Casting the wrong spell

I have often waxed lyrical about the power of language and its rare ability to convey both emotion and conviction – whether as "a spark for the imagination, a call to action, or the prose of persuasion".

And I have just as often bemoaned the fact that, in spite of this, most people "default to the drearier corners of the English language".

However, there is a third dynamic worthy of mention, if only to warn you against its teasing tones. A dynamic that practically obliterates all grammatical sensibility for something far more sensual and alluring. And that is the sultry switch from perfectly adequate and innocent letters like "c" and "s" to something all the more enticing in the oh-so-chic shape of "k" and "z".

It is with more than a touch of irony that I write this. In fact, I find this sort of thing equal parts loathsome and banal, and rarely has my ire been so spurred as when I saw an ad for KFC Krushers on the side of a bus this morning.

Krushers. Real bitz.

It's not particularly youthful, "cool", or credible. And I can't imagine it adds any audience appeal. It's the equivalent of writing something pretty unimaginative in Comic Sans in the blind hope that it will be transformed into a moment of pure comic genius.

Do KFC think today's youth are dyslexic? Or perhaps, they will be so overwhelmed by the "totally unique" experience of this "taste revolution" that only the mild shock of such atrocious marketing can possibly bring them round to their senses.