We exist because the world of professional writing/editing, particularly the online world, is either shamefully understaffed or worse, underqualified. We do not exist to snark on the grammar of amateur individuals. However, if you get paid to write or revise writing for a living, you're fair game. Let the hunting begin!
Showing posts with label What's Wrong With This Picture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label What's Wrong With This Picture. Show all posts
Although we have a particular fondness for the University of Southern California due to a familial connection, our unwavering sense of justice impels us to publish this item. In addition, we cannot resist the irony of a sign welcoming scholarship recipients that prominently features a spelling error. We have little more to say on this matter; we believe it speaks for itself. Spend a few moments pondering and we believe you'll see what we mean. 'Fess up. You've got a smile on your face.
This error merits the following awards:
- What's Wrong With This Picture? - C for Creative Spelling - Oops! Is My Lazy Showing?
This error also earns the following Drunken Proofreading rating:
**** (four stars) - Yesh, I take thish water bottle everywhere I go. It'sh water. No, you can't have any.
Here's a special video edition of What's Wrong with this Picture, brought to you by Mexicana Airlines. This commercial was shown on Saturday, October 27, 2007, on Fox Sports West in the mid-afternoon time slot.
**3:25 p.m. Note - we are currently experiencing technical difficulties with the video. Please be patient. We have been informed by YouTube that some monkeys are working on the problem.**
**3:49 p.m. Problem fixed! We believe. Thank you, monkeys.**
**Saturday, November 17, 2007, Update: Apparently YouTube was highly offended by Mexicana's error and has pulled the video content from its site. We say apparently because they did not offer us any explanation at all, so we are forced to draw our own conclusions. They do not seem to have the same sense of humor about these things that we do.**
Here's a still photo too, just for laughs:
Resisting the urge to rant and rave about all the problems in the world a simple spell-check can prevent, we have spent some time trying to dream up how this special spelling error occurred. Here are some of our ideas:
- "Fligth" is a new term created by Mexicana's promotions department to reward passengers taking their eighth flight this year. It is pronounced flyd-th (like heighth).
- The commercial is in actuality a secret message being sent from Max to 99 in conjunction with the search for the Tequila Mockingbird.
- Those crafty ad folks at Mexicana were trying to garner a spot on The Grammar Wall of Shame in the misguided belief that all publicity is good publicity. (To clarify, this belief is misguided only because they fail to realize that a spot on The Grammar Wall of Shame is actually equivalent to no publicity at all.)
While any of these options is a possibility, this spelling screw-up is most likely the result of an astonishing lack of effort and initiative on the part of a member or members of the professional writing world. Thus, you witness the birth of a new designation for this type of error: Phoning It In. In addition to being the first recipient of this designation, Mexicana Airlines has earned a C for Creative Spelling, an Oops! Is My Lazy Showing, and the following Drunken Proofreading rating:
**** (four stars) - Yesh, I take thish waterbottle everywhere I go. It'sh water. No, you can't have any.
Many thanks to Christina W, who submitted this photograph for our review.
It's almost a shame to pick on this sign as it seems so clearly to be the product of a non-native English speaker. In that spirit, we're introducing a kinder, gentler subcategory: Totally Giggleworthy. We're not going to pick on the glaring spelling mistake or the AutoCorrect Syndrome-type error. However, we can't resist posting the photograph because it's so completely, well, giggleworthy.
If the stress of your work day gets to be too much for you, we suggest bookmarking this page. Please, take a mental vacation on us to a world where only the people who help rock stars into and out of their clothes between songs can use the facilities.
What's wrong with this picture? This is a serious gaffe, especially for a worldwide company like Disney that trades so heavily on its reputation. We wonder whose head ought to roll for this mistake. (As we have recently watched the rerun of The Office with the watermarked paper recall, we suggest Michael Scott.)
This entry onto the Wall of Shame can be classified under multiple categories: C for Creative Spelling (self-explanatory), and Incompetence Starts at the Top - it represents gross grammatical negligence at every step of the creative process: concept, design, manufacturing, approval, etc. It is particularly egregious because it could have been such a simple fix. Missle is not a recorded word. Any spell-checking program would have easily identified this problem.
This entry also qualifies for the following Drunken Proofreading rating: ***** (five stars) - Whaaahhaa? Whodrankshaaallllthershcotch?
We exist because the world of professional writing/editing, particularly the online world, is either shamefully understaffed or worse, underqualified. We do not exist to snark on the grammar of amateur individuals. However, if you get paid to write or revise writing for a living, you're fair game. Let the hunting begin!
