It really bothers me when people don’t speak proper English. There are some rules that, I think, should be followed — even in advertising. People who know me well understand that I’ve spent my career in advertising. I believe there is no reason to misuse the English language simply because we are writing advertising copy.

Recently, I came across a headline that read “try it for yourself.” Hmm, I ask, should the headline have read, “try it”? I was taught that “you” is understood. Do we need to state the obvious?

Why do most of us add unnecessary words to our written communication? Many people believe the English language needs to continually evolve based on how people speak — I disagree. Many people write as they speak. Unfortunately, some of those same people put too little thought into the words that come out of their mouths and trying to translate can lead to confusing, if not completely unclear, communication.

Dangling prepositions are truly annoying. Soon it will be time for me to “put on my coat”, not “put my coat on.” I could even ignore the Minnesotan colloquial use (and what I consider improper use) of “borrow” for “lend” if folks would just put the prepositions where they belong. You may feel free to “borrow” me something, but I’ll always “lend” you something.

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I was speaking with a couple of coworkers today about a client project. The client loved the marketing spin. It prompted me to talk about the marketing that is happening within the presidential campaigns. Specifically, I thought of the new McCain commercials that broke this week during the Democratic National Convention. I’m an old ad gal, so I love to watch TV commercials.

McCain is capitalizing on the split within the Democratic party between Clinton and Obama. So one spot features a Clinton supporter who has gone to the other side and is now supporting McCain. The second, which aired during Tuesday evening’s broadcast of the DMC, uses footage of Clinton stating that McCain would make a good president and Obama only made a speech.

Kudos to the creative people who worked on these commercials. I say, brilliant, regardless of political party preference. I can’t wait to see the Democratic response.

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