Criminalize the use of the words great and cool
March 24th, 2006 by Bill
Could we please pass a law that makes it illegal to use “great†and “cool†as modifiers in marketing copy? Or any copy for that matter!
Why would you say you have a great product? Is there a company on the planet that doesn’t claim to have a great product? What exactly does saying something is great convey? Nothing. In a world where everything is “great,†nothing is great.
The same goes for “cool.†You must be seriously brain dead to write things like “Our great (insert noun) comes with all kinds of cool (insert another noun).â€
Both words should be banished. I want to scream every time I see them used.
Seriously, you are wasting everyone’s time, including your own (not to mention your money) if all you can think to say about your products and services is that they are great and cool. Through overuse, they no longer have meaning. So you are essentially saying nothing.
Listen to this podcast
There’s a car ad here in Australia, that says;
“So there’s this car, with all this stuff!”
It goes on a bit, but it’s pitch is that the car has stuff!