In a restaurant the first bite is with the eye. Well, I think that applies to other things as well. I am genuinely put off brands that use poor grammar in their adverts ā but am I just being petty?
On my way into work earlier this week I spotted an advert that made me stop in my tracks. Virgin Active is proudly boasting, in a poster campaign all over tube stations, that their gyms have ‘more weights’ for ‘less pounds’.
How many pounds should a gym membership cost? Not being a gym-goer, I havenāt the foggiest idea. But being an irritating pedant, I know itās definitely not ālessā than anything. Itās fewer.
Letās have fewer mistakes
A few colleagues laughed at me in the office because I came in and had a rant about the ad. Some said it wasnāt important, others suggested it was a deliberate mistake. Which? Conversation’s Patrick thought it might be an issue of tone ā they wanted to seem casual, so chose words that their audience might use in conversation.
If youād like to see the ad, Twitter user @charlesarthur kindly tweeted a picture.
So was it a genuine mistake, or did they deliberately choose to use incorrect grammar because they thought it made a better ad? I asked Virgin Active on Twitter but I didnāt get a reply. Fair enough ā itās a pretty pedantic point.
Would bad grammar stop you buying?
Personally, I think good grammar is important if you want to show people that youāre a trusted brand. After all, I wouldnāt hire someone whose CV was littered with spelling and grammar mistakes, so why would I buy into a service that appears to be so slapdash as to not proofread its work?
I might be over exaggerating a tad. If something was a genuine, out-and-out bargain I probably wouldnāt refuse to buy it on the basis of my grammatical principles. But I donāt think it does a brandās reputation any good to plaster their name right next to a grammatical error.
A while ago Patrick discussed poor spelling and grammar on websites. Thatās something that also irritates me, but I donāt think itās as serious. On a website youāre producing a huge amount of copy, and no matter how carefully you check it, mistakes are bound to slip through. Whatās more, they can be easily and quickly corrected when you spot them.
But on a national advertising campaign which requires you to print up hundreds of posters, the least Iād expect is for companies to pay attention to their grammar. That way perhaps theyād make fewer mistakes. So what say you ā am I being ridiculous? Or would bad grammar lead you to think less of a company too?
Is 'bored of' ever acceptable?
No - it should always be written 'bored with' (59%, 72 Votes)
Yes - 'bored of' is an acceptable use of English (25%, 31 Votes)
Maybe - it depends on the context (16%, 20 Votes)
Total Voters: 124
