General rants Archives - Page 26 of 27

EVERY CHICKEN HAS TWO LEGS, TWO BREASTS, AND TWO Cs

December 22, 2010 by Scott Flood

I’m always fascinated by words that are frequently misspelled and expressions that are widely misused. Some may blame the mistakes on shared ignorance, but I think there’s something more insidious at work. I think mistakes are contagious. People who see the words misused lack confidence in their own knowledge and mistakenly believe that what they already know must be wrong.

And why is it that store and restaurant owners invariably ask employees who suffer from that contagion to manage the changeable-letter signs in front of their businesses?

ADVERTISERS OFTEN DON’T LIVE IN THE REAL WORLD

December 8, 2010 by Scott Flood

I’ve noticed a growing, disturbing tendency in advertising. The creative teams who develop concepts for commercials insert terms and references that make perfect sense to them, but are most likely meaningless among the viewers they are trying to reach.

A recent example is a truck commercial that makes reference to “donut eaters in focus groups.” Anyone who has worked in advertising or marketing understood that right away, particularly if they have ever sat on the other side of the one-way glass and watched focus group participants drone on about advertising while gnawing on free food. The creative team displayed its disgust and frustration, and the clients approved it, because they’ve been there, too. I smiled when I heard it.

TIME TO START OFFERING CONVENIENCE

July 6, 2010 by Scott Flood

An airline recently landed in Indianapolis, offering service to Branson, Missouri, a place that’s become a living wax museum for yesterday’s celebrities.

The airline’s publicity boasted about what a great value it offers – and at face value, it sure looks that way. Airfare is just $59. If you want to bring more than a change of clothes, you’ll have to add another $15 for the first bag, but that’s still a pretty good deal.

IF YOUR MOTHER SAYS SHE LOVES YOU, CHECK IT OUT

July 1, 2010 by Scott Flood

If all three of my loyal readers can tolerate one more post on the media, I’d like to explain part of the reason I have such high expectations for reporters. The Chicago of my childhood published eight daily newspapers: the four citywide papers (Sun-Times, Tribune, Daily News, and the American), three “regional” dailies (Calumet, Southtown, Herald), and the Defender, which served the black community. My family took (now there’s an old expression) the Sun-Times, the American, and the Calumet.

It would have been foolish for all of those dailies to assign reporters to minor events and ordinary crime stories, so they pooled their resources to create the City News Bureau. City News would assign one reporter to cover a story, and the member papers would use it like any piece off the AP or UPI wires.

THE TWO TIMELESS SECRETS TO SUCCESS

May 20, 2010 by Scott Flood

I’ve learned that there are two timeless, foolproof secrets to success.

LOCATION, LOCATION AND SOMETHING ELSE

May 6, 2010 by Scott Flood

I haven’t decided whether a choice of business location was an ironic accident or a stroke of marketing genius. While traveling through an Indiana city, I frequently pass a facility for a hospice and can’t help but notice the tenant sharing its building: a life insurance agent.

GETTING SOMEWHAT WEALTHY VIA EMAIL

April 29, 2010 by Scott Flood

John Stanton recently forwarded an email with an irresistible pitch. According to the sender, “all you need to do is buy the e-book I have written for just $1.50, read through it and follow the instructions and within a week you will have more than tripled your money!” John says he was tempted to buy … Read more

MOLLY & BUSH’S MANHOOD (RATED PG-13)

April 8, 2010 by Scott Flood

Used book sales are one of the joys of life, because they appeal to two corners of my personality – the reader and the cheapskate. A recent find was a collection of Molly Ivins’s best columns. A native Texan, Molly was one of the sharpest, most fearless, most acerbic political writers of our time, and wherever she is, I’m sure she verified that there was a source of good bourbon before she agreed to go there.

In a column written during then-Vice President Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign, she recounted his tendency to activate his mouth in front of reporters before his brain was fully engaged (an affliction that must have been genetic). It’s a cautionary tale for politicians and writers alike about choosing your words and expressions most carefully.

KIDNEY THIEVES, TOILET SPIDERS AND SHORT COPY

April 1, 2010 by Scott Flood

Did you know that medical students are drugging visitors in a popular tourist spot and stealing their kidneys? Or that the toilets in a major U.S. airport are teeming with venomous spiders? Or that people don’t read anymore, so you need to keep your copy as short as possible?

YOU ARE THE GOVERNMENT

February 18, 2010 by Scott Flood

(Please pardon me if I move away from my usual neighborhood and become somewhat political and perhaps a bit strident for a moment or two.)

Yesterday, I read a letter to the editor from a frustrated teenager. She was filing her income taxes for the first time and was aghast that “the government” was “stealing” her money. I’m reasonably certain that she’s not among my three regular readers, but in the chance she happens upon my blog, I’d like to respond.