Author Topic: A soap ad's tagline  (Read 4795 times)

Miss Mae

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A soap ad's tagline
« on: February 13, 2015, 03:41:15 PM »
Sir, in a commercial, the main character spoke these lines:

"I never lie about my age. My skin will do that for me."

But am I right that it should be does that, Sir?"

Joe Carillo

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Re: A soap ad's tagline
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2015, 01:18:23 PM »

No, the present-tense “does that” won’t cut it as well as the future-tense “will do that.”

When assessing the grammatical and semantic correctness of advertising statements, always keep in mind that they almost always take liberties with language. Particularly for 30-second or even shorter TV commercials, ad agency copywriters aim for punchy, not-so-scrupulously-truthful  statements but with very high recall (memorableness or tawag-pansin) and shock value to get their message across; otherwise, that message may just get swamped and not come through at all amid the unceasing barrage of TV ad messages competing for audience attention. In fact, proof that the testimonial statement “I never lie about my age. My skin will do that for me” has done a good attention-grabbing job is that it caught your attention and, at the very least, made you wonder if its English tense usage is correct.

On close examination, though, we will find that such a testimonial is hardly realistic. Only a shamelessly dishonest and ruthlessly manipulative woman would make that declaration, much less publicly—but then that’s precisely why that declaration is so memorable and so effective from an advertising standpoint. As to grammar, both the first sentence, “I never lie about my age,” and the second, “My skin will do that for me,” are unassailable. But as you have wondered, perhaps the second sentence should have read “My skin does that for me.” I must say, however, that such present-tense phrasing would have defeated the very purpose of the ad, which is to call attention to the virtue—the unique selling proposition—of the product being endorsed. That woman’s skin isn’t doing a lying job about her age yet. It can’t lie about her age all by its lonesome; it will absolutely need that soap brand to be able to lie for her about her age. In short, woman, you’ve got to buy it and apply it on your skin. Indeed, it is this kind of creative twist or leap of the imagination that can elevate a product’s identity way above the mundane and make it stick in the mind.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2015, 08:17:15 AM by Joe Carillo »

Miss Mae

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Re: A soap ad's tagline
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2015, 03:15:12 PM »
I see. Thank you.