Less Is More
June 24, 2008
Grammatical errors in adverts annoy me. In fact, adverts annoy me, but when someone has spent millions of pounds on advertising to interrupt my programme they better know how to speak English.
Now I know that slogans don’t have to be in perfect English, and you can say “Just Do It” or “I’m Lovin’ It” and that’s fine. Personally, I think you could go a little further and say “I’m Doing It And I LOVE It”, and you can read into that what you want.
But when those millions spent are upped by a VO from Donald Sutherland with a voice rich, dense and heavy as oak beams, then please BMW do not say your new car has “less emissions”. It might cost less money, it might do less damage to the environment, but it does not have less emissions, it has fewer emissions. It says “Less emissions” in the dog at the end. That’s a media term, readers. The “dog” is the little graphic on the screen. Actually it’s a “stinger” because it’s a dog that’s at the end. I’m such a wanker. I promise the next post will be less wanky. And by that I mean it will have fewer wanks.
I don’t suppose most people will car about BMW’s poor grammar. I guess when it is reviewed in What Car (Which Car, technically), the petrolheads will not mind.
But I will. I know language is an organic thing, but then so is bullshit. BMW, not content with buying up most of the British motor industry, is now setting about destroying our language and I for one say stop the madness on this homespun durge technique.
I should probably stop listening to the World Service – my standards are too high. I have a digital radio and since I’ve been at the BBC I’ve become slightly evangelical about its output, because there’s a lot out there, but I think the World Service is a national treasure. I also think it should be available on FM, but there’s probably a whole wave of arguments against that which I wouldn’t be allowed to bring to light on this blog even if I understood them.
In the last two days, I’ve heard things about Arsenal striker Adibayor’s regilious views, the The Police reunion tour, the revival of food tourist in New Orleans and a radio play starring Jonny Vegas, Mark Steele and John Prescott. You don’t find that kind of diversity in one place that often, and seeing how my head works, I’m loving it and, henceforth, doing it.
I bet the World Service doesn’t say less when they mean fewer.
16 comments
I think you mean “they HAD better know how to speak English” and “I bet the World Service doesn’t say less when IT MEANS fewer.” Where’s the pug?
No. No more pug for Katy.
Other readers – for all pug-related posts, including live twitter updates, please refer to the other blog as per my email of earlier today.
UPDATE: The live webcam is now working! Visit now for all your 24/7 pug needs.
bmw are wankers fullstop. And I don’t mean “period” and I am not giving them capital letters.
ooo er!
Peach – I think the wankiness also applies to their drivers. I am now worried about search engines now because this post says wank and dog in it a lot. And service. And John Prescott.
*colossal sulk*
Only joking. It’s not even a real dog.
BMW needs capital letters, it stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, it started out as a state-owned collection of carmakers and ended up in private, more seamy hands. Bmw just wouldn’t be grammatical.
I didn’t get the email, Cliff. Can you send it to me now? I want to see the 24/7 pug cam. What’s he doing now? Will you tell everyone except Katy what his cute name is? Do we get a special Christmas party where we get to meet the pug and Katy isn’t invited?
I think a 24 hour PugCam would be the pug’s wotsits.
poor lttle pug. Gets told he’s not real by the very being that he loves the most in this world.
Now that’s just mean.
Finally a decent excuse not to buy a bmw….
Bet they sell less cars this year.
To furhter the in-word , only wankers buy BMW,s –wish I could afford one then I could buy a real car .
I drove a BMW once – crashed it. Never owned a Pug though
Agreed. Come the revolution, all perpetrators of grammatical errors will be first against the wall. The only way they could have made it worse is to do BMW efficient dynamic’s. Less emission’s. More driving pleasure.
Arghhhh!!!!!
Welcome – thanks for the comment.
Barb – Fewer of that in future, please.
Homespun durge technique. Heh! Well, I got it anyway
Leave a comment. Play nice. I will turn this blog around.