06/11/09Crazy little thing called BlackberryToday it feels appropriate that I muse on love. Or should that be ‘on Blackberry’?  As you’ve likely noticed, brand Blackberry has been laying claim to the big L. Hmm. I can see why they’re doing it: Apple commands affection, Blackberry just respect, not fair, etc… But is it credible? Well, when this ‘own a thing’ strategy works - like, say, with Volvo and safety - then the words ultimately can be used almost synonymously. So let’s put Blackberry’s prospects here to the test, via a few song titles… “Can’t buy me Blackberry“? (Actually that last one works, sadly.) Or could it slide smoothly into that old wedding service standby, 1 Corinthians 13? “There are three things that last forever: faith, hope and Blackberry. No, it’s just not happening for me - and I think I’ve worked out why. Because it’s complete bollocks. Blackberry has absolutely nothing to do with love. In fact, it has probably done more damage to the cause of love than any other new technology of the last ten years. I mean, what has spouses taking their Blackberrys to bed with them done for love? This whole campaign is, in the immortal words of Harry Shand, a diabolical liberty. So please, RIM, stick to what you do best. Comments, Pingbacks:
Comment from: Chris Cantrill 17/11/09 9:40am
They should emphasise the sinking feeling you get when you start looking at it on Sunday evening. It ruins Songs of Praise.
Comment from: Hayes Thompson 25/11/09 1:51pm · http://www.hayesthompson.blogspot.com
This Blackberry bollocks is always on before Flash Forward on a Monday night (I guess Blackberry sponsors the show).
So therefore I have to watch it every week. Which annoys me because once was enough.
The thing that winds me up is the ad's use of the word 'thing'. A head of copy once told me not to use the word 'thing' - that 'thing' was a bad word. And she was right.
It's so lazy and imprecise. And it's particularly annoying in the Blackberry ads because they insist on repeating the word in every sentence, like they want to emphasize it.
What's funny is that I remained angry every time I saw this ad for four weeks. Then this last week I calmed down enough to think of a fix:
Just remove the word 'thing' from every sentence. I can't believe no-one else had the same idea. Perhaps they had 5 minutes to write the ad.
Why write:
Love changes things. Upsets things. Conquers things.
When you can write, more simply:
Love changes. Upsets. Conquers?
Anyway, gotta go - I've just found a blog post whose author thinks this ad is great. Love it.
Comment from: Violet 02/04/10 6:45pm · http://www.rapidsharemix.com/trends/my/01-04-2010.html
Very useful! thanks
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