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[Joe Carillo]

This McDonald’s ad for its Pound Saver Menu has been skewered in the United Kingdom for its inaccurate use of the English language:

According to a report in Sky News Online yesterday (January 24), the ad’s opening statement, “the pound, also known as a bob,” isn’t true, strictly speaking. In the UK, its critics argue, a “bob” is a term for a shilling or five pence, which is of far less value than a pound.

Marie Clair, spokeswoman of the London-based Plain English Campaign, gave this comment to Sky News Online: “It just doesn't work for me, a bob certainly isn’t anything like a pound.”

In defense of the ad’s language, a McDonald’s spokesman said: “Although a ‘bob’ was formerly used as a slang term for the shilling until the introduction of decimalisation in 1971, research has shown it is now more commonly used as slang for a pound or money in general.”

Read the full story in Sky News Online now!

[madgirl09]

If the "bob" is less in value, then the expression " Great value for around a pound" in the ad is correct. "Around" doesn't mean exactly the said amount. "Around a  pound" also has a rhyme, which is a good nmemonic line. The English always change the way they say "money". No one uses pound or pounds so much in everyday life anymore. Go to the market and you hear "20 p", "50 p"....when the coin is just a one-syllable word, still they are lazy  to produce the complete sound.