Since the last time I wrote about crimes against the English language (shame on you, KFC), a report has been released claiming that the average teenager uses a mere 800 words each day. On this occasion, texting and hip-hop culture seem to be taking the brunt of the blame, but I'm starting to wonder if 800 words a day isn't so bad, so long as they don't include either of the examples that follow in this post.
Most businesses go to market with a new brand or campaign only after months of research and planning. However, Fernwood Women's Health Clubs and Cabot's Clever Deck both seem to have dreamed up their campaigns after watching an episode of "20 To 1: Funniest Ads In The World".
Fernwood would like to have us sniggering at the back of the class with this dumbed-down approach to getting people's attention.
And Clever Deck have really gone to town with some tacky sex gags of their own – lasts twice as long, geddit!
Just to be clear, it's not the swearing or the innuendo that I find offensive, simply the fact that neither is particularly funny or uses humour in some way that is relevant to the brand in question.
My dad always said to me that people who use swear words suffer from a poor range of vocabulary (although I'm not sure if he'd managed to pin it down to greater or less than 800 words).
And I'm now wondering if something similar is true for humour in branding.
In other words, if people rely on cheap, mindless gags to draw attention to their brand, it probably means that they suffer from a poor range of products and services – and they're desperately hoping you won't notice.
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