Thinking Creative

As a creative director at an ad agency, I once told a senior copywriter that most of her headlines were leaning on play on words...and that wasn't good. She was appalled. No one had ever given this feedback before. In fact, she asked me if I was kidding.

I wasn't.

Luke Sullivan, a copywriter I knew in my youth back in Minneapolis and author of "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This", says, "Get puns and word play out of your system right away. They’re just overused and the sign of lazy writing. It’s okay to think them. Just make sure you toss them." Right on, brother. Amen. Cue the choir.

Puns are bad enough in brand communications. But even worse, I've recently noticed an overuse of puns in local and national television news copy. When that happens, it just seems like a sign of disrespect for the seriousness of the news stories. Nothing like an elbow to the ribs right after a story about out of work auto workers or falling home prices, right? It's as if the writer doesn't think anyone's listening. Or just wants to add, "Get it?" to the end of the copy.

Don't do puns – in your online brand communications or your printed communications. Your readers will get it without them. Period.