more. Bullfighter includes a jargon database and an exclusive Bull Composite Index calculator that will allow you to see -- in an actual window, on your PC display, live -- just how bad a document can be. Also includes the "Mystery Matador" which lets you send evaluated copy to the author anonymously.

• The Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) [16]
  • A volunteer nonprofit organization of plain-language advocates, professionals, and organizations committed to plain language. Includes legal language, langage samples and resources, language in the news, conferences, literary resources, other organizations, and government initiatives.

• The Plain English Campaign
  • A UK based organisation championing clear, concise writing styles. The Plain English Campaign website[17] is full of useful references, jargon busting phrases, a ‘Hall of Shame’ for terrible examples of jargon filled copy and explains how companies can gain the Plain English Campaign’s seal of approval, the Crystal Mark, for their written materials.

Refreshingly good, best practice

Examples of marketing that get a big thumbs up from englishtalk

• Call a spade a spade. Say it as it is: a wonderful "hey buddy, look at this" American website, a far cry from German OTT technospeak. Give the author a prize: Pro-Tools

• Agency website for Kansas-based Sullivan Higdon & Sink [18]
  • An agency website which brilliantly fuses form, function, and tonality. A delight to read, from the pop-ups to the privacy policy. It's a website you'd like to sit next to at a party.

Podcasts

• A Way with Words [19]
  • Authors and language experts Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett tackle listeners’ questions about all aspects of language -- word origins, grammar, slang, regional dialects, pronunciation, good writing, and much more. Based in San Diego, California.

• The Advertising Show [20]
  • The Advertising Show is America’s only globally distributed weekly program focusing on advertising, media, marketing, sales and customer relations. The Advertising Show, co-hosted by Ray Schilens and Brad Forsythe, discusses advertising issues, marketing trends and strategies, and features weekly interviews with prominent industry experts. Listeners benefit from the weekly talk show features and practical marketing advice from experienced professionals and interviews featuring national industry leaders who share their wisdom through their own problem solving experiences. Also includes glossaries, archives, industry links, book series, and much more. Caustically witty!

• Writing for the Web [21]
  • Writing for the Web: Is it Really So Different from Writing for Print? A 15-minute crash course for editors and writers making the switch from print to online. Now that the Web has had a decade to evolve, we know a lot about what works online, what doesn't, and how users interact with Web sites. This is all crucial in understanding how to write online. In this Crash Course, journalist Manoush Zomorodi presents our exploration of how writing online varies from traditional writing in the print world. 1 video, 15 minutes, $15.

• The American Copywriter [22]
  • A simple little podcast about advertising and pop culture hosted by advertising creatives John January and Tug McTighe, principles at Sullivan, Higdon & Sink, an American ad agency. Need credentials? They've swept Communication Arts, The One Show, Archive, Creativity, Print, US Ad Review and the National Addys.

Websites & blogs

Advertising

• ihaveanidea.org
  • One of the world's largest online advertising communities. Thousands of advertising professionals from around the world read its famously candid interviews with the world's top creative minds, watch and share their two cents on the latest ads, converse with others in its informal forum, and even drop Janet Kestin and Nancy Vonk (co-CCOs at Ogilvy & Mather Toronto) a question or two in the popular "Ask Jancy" column. Includes comprehensive listings of creatives, articles, blogs, resources, sponsors, etc.

• coloribus.com
  • Think you've got an original idea? Visit this website to find out and discover an amazing collection of identical ads.

• adsoftheworld.com
  • Showcase of ads impressing even the ad experts.

• Old newspaper ads [23]
  • Curious old ads rescued from microfilm. From the 19-teens to the 1960s.

• Best Rejected Advertising [24]
  • Best Rejected Advertising was the first book to publish ads that had been rejected by clients on aesthetic, commercial or strategic grounds. This website broadens the original concept by including rejected, banned, spoof and most complained about ads and commercials. Includes ads from around the world.

• MarkFenske.com [25]
  • Blog penned by one of America's copywriting/agency biggies. Now teaches the in the graduate program in advertising at Virginia Commonwealth University, one of America's most well-respected programs. Insight based on real life.

• Marketing, Advertising and Creativity in the UAE [26]
  • Farrukh Naeem, an award-winning advertising copywriter and journalist based in Abu Dhabi, highlights news, views and opinions on advertising, marketing, corporate communication, PR, and creativity in business. Unfiltered insight into the Middle Eastern landscape in English.

• Ads of the Weird [27]
  • An msnbc.com blog that takes a look at some of the oddest, most eye-catching, controversial and just plain interesting advertising out there today.

Branding

• brandchannel.com
  • Brandchannel.com is committed to providing a global perspective on brands. It challenges us to think further about the important issues that are affecting brands now and in the future. To further enhance our brand awareness, brandchannel.com offers a cadre of tools and information including global listings for conferences, courses and careers, and a streamlined version of The Brand Glossary as well as links to other valuable industry resources.

• Brand Republic
  • Brand Republic[28] is the place to go to find out all about the UK marketing, media and communications industries. The brainchild of Haymarket Publishing, whose magazines include UK industry bibles ‘Marketing’, ‘Campaign’ and ‘Media Week’, it covers a range of things including: industry news, research, communities, an archive, events and careers.

Copywriting

• copywriterunderground.com
  • [29] is penned by Tom Chandler who's been in the business for 20+ years. Focuses on modern marketing strategies for copywriters and businesses. Excellent blogroll on copywriting, too.

• www.copywritingmaven.com
  • [30] is penned by Roberta Rosenberg, who's also been writing B2B materials for over 20 years. Tips, techniques, reviews, commentary, and valuable categories for writers.

• thewritewords.me.uk/blog/
  • Penned by a freelance UK-based copywriter, [31] features lovely articles like "The Science of a Great Slogan" and "10 Ways to Beat Writer's Block".

Copyediting / proofreading / typesetting

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A896231
  • Top tips on what to look for when checking copy

Denglish

• Transblawg: http://www.margaret-marks.com/Transblawg
  • Margaret Marks: Weblog on German-English legal translation from Fürth. A completely random collection of Denglish nuggest, English legal terms, and assorted cultural observations.

• The 'Living German' campaign
  • English straplines might be used in all kinds of German marketing, advertising and publishing materials, but do they do the job they're supposed to do? Are they well understood? Infact, are they always the right words? Find out more here[32].

Corporate and Internal Communications

• British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB)
  • Want to know what’s new in corporate and internal communications? Interested in an online knowledge bank? How about finding out about training courses? And a regular newsletter? The British Association of Communicators in Business (CiB) covers all this and more. Click here[33] to check out their website.

• International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)
  • Corporate and internal communications play an important role in international business. Find out more about the latest trends, research, awards and jobs at the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) website. Check it out for yourself by clicking here[34].

Trends

• trendwatching.com
  • trendwatching.com is an independent and opinionated trend firm, scanning the globe for the most promising consumer trends, insights and related hands-on business ideas. For the latest and greatest, the site relies on its network of 8,000+ spotters in more than 70 countries worldwide. Most findings are aggregated in a free, monthly Trend Briefing, which is sent to 130,000+ business professionals in more than 120 countries. To read the latest edition of the Trend Briefing, please go to www.trendwatching.com/briefing/. These trend findings help marketers, CEOs, researchers, and anyone else interested in the future of business and consumerism, to dream up new goods, services and experiences for (or even better, with) their customers.
• buzzwhack.com
  • insights into the latest buzzwords, many tongue-in-cheek, many worrying, most fun.

Web copywriting

• A List Apart
  • Primarily a website "for people who make websites," [35] contains at least 20 extremely well-written articles on how copy is key to well thought-out websites - that copy can make or break a site!

• wordfeeder.com
  • Wordfeeder.com delivers laser-targeted web copywriting and strategically-plotted marketing plans for companies wishing to build a loyal subscriber base and convert website visitors to paying customers. The mission: forge ongoing relationships with fellow professionals who share our commitment to excellence and dedication to the craft.

• copyblogger.com
  • Now that blogging has become the smartest strategy for growing an authoritative web site, it’s copywriting skills that will set professionals apart and help them succeed. Copyblogger is all about helping bloggers get traffic, gain subscribers, attract links, and sell something! All that's needed is copy written in a strategic, persuasive, compelling manner - and copyblogger is here to show you how.

• excessvoice.com
  • Canadian Nick Usborne's Excess Voice newsletter is a treasure trove - don't these nuggets qualify as state secrets? Downloads, archives, book review - read and regurgitate the lot. Also links to his blog (would you expect anything less?)

USA/UK insights

• The Americans, from a German perspective
  • USA explained

• Britspeak from a US angle
  • The very best of British

• Separated by a common language
  • [36]

---

---

A note on grammar solutions

• Here are just two ways you can interpret the piece of text in the 'A note on grammar' section.
  • Dear Jack, I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we‘re apart. I can be forever happy – will you let me be yours? Jill
  • Dear Jack, I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we‘re apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be. Yours, Jill