Yahoo Should Fire Their Ad Agency

[Bruce Wedding]

So I captured these while logging in to Yahoo email. Take a look and tell me what you think:

1. Funner is not a word, morons.

2. Farther not further, idiots. You're talking about distance.

3. White on white? Nice, who did this? I can't make out the logo in the clouds. How bout a little outer glow or shadow next time so I can see the headline.

4. Ok, not terrible, but 20% of the 21 words are "TV"

[Mike Schwenk]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding

So I captured these while logging in to Yahoo email. Take a look and tell me what you think:

1. Funner is not a word, morons.

2. Farther not further, idiots. You're talking about distance.

3. White on white? Nice, who did this? I can't make out the logo in the clouds. How bout a little outer glow or shadow next time so I can see the headline.

4. Ok, not terrible, but 20% of the 21 words are "TV"

"Dear Mr. Wedding,

Even though, at the moment, I have funnerer things to do at the moment, I wanted to take a moment to respond to your message.

As one of the goodest online search providers, we hire only the best. If you need shadows and fancy logos, we suggest you try elsewhere. Otherwise, please adjust your monitor settings for better quality.

Farthermore, we appologize if you can't appreciate the abstract beauty of our color scheme selection.

Warmest Regards,
Bob "we have art degrees and you doesn't" Smith, Yahoo PR Department"

[RickDuris]

Turn that into a quick video and it'll go viral. It's a giggle. - Rick Duris

[JonWebContent]

Originally Posted by Mike Schwenk

Dear Mr. Wedding,

Even though, at the moment, I have funnerer things to do at the moment, I wanted to take a moment to respond to your message.

As one of the goodest online search providers, we hire only the bestest. If you need shadows and fancy logos, we suggest you try elsewhere. Otherwise, please adjust your monitor settings for better quality.

Farthermore, we appologize if you can't appreciate the abstract beauty of our color scheme selection.

Warmest Regards,
Bob "we have art degrees and you doesn't" Smith, Yahoo PR Department

Learn some freakin' English already! Geez!

[Pusateri]

Agreed on 2 through 4, but I think funner is good marketing. It sticks. It's also gonna annoy some people. Even better. You're nobody till somebody hates your ads. It's an augur of effectiveness.

[Bruce Wedding]

Originally Posted by Pusateri

Agreed on 2 through 4, but I think funner is good marketing. It sticks. It's also gonna annoy some people. Even better. You're nobody till somebody hates your ads. It's an augur of effectiveness.

I was waiting for someone to say that. What sticks is, they sound like idiots. I love alliteration but if the word doesn't fit, find another word.

[stealthpromo]

Now just sit back and let the thoughts of all the money they spent for those four pieces of work wash over you, bringing a sense of calm and peace to your body.

Now, i'm off to start an ad agency real quick...

[Pusateri]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding

I was waiting for someone to say that. What sticks is, they sound like idiots. I love alliteration but if the word doesn't fit, find another word.

There will certainly be people who read it and think exactly that. Some will be so turned off they will go neither further nor farther. Others, though still annoyed, will have their interest piqued enough to check it out.

Then there's an entirely different group who will read it, smile, get the message, and if it applies to them, take action. Novelty+Relevance=Click.

You gotta choose who to lose...and the world is gettin' funner every day.

[stealthpromo]

Novelty+Relevance=Click.

I love that. Thats a great equation, and so true. The same is true for pop music and all the garbage you hear on the radio. Kudos.

[JonWebContent]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding

I was waiting for someone to say that. What sticks is, they sound like idiots. I love alliteration but if the word doesn't fit, find another word.

This is not uncommon in advertisement. If I wanted to think hard, I'm sure I could come up with dozens of major companies that have used this tactic in their advertisements over the years. I find it hard to believe Yahoo! put out advertisement without knowing that "funner" isn't actually a word.

[Ross James]

Originally Posted by JonWebContent

This is not uncommon in advertisement. If I wanted to think hard, I'm sure I could come up with dozens of major companies that have used this tactic in their advertisements over the years. I find it hard to believe Yahoo! put out advertisement without knowing that "funner" isn't actually a word.

Why do you find it hard to believe? We're all human, we all make mistakes. Yahoo just made a couple that millions of people saw.

I'm interested in your thoughts about the ad where they referenced further instead of farther? Was that intentional too?

-Ross

[Pusateri]

Funner is damn straight a word. I know what it means. So does Stephen Fry.

YouTube - Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography -...

[JonWebContent]

Originally Posted by Ross James

Why do you find it hard to believe? We're all human, we all make mistakes. Yahoo just made a couple that millions of people saw.

I'm interested in your thoughts about the ad where they referenced further instead of farther? Was that intentional too?

-Ross

You do have a point. Perhaps I am willing to give people the benefit of the doubt a little too much. The further/farther gaffe is pretty bad. That said, what percentage of people will even catch that grammar mistake? 1 in 500? 1 in 5,000?

By the way, Urban Dictionary: funner

Funner is a word!

[Bruce Wedding]

Originally Posted by JonWebContent

This is not uncommon in advertisement. If I wanted to think hard, I'm sure I could come up with dozens of major companies that have used this tactic in their advertisements over the years. I find it hard to believe Yahoo! put out advertisement without knowing that "funner" isn't actually a word.

I realize it MAY have been intentional. As ol' Henry Mencken said,

"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public."
-- Henry Mencken

Ok, now explain away, "further".

[Bruce Wedding]

Originally Posted by JonWebContent

By the way, Urban Dictionary: funner

Funner is a word!

Apparently, so is “blumpkin”

[JonWebContent]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding

Apparently, so is “blumpkin”

Heh. Nice! Would love to copy and paste the definition of that one but think it may be just a tad inappropriate for a forum like this!

Urban Dictionary is a hilarious website!

[Pusateri]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding

Apparently, so is “blumpkin”

The first definition concludes: "This is ganranteed to be a meal she wil never forget and will talk about it for years to come."

I smell a copywriter.

[Globy]

Originally Posted by Pusateri

Agreed on 2 through 4, but I think funner is good marketing. It sticks. It's also gonna annoy some people. Even better. You're nobody till somebody hates your ads. It's an augur of effectiveness.

I second that. Ok, some of those advs are really bad, but creating words like "funner" could do the trick.

[The Copy Nazi]

Somewhere along the line yahoo lost the plot. They used to be "cool" - now they just come across as desperately trying to look "cool".

"Funner" might work if they based a campaign around it. Here's a head for them -

"Fun...Fun...Funner"

[davemiz]

dude they are testing.... when you test, you test ALL kinds of variations....

[Oxbloom]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wedding

I realize it MAY have been intentional. As ol' Henry Mencken said,


Ok, now explain away, "further".

:shrug:

I got no problem with further, there.

Further has been a strong synonym for farther for ages now, according to descriptivist usage experts. That's why def. #1 for further in most dictionaries produced this century says: "farther."

Is it the King's English? No. Is it the commoner's? You betcha. And Yahoo ain't selling to kings.

[Kay King]

Further vs farther

use “farther” for physical distance and “further” for metaphorical, or figurative, distance.

You use Yahoo email????

[Bruce Wedding]

I use yahoo, gmail and about a dozen domain based emails. I've had my yahoo since 1994 and I'm not giving it up.

All I know is if I hear someone say, "... is funner", I think, "Man, what an idiot." "Funner" is not in dictionary.com but it is in the OED, listed as an informally used word. I realized that when I posted it. I don't care, "irregardless"

As for "further", they show the Space shuttle taking off, that is distance, not a metaphor. And in the video, the announcer clearly says, 'farther'.

Anyway, cheers to the pedants. I'm one myself.

[Kay King]

Anyway, cheers to the pedants. I'm one myself.

LOL - ya think?

Sometimes the goal is idiomatic speech rather than perfect prose. In that case, writing "next to last" is preferable to "penultimate".

It's not getting it wrong or dumbing down - it's targeting a certain market where such phrases/words are used (or misused as the case may be).

kay

[Bruce Wedding]

Kay. Naturally I realize copy should be conversational. I write it all the time. I don't think this was the case and I doubt they were testing. I've seen all those same shots for weeks on 5 different computers.

[Pusateri]

We all have our peeves.

Mine is people using 'sale' and 'sell' interchangeably.

3br 2bth house for SELL

2002 Toyota Camry - Must SALE

I don't care who you are, that's ignorant right there. Seeing it more and more the last few years. Maybe it's just a South Texas theeng/thang.

[Kay King]

OK - alternate theory - they screwed up.

[tpw]

Originally Posted by Pusateri

We all have our peeves.

Mine is people using 'sale' and 'sell' interchangeably.

3br 2bth house for SELL

2002 Toyota Camry - Must SALE

I don't care who you are, that's ignorant right there. Seeing it more and more the last few years. Maybe it's just a South Texas theeng/thang.

I agree, and I caught heat the other day for switching them, although I had switched them on purpose to make a point.

So there...

[JonWebContent]

Originally Posted by Pusateri

We all have our peeves.

Mine is people using 'sale' and 'sell' interchangeably.

3br 2bth house for SELL

2002 Toyota Camry - Must SALE

I don't care who you are, that's ignorant right there. Seeing it more and more the last few years. Maybe it's just a South Texas theeng/thang.

My pet peeve is any spelling/grammar error and it doesn't matter where I see it. Even Facebook status updates that are misspelled annoy me. I don't know why they bother me, but they do.

What is really sad is "your" has essentially replaced "you're" or "you are", even in professional writing. I see websites all the time for quality businesses that screw that up.

The interwebs have pretty much killed the English language. I think I use improper grammar because I use proper grammar!

[It Should Be Easy]

I do not think that their ad agency is the problem aktually...