A little under a year ago I took a trip up to Chicago and slept on a friend's hardwood floor. It wasn't a very inviting prospect; a few layers of comforter and a sofa-cushion, packed up against a brick wall of an old firehouse-turned-loft. There are no other words to describe how I felt, towering over my new bed, other than bummed. It may have been the combination of long days and even longer nights, but I have never sleep as comfortably, or as sound, as I did on that small, awkward cot.
What I gathered from the experience is that first impressions are misleading. If I had never slept on that floor for a week, I would have never known its true comfort and, instead, mocked which ever poor sap had to sleep in that misfortune.
Now, I won't deny that I have the potential to be a dork. A fun time to me is a cup of coffee and a game of Scrabble; but when it comes to copy, particularly print ad copy, the smallest mistake sparks a figurative powder-keg within me.
Of what little I remember from that trip to Chicago, the one thing that remains as clear and as prevalent as the first time I read it, was this blunder:
Do you see it? If not, read it aloud.
Thank you is are bigger when you give our south…
(Note: Apostrophe ≠ Plural)
Copy, in fact, any printed text, can not and will not be perceived professional if it is not clear and typographically precise. It is your initial greeting, handshake, and pitch to a potential customer. If it's sloppy, then you're sloppy.
If I hadn't already purchased a ticket from SouthWest, this ad would have ensured I never would, and diverted me to another airliner.
The good news is that if current airline trend stays its course, we might not have to worry about ever seeing that ad again.
