The Language of Success Part I

In the following brief selection, I'll introduce my humble thesis that we must not lose sight of the importance of language or our society will (has) suffer. From the time I wrote this for www.smooth-male-voiceover-talent.com, the situation has only become more dire. Everywhere I turn I am confronted by poor grammar...our society is more crass, and I believe that leads to a number of unpleasant consequences.


The Language of Success

I don't know when it began, but advertising in this country has been engaged in a grammatical "race to the bottom" for some time.

I remember the controversy in the 1950's (I believe) over the “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should” campaign and, more recently, the Apple “Think different” slogan. But these are minor offenses compared to what passes for English in many commercials.

I was asked to write a piece of copy a few years ago featuring gentleman walking into his home with a section of frozen garden hose. I opened the commercial with a character actor entering from outside dressed for winter, holding the hose and saying , “Honey, my hose is frozen.”
The production company liked the idea, but wanted the character to say, “...my hose is froze.” I would not allow it to be changed and argued for days until I prevailed.

Tomorrow, I'll explore why I believe we have an obligation to police the way we use language in the material we write and voice.