Can we retire the term "politically correct" now?

What does it mean, anyway? I first heard the term back in high school, in the late '80s. A feminist guest speaker was talking to us about sexual harassment and rape. In an open session, I mentioned that I thought it was a good idea for a guy not to walk right behind a woman stranger on a dark or empty street, but rather cross to the other side so she wouldn't be scared. For this, I was pronounced "a very politically correct young man."

That was then. The term was at first applied in a positive manner by late second-wave feminists, to describe a person who was on-side. However, with the backlash that inevitably came during the '90s, the term was appropriated as derision. Today, when someone calls me "politically correct," they're dismissing my opinion as overly-sensitive "politics" (as opposed to reality or common sense).

And that's what American Apparel is doing here, in this billboard shared by Sociological Images' Lisa Wade.

What this says is that when people complain that AA ads are encouraging the sexualization of schoolgirls, fetishizing sexual violence, or just plain exploiting people for fun and profit, they are just sucking up to feminist "politics." The fact that AA is sweatshop-free excuses all this, because their manufacturing is "ethical." Never mind that their founder, Dov Charney, was fired by his own board for "several instances of alleged misconduct" with female employees.

"Politically correct" is dead. This cynical advertising is just flogging its corpse. Time to move on.

That's some f#cking bold pizza branding... #PizzaChingona

As ad controversies go, this one's pretty harmless. The Laredo Sun reports that Dallas-based pizza chain Pizza Patrón is upsetting people (and generating massive earned media) by naming their extra-spicy pie after a common Mexican expression — "La Chingona" —  which is politely translated as "the badass".

Those of you with even a passing knowledge of Mexican Spanish slang will, however, note that  "chingo"and its derivatives tend to be used as a Hispanic version of "fuck". The context is not always sexual, however, as in when we say "bad motherfucker". Which might be a more honest translation of this pizza's name, from what I can tell.

Swearing in another language (even in a country like the United States that pretends it's still unilingual) is a risky yet potentially fruitful strategy. On the one hand, older Mexican-Americans could be offended by it, and the FCC could even potentially fine the advertiser. (Which is why Spanish radio stations refuse to air the product ads uncensored.) On the other hand, the youth market could be quite drawn to such badassery.

I'm pretty sure the latter will be the case, and the advertiser isn't budging. Andrew Gamm, brand director for Pizza Patrón, told Pizza Marketplace, "When the Real Academia Española, the world's foremost authority on the Spanish language, defines 'chingón' as a very positive characteristic, it makes us feel confident in our position and in our decision to move forward without apology."

Aldo Quevedo, principal/creative director for Richards/Lerma, says the controversy north of the Mexican border is really a matter of cultural ignorance:

"In Mexico, people make fun of everything: pop culture, international events and even catastrophes. We are used to it and nobody really gets offended. We have thicker skin and there's a reason for that. That's why it's more shocking to me that the name is being censored here in the U.S.," he said. "I understand that the name of the product could be controversial. But really, after you try it you will understand that it's the best descriptor. To me, it's the only name that fits: La Ch!#gona."

Is this "You Retard" cap a simple case of awkward bilingualism?

If so, it's a very Canadian problem — and one that other brands would do well to learn from.

Global News reports that an Edmonton woman was shocked to see these words on the bottom of a cap she had just removed from a bottle of glacéau vitaminwater (a Coca-Cola product).

The woman, 32-year-old Blake Loates, says she was particularly outraged because her younger sister she has a younger sister lives with cerebral palsy and autism.

“We started wondering if it was a disgruntled employee who did that. And then, how did it get out of Coke’s factory?" she told reporters. "We were just really confused.”

Ms. Loates contacted her father in Tacoma, Washington. He immediately wrote an impassioned demand to Coca-Cola for the brand to apologize:

Imagine my surprise when I got this photo from my oldest daughter, Blake, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada. You see, the “R” word is considered a swear word in out family. We don’t use it. We don’t tolerate others using it around us. We ARE over-sensitive but you would be too if you had Fiona for a daughter! 

I know you will likely blame this on some rogue employee at some distant bottling plant. Probably not even one of your employees. But you have invested billions in promoting your brand. (Heck, I’ve been drinking Coke products since I was nine and got my first paper route!) And this single action, this small word printed on the bottom of a Vitamin Water lid, discovered by my daughter in Canada, has inspired me to tell you just how much the “R” word hurts. How destructive it is. How caustic. How uninformed. How isolating. Like the “N” word.

Ms. Loates also shared the letter on Facebook, along with a picture of the cap and of her sister.

Coca-Cola did apologize, in an e-mail. But they also issued a statement claiming that the words were part of a promotion.

From Global:

“We started printing random English and French words under the caps of glacéau vitaminwater. The top word English, bottom word French. In this case, a French word, despite an innocent meaning in French, made the production list of words,” Shannon Denny, director of Brand Communications with Coca-Cola Canada, said in a written statement Wednesday. 

We sincerely apologize for having inadvertently offending anyone. We take every consumer concern very seriously. This is a genuine oversight in the review process. The mistake has been corrected and the words removed from all future production. 

We recognize now this word should be removed due to the English connotations and have taken immediate action to thoroughly investigate this matter. Again, this was a genuine oversight in the review process.”

As corporate apologies go, it's not bad. HuffPo says Coca-Cola  plans to suspend the promotion and will recall product to ensure all remaining "worded" caps have been destroyed.

However, a nice little donation to R-Word.org would have added more weight to it. After all, even an accidental mistake is an opportunity to show what you're made of.

(Thanks to Audra Williams for the tip.)

The Gay Agenda in vintage ads

This week, the ACLU brought a case against a Utah School Board for restricting access to Our Mothers' House, a children's book about a family with two moms, after some parents complained about The Gay Agenda™

50+ years ago, when closets were deeper and words meant different things, the gay agenda in media was something quite different...

Via Katnip

Via Katnip

Via Anorak

Via Anorak

Via Sociological Images

 That last one is just too good to be real, but I haven't seen it debunked yet.

Chick-fil-A's "fruitcake" gaffe may not be what it seems

This Chick-fil-A flier, which made the viral rounds last week as further proof of the brand's anti-gay stance, may not be what it seems.

Oh, it's real. But there's context:

"This is an advertisement that a locally owned and operated restaurant has been using for the past five years to promote Chick-fil-A's catering options during the holidays," Steve Robinson, the company's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement to The Advocate Tuesday afternoon. "It was simply a play on words referring to the traditional holiday food, and the restaurant had no intention of offending anyone whatsoever. We regret the flier may have been taken out of context."

The problem is that slang terms change over time. Wikipedia gives an origin for the term "nutty as a fruitcake" dating to 1910, and meaning simply "crazy," but notes that "fruit" and "fruitcake" were used as slanders against gay men by the 1930s. Since homosexuality was seen as a mental illness at the time, the shift isn't that surprising.

While I have heard both "fruitcake" and "fruit" used to mean gay men in my own lifetime, I have probably heard "fruitcake" used more often as a synonym for "crazy." Perhaps it depends where you live.

As much as I despise Chick-fil-A's CEO's anti-gay statements, I don't see this as evidence of the brand's association with homophobia.

It's just insulting to mentally ill people.

What does "premium" junk food really mean?

Burger King's "premium".

Last week, I saw an interesting post on Burger Business, a fast food industry blog about how the word "premium" has become a popular adjective for burger chains:

According to data compiled for BurgerBusiness.com by Mintel, its use on menus has doubled since 2007 (and this is even before Burger King’s new items), and not just at quick-service restaurants. In an economy where consumers are looking for top value without necessarily paying more for it, “premium” connotes high quality or high price without committing to being either. “Premium” sounds upscale, special, with a sophistication that “deluxe” lacks.

McDonald's "premium" line (from their online menu)

But what exactly does "premium" mean, in the realm of junk food?

The Oxford American English Dictionary defines the adjective as "relating to or denoting a commodity or product of superior quality and therefore a higher price."

Wendy's

The problem, of course, is that "premium" is not part of the USDA's grading standard. It's an entirely relative term. If the fast food chains are being honest, it could imply that the meat is better than what they were giving you before.

But this is marketing. What they really want to imply is "better than the other guy's."

KFC Canada: "The premium chicken breast is marinated in our hot & spicy seasoning
 for full flavor, then double breaded by hand for extra crunch."

It's total bullshit, of course. The word is absolutely meaningless in any real sense of food quality. But as a marketing term, it works. Hard.

From another Burger Business post:

Speaking at last week’s 2012 Protein Innovation Summit hosted by Meatingplace magazine, Technomic Executive Vice President Darren Tristano presented data on consumer attitudes to beef quality (not just burgers). According to Technomic’s 2011 Center of the Plate Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report, 28% of diners say the amorphous descriptor “premium” would make them more willing to pay up to 5% more for beef at a restaurant or supermarket. Another 11% say that seeing that word would make them willing to pay more than 5% more. 

Technomic’s findings come as many of the growing “better burger” chains strive to set themselves apart by promoting the high quality of the beef they use. Elevation Burger, for example, touts its use of “100% organic, grass-fed, free-range beef.” The Cheeburger Cheeburger chain adopted all-natural, additive-free Angus beef. Farm Burger in the Atlanta area proudly serves grass-fed beef free of antibiotics and hormones. These terms signal quality, certainly, but consumers like “premium” even better.

There's even a chart:

Source: Technomic Center of the Plate Beef & Pork Consumer Trend Report

Note that the three descriptors below "premium" are specific and falsifiable. But people are much more likely to pay "slightly more" (and almost as likely to pay ("significantly more") for an adjective that costs the fast food chains absolutely nothing.

Here's how those same consumers describe their expectations of what "premium" beef implies:

Note that the top two responses have nothing to do with the way the meat was raised or processed, but only the cut and breed. Specifics about hormones and antibiotics don't even make the chart.

If the chains were to move towards hormone- and antibiotic-free meats, they'd greatly increase their costs. If you were them, after attending this "Protein Innovation Summit," which way would you go? (Burger business recommends "premium, 100% Angus sirloin."

Carl's Junior franchisee site

Which leads me to the conclusion that the problems with the industrial meat system will be with us until consumers are better educated.

2012 will be remembered as the Year of The Vagina

Via Strong Intelligent Women Choosing Equality & Freedom Instead Of Religion

Vagina, vagina, vagina. Rhymes with "Regina". Comes from the Latin word for "sheath". And it has become the defining word of the partisan split over women's health rights in the United States.

The word, both naughty and deeply personal, has been enjoying a renaissance of late, as advertisers have used it as the final frontier of sexuality in advertising. But surprisingly, it isn't usually aimed at men. Thanks to 16 years of The Vagina Monologues, the word has become an empowering shibboleth for women, inevitably being exploited to sell feminine hygiene products. Even cynically so.

But now it's political. With the "War on Women" being a defining issue in the 2012 US Presidential Election, "Vagina" is everywhere. In February, Oklahoma Sen. Judy McIntyre (D) protested the intrusiveness of that state's pending "Personhood" bill with a sign that read "If I wanted the government in my womb, I'd fuck a Senator." In May, a woman wearing that slogan on a tee shirt was refused boarding by American Airlines.

It seems that "vagina" is now symbolic of the divide between those who believe that human rights begin at conception, and trump the adult woman's, and those who think the opposite.

It has led to some really ridiculous scenes. This month, Michigan Rep. Lisa Brown (D) was officially banned from speaking on the house floor after stating (in response to a debate on restricting access to emergency contraception) "I'm flattered you're all so interested in my vagina. But no means no."

Republican Rep. Mike Callton, The Week reports, said Brown's choice of words "was so offensive, I don't even want to say it in front of women. I would not say that in mixed company."

Vagina. (Just needed to get that out of my system.)

In retaliation, a number of women State Representatives joined Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler for a command performance of her groundbreaking play about women's sexuality.

Via CTV

As well, the incident has inspired some empathetic men to join in on the fun, via YouTube:





I am enjoying the mockery. Hopefully, it will motivate those who are already predisposed to this side of the issue to get more politically active, via groups like Rock The Slut Vote. Because it sure won't change the mind of anyone on the opposite side. When you're dealing with religious convictions, mockery only makes them stronger by validating their own fears of religious persecution.

This is going to be an interesting year in the United States. A year in the hands of people who have vaginas. And I wish them the best of luck. Not only because I support them politically, but also because they are reclaiming the true meaning of the word "vagina" — that is, the internal organ.

As a word man, I wince whenever people misuse the word when they mean to say "vulva"...

This is how they advertise English lessons in Israel #FdAdFriday

Found on FoD, via Reddit

That's pretty sweet. But that black text over Jules' suit is too bad.

How to speak governmentese

My brother David shared this action plan some jokester in the Canadian federal government left on a meeting room whiteboard.

It reads:

1. Integrate the synergy. 

2. Leverage the traction.

3. Solidify engagement though positive traction.

4. Optimize feasibility by enhancing roadmaps.

5. Reduce industry jargon.

Sounds good. But they forgot "collect underpants".

LG "massaging" ads give unintentional happy endings

Working on national accounts in an officially bilingual country, I deal with linguistic and cultural adaptation of ads every day. So I'm always annoyed when international agencies working on global accounts can't be bothered to check their English when they translate their ads for worldwide sharing and award consideration.

This gaffe, by Media Marquee in Cairo, is particularly hilarious to a filthy mind like mine.

The combination of the typo in the headline — "Massaging should be as fun as your friends" — with a talk bubble animation that looks like homuncular sperm makes me think that this phone gives happy endings.

Perhaps it just has one hell of a vibration mode...

(Campaign via I Believe in Advertising)

Five words that should be banished from the communications industry forever...

.

... then slaughtered, burned, stomped on and salted.

If there's one thing the communications industry should be good at, it's communicating. But whether you're a client, in-agency, or a partner, I'll bet you've encountered these weasel words on more than one occasion. You've probably even used them. Now let's all agree to stop.

Edgy

I get this one all the time. "Be edgy!" It's not that the word is so bad, it's that everyone has their own ideas and tolerances when it comes to "edge".

To me, edgy means risky. As in, "we might get in big trouble for this". That might involve purposeful political incorrectness, blatant sexuality, political or religious outrage, foul language, or making fun of something people hold sacred.



This ad was on The Ad Graveyard, a old gallery of rejected creative. The accompanying story makes the point quite clearly:

"A slightly less graphic but still controversial advert by the same individual which showed a girl with a pierced tongue and a number of other facial deformations was run instead, all in an attempt to show the "wild side" of Alteon's gigabit routing technology. One suspects that the rejected advert was simply a little too wild for the marketing department's tastes."

Were you offended by the bare breast, the use of one of the most intimate aspects of motherhood to sell technology, or simply because it's completely random? Take your pick. But someone considered it "edgy" and someone else considered it "inappropriate".

Just ask WWF...

Wordsmith

I'm a writer, not a smith. But the worse problem here is this word's use as a verb. When someone says I need to "wordsmith" the copy "a bit", they're just saying that they're not happy with the copy, but they don't know exactly why. Unless I know exactly why, I can't really do the specific revisions, edits, or rewrites they should be asking for.

It's a meaningless word that makes what I do for a living seem like something vague and superficial. And it doesn't lead to better copy.

Tweak

Tweaking refers to fine-tuning or adjusting a complex system, usually an electronic device.

Tweaking is also a repetitive or ritualistic movement, posture, or utterance seen in people with physical and mental disorders.

In advertising, design and Web development, excessive requests to do the former often lead to the latter.

Dynamic

One of our industry's most abused words, "dynamic" seems to now mean "garish, animated, energetic and/or cool". It's particularly confusing in the digital world, where "dynamic" has a very specific technical definition.

If you think the creative is powerful, say so. But if giving constructive feedback, "make it more dynamic" is neither precise nor helpful.

Pop

The Oatmeal covered this best:



Have a great weekend. And don't forget to forget these words by Monday.

See You Next Tuesday, on Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is causing a stir today with its decision to feature on its main page an article about the traditional name for the main street of the red light district in medieval British cities: "Gropecunt Lane".

Now, I'm sure I've bruised eyeballs and shattered innocence by even dropping the C-Bomb in historical context, so to prevent further injury, all further references to the offensive word will use the obscure Chaucerian spelling "queynte".

As someone who deals with words in a professional manner, every day of his life, I look at our language's most offensive words with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. Why is queynte such a big deal? People use every possible crude euphemism for the male equivalent in work situations pretty frequently; when clients aren't around, the F-Bomb can be dropped without a second thought.

But queynte remains taboo, even in civilized boys-only discourse. Drop it in mixed company, and you're over the line. Drop in in front of my wife, and I sleep on the couch.

But will this ever change? Will popular culture and mass media defuse the C-Bomb?

As far as I'm aware, nobody dared say "Hell" on TV until 1967 when Captain dropped it at the end of "The City on the Edge of Forever". Twenty years later, the "Bitch" and "Bastard" frontier was crossed in primetime in a very special episode of Moonlighting. Since then, pretty much every other taboo word has made an appearance in the North American mainstream... except queynte.

The British islanders are a little less shy about it, as anyone who has seen movies like Trainspotting will attest. (If you click the link, be ready for a carpet-bombing of various naughty words.)

As a writer, I realize that words lose their power in overuse, or simply fall out of favour. The term "swive", once a shocker, is now meaningless. "Damn" was once written "D__n" because of its religious implications. (And, of course, "Taking the Lord's Name in Vain" is now as common as using "like" as a placeholder in casual speech.)

So, is the Wikipedia article the beginning of the end of queynte's power to shock and awe? And what new crudity will take its place?

My spellchecker and I will be keeping watch.

New words to assimilate

I love English. Yeah, it's my mother tongue, but it's also the Borg of linguistics. Encounter a new word that you can't translate? Assimilate!

Several years ago, I happened upon a list of potential new words and phrases for English to steal in the 1995 edition of the Book of Lists :

1. Cavoli riscaldati — This is supposedly an Italian expression for trying to revive a dead love affair, likening it to reheating cabbage. My Italian friends at the time claimed it was new to them. Must be dialect or something.

2. Dohada — A Sanskrit word for "the unorthodox cravings of pregnant women". (No further comment needed.)

3. Drachenfutter — German for "dragon fodder", a gift that a husband buys to placate his wife when he arrives home late.

4. Esprit de l'escalier — "The spirit of the staircase", or thinking up a great comeback too late to burn the other guy. This one has real potential.

5. Kyoikumama — A Japanese mother ("school mama") who pushes her kids into academic achievement. And here you thought it was just a stereotype...

6. Nakhes — Yiddish for the combination of pleasure and pride that you get from your kid's achievement, especially if you're a kyoikumama.

7. Ondinnonk — Iroquois word for the soul's innermost benevolent desires. A really optimistic taked on human nature, IMHO.

8. Razbliuto — Apparently a Russian term for the non-feelings a man has towards an ex lover.

9. Schaddenfreude — The joy Germans feel when someone they don't like gets what's coming to him.

10. Tartle — Supposedly a Scottish term for not remembering something right away. (Doesn't say whether it's Gaelic or dialect, but I definitely detect a whiff of Scotch.)

Recognize any of these? So far, only #9 (spelled "Schadenfreude") has gotten any traction that I've noticed. As far as I know, they could all be made up. But I would like to add one of my own experience that I think has great relevance in the current age of social networking:

11. Cazzate — Italian for what we might call "talking shit", but it's a little more specific than that. When Italians pepper cazzate (pronounced like "cats-atta", and loosely translated as "penis words") into their conversation, they are engaging in an Italian form of humour that involves saying ridiculous things with a straight face to amuse themselves and their friends. It's like trolling, but in sophisticated company.

Enough with the cazzate. Enjoy your Good Friday! And please feel free to add to my list of borg words for the long weekend.