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| Oct 07, 2006 8:48 pm |
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re: re: re: re: re: Your thoughts about 'editorial' skills required by copywriters... |
| Achuth Nair
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Well well well, let's see what we have in our platter... First of all the whole point of comparing a great artist and a wall painter itself is preposterous. Just because both of them use same the media doesn't mean they are comparable. A wall painter is skilled in his own way. When he paints he won't leave brush marks. That itself is a skill. Then as you suggested he doesn't let it drip. And only when one does the job one will understand what it takes to do it properly. Well who makes a great artist Great? Copywriters and Editors, isn't it? anyone who is related to art galleries would put a stamp and signature on it. The rest is blah blah...
And now English grammer. English is a fatherless language. When you look deeply you'll see more of French, Latin words than Anglo Saxon stuff in it. (Sorry to those English fanatics). Moreover there are two disciplines of grammer too. 1. the standard one - the bookish stuff. They go by the book. No innovations... and the language becomes stagnant. 2. The dynamic one - here you innovate in the language itself. There is a famous sentence - "Proposition is not the right way to end a sentence with" well let's try explain that.
Now let's look at Global scenario. Please go to China and write to them in polished British English. And you'll draw looks of bewilderment. Go to ME and try it! You'll draw the same.
Now Let's see.. which is correct spelling c-o-l-o-u-r or c-o-l-o-r... A true American would stand by the latter and a true Briton would stand by the former. More examples? P-r-o-g-r-a-m-m-e and P-r-o-g-r-a-m
A true copywriter is above all these nitty gritties... he first creates Ideas that sell. Havn't you heard the great grand dad of advertising Mr. D. Ogilvy say. Advertising is "Salesmanship in print" You talk to your TA in their language. If not they will kick you out of their hearts.
When you talk to your kid you say a lot of stuff which means nothing.. lolooo... doduuuu stuff... that too is communication... coz the kid responds...
As we say Copywriter is LIMITED to advertising. Others have their own names. Web writing is Content development, Jourlaism is Editor, then there is a discipline called Technical writing in software companies in which you have to write the "Help" section of the softwares, then you have Company Profilers and more... those who do it all are just WRITERS. Not Copy Writers. Like you have Doctors. Not all doctors are neuro surgeons. Like that not all writers are copy writers.
And the garbage "I'm Lovin' it" is not just a slogan. It is an Idea. And it has helped Mc Donalds to take back the No. 1 position from Burger King.
If polished english, correct grammer and punctuation was the criteria of a good copywriter then anybody with a thesaurus and Microsoft Word could be a good copy writer.
And I rest my case!
Achu Private Reply to Achuth Nair (new win) |
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