Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Where's the good copy?

As I mentioned yesterday in my post about copywriters, there's a surprising lack of good copy wherein I've noticed the good ones are far and in between.

Why, I was wondering to myself. And then I came upon a likely answer: when I was writing copy for some of my previous clients as an inhouse consultant, 9 times out of 10, the copy would be changed to suit the tastes of the chairman or the business development manager. The marketing manager, while initially agreeing with me and liking the copy, would take a back seat to save his or her back side (please don't read into it, I really do mean 'job') and let the senior management take over.

How many times have you seen an advert in the paper with what starts out with a great line, then ends up being a really corny cliched sell-line which sounds like the CEO saying "Buy my stuff, its better than anyone else's"? Too many times, I hear you say. Any surprises, then, at the lack I spoke of earlier.

Another reason could be sheer stupidity. Why not, given that this week's campaign has a story on BBC's regional agency copying into arabic CNN's well known 'Be the first to know' strapline. How in the bloody world could the creative mind behind that in Mint think he could get away with it. In fact, the very fact that it happened says he thought he really COULD get away with it and it wouldn't be a problem.

Scary. Regional? Very scary.

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