Where do common expressions in the English language come from?
Long before Internet memes and hashtags, there were spoken expressions that stood the test of time. Even the best copywriters fall victim to their seduction, citing writer’s block, lack of sleep or general laziness as culprits. Sadly, clichés, idioms and other common expressions often signify lack of creativity, which is not something any writer wants to portray.
In his book, “Then We Set His Hair on Fire,” copywriter and former chief creative officer of BBDO North America Phil Dusenberry revealed how powerful insights propelled his successful career in advertising. He told the story of how one insight helped his team land a $50 million-plus Pizza Hut account.
Want to save a word from oblivion? Oxford Dictionary lets you adopt old or lost words to help keep them alive. The organization states that 90% of everything we write is communicated by only 7,000 words, and each year hundreds of words are being dropped from the English language.
How long has language been around? For 50,000 years, language has aided human intellectual evolution and social advancements. Now the emergence of social media puts idea sharing, information exchange and our collective progress into hyper drive.
For generations, information and ideas have been shared through theater, schools and media. Books, newspapers, magazines, radio and TV sped the distribution and reach of language to the masses. The advent of the Internet hurled language onto an information super highway. With social media fully embedded in the mainstream, humans are now able to instantaneously tap into, and influence, the ideological pulse of the planet. So is this a good thing?
For decades, the line between what we need and what we want has been blurring, leading to overconsumption and a range of environmental issues. Who’s to blame, and what can be done?
Why do some ideas stick, while others silently slip away into oblivion? Made to Stick
Due to the subjective nature of copywriting and design, copywriters and designers have difficult jobs. They get hired for their expertise, tap into their knowledge and experience, and propose a draft. When the response is positive, fantastic. But when businesses offer vague critiques such as, “I don’t like it,” that’s absolutely meaningless, setting the stage for unnecessary frustration, countless revisions, and wasted time for all parties involved.
When you hire with a copywriter or designer, you can eliminate misunderstandings, and achieve effective web copy or design without delays, by following these basic feedback guidelines.
I am a copywriter, and along with my fellow copywriters, I write copy intended to communicate the benefits of certain products and services to people who will potentially use them. My logo is not a little ‘c’ with a circle around it, and my job has nothing to do with legal rights associated with creative works.
If English weren’t an evolving language, we’d still be satisfying our retail needs at ‘Ye Olde Shoppes’ and referring to our less intelligent peers as ‘unpregnant’. Many factors contribute to the evolution of language, including geography, culture, and technology — but what determines the changes that are deemed acceptable enough for purists to relent?
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