Copywriting Can Affect Public Policy (update)

(Latest result of the efforts spurred by this print ad:  Commerce Dept. Announces Help for Fisherman )

A single print ad, with a single insertion. A target audience of one man. A simple, heartfelt personal message from one local fisherman, speaking on behalf of his fellow New England seafarers. 

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These were the elements that came together to create a singular pointed message sponsored by the non-profit Northeast Seafood Coalition and addressed to President Barack Obama while he was vacationing on the island of Martha's Vineyard off Cape Cod. The full-page ad, written in the form of a letter by Russell Sherman, Captain of the fishing vessel 'Lady Jane', explained in simple terms the plight of local fishermen being driven out of business by draconian federal rules, and asked for the President's help in facilitating negotiations for a compromise that might satisfy the interests of fishermen, environmentalists and the Dept. of Commerce alike. 

The ad was concepted, written and designed within five calendar days, including protracted revision sessions with directors of the Seafood Coalition intent on conveying a data-rich message to support their goal. The ad's publication coincided with a protest by a a flotilla of fishing boats that was heavily covered by print and broadcast news media, helping to leverage the ad's effectiveness. 

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The result of this advertising effort was a series of renewed initiatives by the Governor of Massachusetts, U.S. Senator John Kerry and U.S. Representative John Tierney to achieve a negotiated compromise with the Dept. of Commerce and the N.O.A.A.— efforts which have now resulted in a promise of "immediate special attention and assistance" from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce (full story link: Commerce Dept. Announces Help for Fishermen ).  

 
(Other effective ads can be seen at ZINKWORK ) 

Seeing is Believing?

(download)

Kokichi Sugihara, a Japanese scientist, shows how he can fool your eye by knowing how your brain works. If you thought you knew optical illusions, think again. 

The full story can be read/ seen here, with a link to a longer video showing more amazing illusions: 

"Your Lying Eyes: Can This Be Happening?" : Krulwich Wonders : NPR http://n.pr/eEtMxy

Copywriters of the World, Arise!

Calling all copywriters: it's time to stand up and proclaim your creativity. 

For some years now, the word "creative" has migrated away from the art and skill of writing, and is now widely applied to design and art direction—but not copywriting. It's often assumed now that a Creative Director has come up from a design rather than copy background, and, as in the example shown here, a writer has to classify him or herself as other than in the creative arena. 

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It's time to stop this careless — and possibly unintended — denigration of our craft. Point out to anyone who will listen that great copywriters are just as creative as great designers.  That great ideas can come from anywhere, but they're articulated with words and language. If you don't stand up for your creativity, you may soon find yourself wearing a Tee shirt like this: 

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A Letter to President Obama

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My full-page newspaper ad appears in today's Martha's Vineyard Gazette newspaper (Tues. Aug 24 issue), delivering a message to the vacationing President Obama on behalf of the non-profit Northeast Seafood Coalition and the New England commercial fishermen they represent. The ad was created to raise awareness of the severe economic problems created by the new May 1, 2010 "catch share" rules for groundfish (cod, haddock and flounder among others) imposed on fisherman by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

My Art Director on this project was Keith Lane, former Partner at Arnold Fortuna Lane in Boston, who worked with me to create the ad from strategy and initial concept to finished pub-ready materials in just over three days.

Crafting New Words, One Letter at a Time


Note: This list seems to come around every year or so via email, but it's worth reading each and every time. Brilliant work, and an inspiration for English-speaking copywriters everywhere. 

The Washington Post's "Mensa Invitational" once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing only one letter, and supply a new definition for the altered word. 

Here are the winners.…

  1. Cashtration: The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.


  2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

  3. Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

  4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

  5. Bozone: The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future. 

  6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
  7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
  8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
  9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

  10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

  11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
  12. Decafalon: The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

  13. Glibido: All talk and no action.
  14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
  15. Arachnoleptic Fit: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
  16. Beelzebug: Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
  17. Caterpallor: The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. 

The winners of the "alternate meaning" contest are:


  1. Coffee: The person upon whom one coughs.
  2. Flabbergasted: Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
  3. Abdicate: To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
  4. Esplanade: To attempt an explanation while drunk.
  5. Willy-nilly: Impotent.
  6. Negligent: Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
  7. Lymph: To walk with a lisp.
  8. Gargoyle: Olive-flavored mouthwash.
  9. Flatulence: Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
  10. Balderdash: A rapidly receding hairline.
  11. Testicle: A humorous question on an exam.
  12. Rectitude: The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
  13. Pokemon: A Rastafarian proctologist.
  14. Oyster: A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
  15. Frisbeetarianism: The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
  16. Circumvent: An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.