I wandered lonely as a cow…
…that was Wordsworth’s first draft, apparently. One story has it that when he got home from his muse-filled rambling, the great man showed his notebook to his sister Dorothy, who ‘ummed and erred’ about the ‘cow’ bit. ‘Do cows wander lonely?’ she postured. She suggested a cloud. That story might be apocryphal but its suits my purpose, so I’m going to believe it’s true. Poets, even geniuses like Wordsworth, don’t ju

You had me, you lost me
Jack and Jill fall down, with readers tumbling after Did you see today’s half-page newspaper ad from ‘ACT ON CO2′? (This is a cross-government initiative involving 4 UK government departments, aiming to show people how to reduce carbon emissions). There’s a classic image of Jack and Jill up the hill, not getting any water from the well: “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. There is none, as extreme weather due to climate change has caused a drought.” Hmm. Not brilliant copy is it? But still, the combination of visual and head copy kind of gets me in. I’m interested, and ready to read

Brilliant ‘meerkat’ ads
Hey Mum! Look at this! Can you really get 10-year olds running to computers to look up car insurance websites? The ‘compare the meerkat’ TV ad is a brilliant concept and it proves that with the right creative processes, anything’s possible. The Best Words verdict: ‘It’s a prize-winner’. Do you agree? http://www.comparethemeerkat.com/ http://www.bestwords.co.uk

Flat tyres ad. Does Bridgestone have money to burn?
Have you seen the new Bridgestone Tyres TV ad? It’s bad. This is a TV advertisement which breaks the cardinal rule of benefit-selling. There’s no clear explanation of why we should choose Bridgestone over other brands.  The copy is around 90% ‘we’ and 10% ‘you’. In my opinion Bridgestone have chucked their money away on this ad. The Best Words verdict: ‘Dreadful. Must do better!’

Fire, rain and the traders’ association
I met old Andy at the stile this morning. He was heading to the wood with his dog, I was heading back. We got into the usual sort of pleasantries about the weather, how he was enjoying the bit of sun etc. I said I was disappointed it hadn’t rained, because I love rain. He chortled a bit,  then went off shaking his head, probably further convinced that I was a bit of  a nut case. He wouldn’t be the first, or the la