The Dec. 8 issue of DM News featured a full-page ad for “quality college lists” that says, “Don’t be fooled by imposters.” Yet the advertiser itself, MKTG Services, was evidently “fooled” into paying for copy using the nonstandard spelling of “impostor.”
Even more annoying are the advertising and direct marketing copywriters who don’t know the difference between “everyday low prices” (adjective: one word) and “low prices every day” (adverb: two words). “Everyday” means “ordinary” — rarely the meaning advertisers want to convey.
Here are some of the national advertisers I’ve seen misuse “everyday”: Circuit City, CompUSA, Continental Airlines, Dasani, Discover Card, Famous Footwear, Harrah’s casinos, Hobby Lobby, Little Caesar’s, Luvs diapers, MSN Broadband, Office Depot, J.C. Penney, Purina, Scoop Away cat litter, Sensodyne, Tilex and Ziploc bags.
Even copywriters for newspapers make the same mistake. An ad for The New York Times offered delivery “everyday or weekends only,” and one for The Wall Street Journal touted “news and information everyday.”
Maybe advertisers should demand money-back guarantees from copywriters who can’t spell or use good grammar.
Susan Pepperdine, President, Pepperdine & Associates Inc., Overland Park, KS
