by David Tandet
Good grammar rocks.
I’m no grammarian.
But I know when to look up the right way to say something.
That’s more than a research exercise.
It’s more true in grammar than any other area: know the rules before you break them.
The “dumbed down” version’s often preferable in marketing.
How many people use “as” correctly these days? So why create a sentence that sounds awkward to most?
An organization needs the tagline that plays best to its target audience.
A few years ago, Apple created a successful campaign with the words, “Think Different.” That’s grammatically wrong. It’s also brilliant.
A writer tied for no real reason to perfect grammar would have insisted on “Think Differently.”
Now at the same time, I’d wager, Apple was busy marketing its academically geared computer programs to school districts around the country.
Would the improper use of language in that scenario be a deal breaker? Maybe not.
But wouldn’t it be reassuring for Apple to know that it could match the California Board of Education’s language arts standards if it wanted to?
No need to arbitrarily insist on good grammar.
Nice to know you can.