Friday, March 14, 2003 The 14th in shorthand -- Incredibly lightweight Instant Stand-in/ Stalking boar Sliver in the grass A major walk A vagabond A philosopher A cat’s yawn Rip Rap Rural Chelsea boots The Prado A man called Gideon Your pout Scrappy looks Fancy furniture A pageant Lost goodwill The pride of Masja Hot Humid Hooker The Re Store The Candy Bar Brother tell Tat Table Tabloid Sick Sack Cul de sac Buy stock Don’t question Discoveries Rumor Reads Reason A man called Morosky The mystery of wax Q Tarry? A Ask her Q Surrender? Face primer Face foundation Face ephemeral Pirius Arigo Leomini This is land-code Mental attire- a flux of Modest means Anyplane Anyroad Anyone Anystar Any if not all Fifth fantasy The fury of Perseus Heading for a sixth Sailors and sarcasm Builders and blasphemy Politics and plebeians A cat’s grin and a Chinese girl Negotiations for a flat fee The partiality of plastic folders The cold comes bundled With royal tea- and the boost Of black girls’ bottoms- A brass ring A door handle Plutarch and Poe -- posted by Walter at 3/14/2003 Tuesday, March 11, 2003 -- “If you don’t call us Your mother will.” (Punch line for a Jewish Dating Service) -- “Clearly, despite the Advertising’s jury doubts over quasi-editorial, the Met’s work was thought to be well written, as was the Timberland work. But what a political jury! There was so much mind changing it’s a wonder that we arrived at any final decisions.” Edward Booth-Clibborn Chairman D&AD 1989 -- The demise of ad copy With the advent of widespread consumer visual literacy the need for short- or long copy is diminishing. The visual message rules and rarely needs to be complemented with an infusion of functional, humoristic or literary prose. Recent ads for Nike for instance make use of the word “Swoosh” rather than its visual namesake. An expert use of the main visual can evoke instant brand awareness, and when complemented with the company’s logo is often sufficient to underscore its subliminal content. Only when an ad needs to stir compassion, or has to extol the product’s quality and functionality- does it need copy for additional collateral. An example of such finely honed copy was used for a UK Tampax ad; nominated for the 1989 D&AD awards. -- [Visual] A color picture of a cinema entrance at night. The entrance is deserted; save for a young man who’s leaning onto the wall to the left; looking at his mobile [Headline] Why boys prefer Tampax [Punch line] TAMPAX – Why stop when your period starts [Copy] Boys, unfortunately are human. They’re always liable to notice things. If they’re talking and you’re only half listening, they notice. If you shift in your seat, if you stand up just a little too carefully, if you only went to the loo twenty minutes ago and already you’re going again, they notice. And if you don’t turn up in the first place, there’s even a chance they’ll notice that. They notice, and they know exactly what it’s all about. Fortunately, this means that when you do turn up, and you do listen, and you don’t glance in the mirror, and you do, in other words behave as though today were a day like any other day, they don’t half notice the difference. And that’s why boys prefer Tampax. Coywriter: Roger Holdsworth- Agency: Colman RSCG & Partners Limited London -- [Visual] A B/W drawing of a Citroen 2CV [Headline] What the 2CV needs is a snappy slogan [Punch line] Citroen 2CV [Copy] THE INTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE! There’s nothing like a 2CV for bringing the family closer FRONTIERS WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY! Even without a turbocharger, cruise control or on-board computer, we somehow get along. FOUR SPRUNG SEATS FOR PICNIC! At last the answer to back-seat drivers: a removable rear seat THE TORTOISE GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH! Or even, on a good day, from 0 to 71.5 mph. ONCE BITTEN, FOEVER CITROEN! At 3,980 pounds on the road, what 2CV driver could afford to change? Coywriter: Roger Holdsworth- Agency: Colman RSCG & Partners Limited London -- Added spice When taking a close look at the functional aspect of certain ads; I noticed that the lines can be rearranged for a slightly altered type of content much akin to contemporary poetry. An ad for the Renault Megane that I encountered allowed for just such treatment: -- [Visual] A double spread color picture of Claudia Schiffer shading her face with her bare arms. Her body is tilted sideways to the left. Her eyes are closed, and her mouth is opened slightly. The pose of Schiffer’s body emits athleticism, and the smoothly curved seductiveness of a pinup. To the right of the double spread is a small picture of the Renault Megane Cabrio. [Headline] You can avoid GM foods, UV rays, MSG, E numbers… But what about the GTI behind you? [Punch line] Renault Megane – Stay Beautiful -- (Remixed existing copy) Two-stage driver Pre-tensioned driver Padded-impact driver Shock-fortified driver Body-shell mounted driver Anti-submarine driver Head-restrained driver Avoid E numbers And the GTI Behind You. -- I tried hard to find a couple of recent ads worthy of selection for use within the outline of this post; despite flipping through a stack of sandbag-sized lifestyle magazines I couldn’t find a single one worthy of mention. I made one exception though, for a 2001 issue of GQ: a Rogaine ad- a hair growth product- which employed an interesting dialog. -- [Visual] A B/W picture of a father and his son. The son- smiling in the foreground of the picture has a thick mop of hair. His father in the background of the picture is smiling as well, though wearily. His baldness is his prominent fixture. [Headline] I LOVE DAD. I am just not in a rush to look like him [Punch line] Rogaine- Stronger than Heredity [Copy] When your dad lost his hair there was no Rogaine. You, however have no such excuse. Rogaine is clinically proven to work directly on the scalp to help stop hair loss. Dermatologists know this. They recommend Rogaine more than any other treatment. So at the first sign of fallout, use something else you inherited from dad: b r a i n s. -- posted by Walter at 3/11/2003