Bad Grammar Are Bad for Branding.
Why is marketing becoming
increasingly illiterate?
Robert Klara
Just in case you haven’t checked in a while, the English
language continues a steady slide into the ditch—and it’s not
just texting that’s to blame, it’s marketing. Whether online or
on the packaging, brands seem to be forgetting the spelling
and grammar we all supposedly learned in grade school.
A few weeks ago, for example, U.K. teen Albert Gifford made
social media headlines by correcting the syntax on a carton
of Tesco orange juice that claimed to be the “most tastiest.”
(The chain apologized and fixed the double superlative.)
Remember February’s Super Bowl spot for SodaStream? It
was the one with Scarlett Johansson enthusing about “Less
sugar, less bottles.” (Except that it’s fewer bottles, Scarlett.)
In 2011, Old Navy had to send back an entire shipment of
sports team T-shirts when the “Lets Go!” lettering omitted
the apostrophe before the “s.” Too bad Victoria’s Secret
didn’t take a lesson. Last year the clothing brand dropped a
needless apostrophe (“You’ve never seen body’s like this!”)
into its Secret Body campaign.
How is it that mega brands with eight-figure marketing
budgets have gotten so careless? Language police blame
everything from the hyper informality brought about by social
media to the fact that (yes, here it comes) those Gen Y kids
entering corporate America simply don’t know how to write.
In fact, pre-teens appear to be even worse. According to the
National Center for Education Statistics, a mere 32 percent of
the nation’s eighth graders are proficient in language skills.
More to the point, there’s evidence that slovenly prose affects
the bottom line, too.
“Being able to write without error, be it grammar or typos,
is an important skill for anyone who wishes to be taken
seriously in business,” says marketing consultant Debra
Murphy. “People form their initial impressions based on what
they see online.”
The data back her up. A study conducted late last year by
U.K. firm Global Lingo found that 74 percent of consumers
pay attention to the correctness of the prose on company
Web sites, and 59 percent of respondents said they would
avoid doing business with a company that’s made obvious
errors. A more recent survey—this one published in March
by Standing Dog Interactive—revealed that 58 percent of
consumers were either “somewhat” or “very” annoyed by the
presence of copy errors, with one respondent volunteering:
“If … I see a typo, I’ll leave without buying a thing.” Yikes.
Fortunately, such militancy doesn’t appear to include beloved
bits of branding that already bend the rules. Nobody’s
suggesting that Apple’s “Think Different” should be corrected
to read “Think Differently.” And while “Got Milk?” might
be flat-out incorrect, “Do You Have Any Milk?” just lacks a
certain kick.
But still, the long list of famous gaffes really ought to be
enough to make companies pay closer attention to that ad
copy. What brand wants to suffer the embarrassment that
McDonald’s and Hardee’s did when both touted a new
“Anus Burger”? Did that Days Inn location that advertised a
“Free Wife” instead of free WiFi have to make good? For the
record, even President Obama’s reelection campaign, fueled
by a billion-dollar budget, apparently had no proofreaders
for the banner ad that read: “We’ve come along way…”
(Psst! It’s “a long,” Mr. President.)
Perhaps the wordsmiths at someecards.com put it best:
“Grammar—It’s the difference between knowing your shit
and knowing you’re shit.”
Robert Klara is a staff writer for Adweek.com