Copywriters can't write

Sorry, but hear me out.

Incorrect English is a pet hate of mine, even if I am one of the biggest offenders. I endeavour to read as many articles, and books if I have the time, on the subject. Recently I have been reading a book by Lynne Truss. Called Eats, Shoots & Leaves, it's the catalyst for this article.

The title can be misconstrewed and misunderstood which is the point of the book.
I.E. He eats two things; bamboo shoots and leaves. It could also be taken as a record of events; He eats then shoots then leaves.

Getting to the point, so many times in advertising do we see comma's, apostrophe's, and ampersand's in the wrong places. The reason: either Writer's can't write, or in an attempt to create the precise idea that the rules of our language come out second best. Which just means our Writer's can't write.

I'm not saying Copywriters are poor at developing fantastic campaigns through beautiful storytelling. This is something they do well. But does it need to be at the cost of proper language?

The answer is NO it certainly does not.

Further adding to the problem are those individuals like myself who have a creative and a business function in the company. In my quest for creative freedom in writing ads, I find myself bending the rules when writing in a business sense. The less than perfect English in this article is a prime example.

I am also disgusted by the abuse of our language displayed in the modern world of SMS and email. Maybe it's my age, or my desire to be more conservative than I really am, but I just don't' relate to the whole 'C U L8R' crap.

Tell us what you think?

Mike