Author Topic: Comparatives  (Read 11555 times)

tonybau

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Comparatives
« on: November 23, 2009, 04:05:50 PM »
Emblazoned on the rears of Victory Liner buses:

    "We move people better...safer."

It probably was decided on because of the two words "better...safer." rhyming (my presumption). I feel "more safely" should have been used.

toonybau

vinzvonvan

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2009, 04:39:35 PM »
It stirred my mind to think.But I think the sentence is grammatically correct,considering what it wants to implies as a bus company."Better and safer" really rhymes and adheres to the fact of reaching the number of Filipinos who would understand simple and plain English.Can you suggest one more word that would rhyme with "safely"?
By the way, I don't represent Victory liner. :-\

tonybau

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2009, 04:58:23 PM »
Dear vinzvonvan,

I would have said, "We move people better!", emphasizing and implying the company's greater efficiency than other carriers.  :) To me, the addition of  "...safer" destroys the impact and makes the motto open to attack by English critics.

My personal opinion.

tonybau

Joe Carillo

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2009, 06:03:49 PM »
I think vizvonvan is right in saying that the slogan ""We move people better...safer" is grammatically and semantically defensible. And tonybau also has a point in saying that "We move people more safely" is better. However, I would say that neither of the two is an appropriate slogan for a bus company. The verb "move" doesn't convey the idea of the actual speed levels by which modern-day buses transport people; in fact, the image it creates in my mind is that of a moving company that uses (at least in the Philippine setting) old, reconditioned open-body "lipat-bahay" trucks.

Apart from the mismatch in their speed imagery, both "We move people better...safer" and "We move people more safely" are very vague statements. You move people better than what? In what way do you move people better or safely--at a slow, moderate, or fast speed? Do you pamper them while moving them? The slogan doesn't give a glimmer at all of the quality of movement or, to be more precise about it, of the quality of transporting.

So what would be a better slogan? I frankly have no idea at this point, but coming up with a good one is a job that normally would take a competent advertising agency perhaps a day or two of high-quality brainstorming. All I know is that "We move people better...safer" and "We move people more safely" are both weak, imprecise, and unimpressive slogans for such a major bus company. It definitely deserves a much better slogan for its money.

Any idea from the wordsmiths among the Forum members?
« Last Edit: November 23, 2009, 08:32:12 PM by Joe Carillo »

vinzvonvan

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2009, 07:04:29 PM »
Oooopps!I committed a mistake...forgot to preview.Regarding the second sentence of my comment to tonybau's post: it should be:"what it wants to imply" (not implies).Apologies :'(

madgirl09

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #5 on: November 23, 2009, 07:11:24 PM »
Advertising has its own set of rules and psychology principles. "We move people better" could be a complete and precise message already. But the addition of "...safer" has a particular impact which could be addressing the major motorist concerns these days. Our people want to see more specific promises, and I for one would be easily persuaded to ride at Victory Liner (as it wakes me up a few minutes before my waiting shed approaches, screens passangers a bit...) if the word "safer is emblazoned on its sides. The ellipsis symbol (...) could explain the omission (of other details which may pertain to the various services it offers) making it that short and easy to register. IMHO-madgirl


tonybau

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #6 on: November 24, 2009, 03:11:06 PM »
Whoever comes up with the better slogan should get an honorarium of huge proportions from Victory. If the company decides to change its slogan to anything that was mentioned in the forum, you'll know why. :-)

As far as advertising, there doesn't have to be rhyme or reason. Just watch tv ads and look at those scattered along the roads or browse the papers (which I don't do anymore). What is catchy and grabs the people's attention and sticks in their minds is all that matters.

For Victory, "Better. Safer." Of course, backed up by the kind of better quality service one would naturally expect plus the assurance of safer passage en route to one's destination.

I don't ride their buses, BTW.

« Last Edit: November 24, 2009, 03:16:15 PM by tonybau »

madgirl09

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #7 on: November 25, 2009, 10:50:20 AM »
so what slogans should airplanes use, just curious? you fly? JAL is having trouble surviving, but DELTA is quick to buy it out. how can they lure passengers back? with the christmas season approaching and recent accidents in air navigation, what slogans do you think would click?

--- happy landing!
--- free cellphones in case of emergencies!
--- $30 to go home this christmas!
--- no noisy children aboard!
--- big Y seats at cockpits!

 ;D ;D ;D...just having fun here. no pun intended.


Joe Carillo

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #8 on: November 25, 2009, 11:39:59 AM »
No offense to the present-day Japanese, but this talk about slogans and advertising nudged my memory of the title of a tongue-in-cheek but instructive book on advertising that I read many, many years ago. The title of that book was From Those Wonderful Guys Who Gave You Pearl Harbor, and if I remember right, it was supposed to be a generic advertising slogan for Japanese exports to the North American market. How times and mores change! ::)

hill roberts

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2009, 02:56:05 PM »
Question: Is there something wrong with the title of my piece,

"My Close Encounter With Chelsea Clinton and  Harrison Ford, Albeit Briefly" ??

Was I right to convert the adjective "brief" to the adverb "briefly"?

Of course, if I were to say, "I met them briefly." we know it's correct.

However, because I added the conjunction "albeit", would it have made

the title of the piece, gravely incorrect? Over to you, Joe. ;D.....

I just opened the Oxford Dictionary and "brief", if used as an adjective,

 can't be converted into "briefly" after all! Over the years, I've heard

BBC journalists say "briefly please, we haven't got time..." I never thought


it  to be embarrassingly wrong! Again, over to you Joe, and keep it "brief"--
Hahaha! ;D ;D ;D

madgirl09

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2009, 07:28:44 AM »
Hello Hill,
I know, Sir Joe won't delete that "news" of yours. Let it stay. Our forum needs something like that to break the monotony  ;D . I read it to hubby and ....(gosh  ::). The dialogue changed. He said, "Come on...you have 300!".  :'(  It's winter, eh  :-*


Your title "My Close Encounter....." is a noun phrase, so the modifer must be an adjective. So, it should be "My Close......, Albeit Brief (and Candid)" ?

I think when BBC journalists say " Briefly please, we haven't got time", they mean "Say it briefly (tell us briefly), please, as we haven't got time". So, "briefly" serves as an adverb modifying "say".

Prof. Joe? ::)






Joe Carillo

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #11 on: November 30, 2009, 08:32:35 AM »
Question: Is there something wrong with the title of my piece,

"My Close Encounter With Chelsea Clinton and  Harrison Ford, Albeit Briefly" ??

Was I right to convert the adjective "brief" to the adverb "briefly"?

Of course, if I were to say, "I met them briefly." we know it's correct.

However, because I added the conjunction "albeit", would it have made

the title of the piece, gravely incorrect? Over to you, Joe. ;D.....

I just opened the Oxford Dictionary and "brief", if used as an adjective,

 can't be converted into "briefly" after all! Over the years, I've heard

BBC journalists say "briefly please, we haven't got time..." I never thought


it  to be embarrassingly wrong! Again, over to you Joe, and keep it "brief"--
Hahaha! ;D ;D ;D

Yes, Hill, I think your use of "briefly" in the title "My Close Encounter With Chelsea Clinton and  Harrison Ford, Albeit Briefly" is grammatically erroneous, but it's not because "brief" can't be converted into "briefly." It's because "briefly" is an adverb that by definition should  modify a verb or an adjective, but there's none of either that it can modify in "My Close Encounter With Chelsea Clinton and  Harrison Ford, Albeit Briefly." (The adjective "close" modifies "encounter" and has no grammatical link with the adverb "briefly." That title is a noun phrase that can only be modified by an adjective, as follows: "My Close Encounter With Chelsea Clinton and  Harrison Ford, Albeit Brief." The operative noun that the adjective "brief" modifies is, of course, "encounter."

In contrast, there's nothing wrong with BBC journalists saying "Briefly please, we haven't got time..." That statement is actually an ellipted (shortened and streamlined) version of the sentence "Please say it briefly; we haven't got time..." The verb "say" is therefore hiding in "Briefly please, we haven't got time...", and it is that verb that's being modified by the adverb "briefly."   

hill roberts

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #12 on: November 30, 2009, 07:58:58 PM »
Thank you, Joe. I knew it was a grave, embarrassing error a day after I posted this
particular piece. In fact, on FB, "What's on your mind", I put the question to FB users
themselves, and no one bothered to say, "hoohohooo, wrong, Hill, ...it should be..."
Joe, I am never afraid to admit mistakes, even from a very young age, because that
was how I was brought up by my parents. My father would also say, "If you really think
you're right, argue that you're right...but if you know you're wrong, admit it and say,
"Oops, sorry...I stand corrected."
One should never be afraid to apologise, admit their slip ups, and so forth...I don't have
any hang-ups whatsoever. We learn everyday and my mother and her sisters, my sisters
and cousins and aunts, having been all educators at one time or another shared the
same...Thank you, Joe for correcting me in the technical sense. Much appreciated indeed.
Yes, I did rectify the title of the piece on Saturday and what a relief!!! ;D ;D ;D :-* (but I'm guilty, too of not bothering to check my articles before posting them. Somehow, spontaneious delivery has always been my norm...wrong, wrong, wrong. If I'm not sure,next time I'd consult you, behind the scenes, before posting my pieces.!!

hill roberts

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #13 on: November 30, 2009, 08:01:44 PM »
spontaneous....hahhaah (grrrr, I  hate typo errors)

Joe Carillo

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Re: Comparatives
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2009, 10:31:33 AM »
I have no problem at all with occasional grammar or usage mistakes, Hill; they are part and parcel of our being human, and, of course, life is a continuing learning experience. What gets me is when people hold on to their wrong grammar and usage for dear life even if the evidence to the contrary has become overwhelming! This applies particularly to academics and self-styled experts who have built their reputations on their supposed infallibility and ex cathedra pronouncements.