Thursday, July 05, 2012

Editors, kings, tapeworms

Tempted to use a first-person pronoun in a hed? Lie down until the urge goes away. If the urge doesn't go away, ask a few friends to jump up and down on you.

The first of these is just silly, in the "We're Eating More Beets" sense that made USA Today so easy to make fun of. The second -- "Advertisers using models who look more like us" -- tries for a nice inclusive "we" and fails:

Hey, baby boomers and retirees. If you think you're seeing yourself reflected in more ads lately, you don't have to check your vision.

In a shift from what has been predominantly a youth-driven culture, advertising is looking more like us — with gray hair, curves and crow's feet — as companies are increasingly booking older models to court older consumers.


More like "us," in other words, as long as "we" are still white Baby Boomers (or "seniors" who lead something called an "active South Florida lifestyle"). Blargh.


Variations on the kings-and-tapeworms theme have been ably chronicled by Ben Zimmer.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Nick said...

Curmudgeon.

12:11 PM, July 05, 2012  
Anonymous House Extension Perth said...

It's pretty hard not using pronouns. The urge is always there especially when your used to using it. Got to try crazy things until the urge goes away.

9:35 AM, July 08, 2012  

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