The Lighter Side of Banking?

January 21, 2009 by Brad Shorr  
Filed under Cartoons

like mother like daughter

Is there a lighter side to banking these days? In this cartoon, I was trying to find it, but if I were a bank, I wouldn’t be using humor in my advertising just now.

Actually I’ve never been a fan of humor in financial institution advertising. Remember those WaMu TV spots with the fuddy duddy band of bankers? Or the Capital One “What’s in Your Wallet?” campaign? Trivializing personal finance, portraying a loan as a lark or a walk in the park … that’s the wrong message.

Where do you see humor used inappropriately in advertisements and marketing?

Thanksgiving Cartoons

November 27, 2008 by Brad Shorr  
Filed under Cartoons

turkey axe

Happy Thanksgiving from Word Sell!

12 Things Writing and Golf Have in Common

July 18, 2008 by Brad Shorr  
Filed under Copywriting


The Art of Customer Golf

Originally uploaded by shorrbrad

I finally got to play some golf, and I noticed all kinds of similarities to writing. Here they are - some serious, some not so much.

Words for Nerds - Abattoir

April 23, 2008 by Brad Shorr  
Filed under Word Quiz

word-sell-soybean-lobby.JPG
Abattoir is a word you may have run across, especially if you fancy fiction or crave comics. What do you think abattoir means?

A. Fashionable, having refined taste
B. A chicken coop
C. A slaughterhouse
D. In a confused or delirious state
E. Excessively humid

Hint: the word comes from the French abattre, to beat down. The correct definition of abattoir, of course, is … C, a slaughterhouse.