Korean word count

Posted 5 Mar 2010

Daily Life, Language, Weird | 4 Comments 

Working on an article for a guest blog post that I was asked to submit, I had just about completed a first draft. Thinking to check my word count, I called up the word count tool in Microsoft Word. What I saw rather surprised me.

The default language was set to UK English. So, why did the good people at Microsoft think to advise me of the non-Koreans words? Why would I want to know the number of Asian characters in Korean words?

Going pro as a shopper

Posted 19 Feb 2010

Clothing, Daily Life, Language | 4 Comments 

How much does one have to shop at J. Crew before they give you your own business card just for shopping there?

Once I knew a gal who received a hand-written personal thank you note from Saks Fifth Avenue for her purchases earlier that week. But a business card? If you get one of those, you must really be spending LOADS of shopping time at the J.Crew.

A clumsy marketing attempt at addressing

Posted 8 Jan 2010

Design, Language, The Little Things | 1 Comment 

A month or so ago I received a promotional postcard through the post. You know the kind, sent in bulk via the Post Office. Mass distribution stuff. Sent from a local dental practice. Below is a photo of the address label:

The postcard was addressed to The Tooth Lover in Chester Springs, PA 19425. The ‘tooth lover’? The image of a ‘tooth lover’ struck me as weird, possibly very wrong and at the very least clumsy. I appreciate the dental practice’s attempt to connect with its audience via the label, but its choice of wording was not ideal to say the least.

So, what possible alternatives might be better? Well, I am not sure that a cutesy mailing label was the right approach in the first place. That sort of approach is trying to personalise what is essentially unsolicited direct mail marketing. The cutesy approach of the mailing label creates a disconnect between DM marketing and the perception of the DM by the general public. Why not let the professional look/feel of the marketing postcard make the connection with the recipient?

Want more?
For more of our thoughts on marketing and taglines, consider The power of a good tagline, Super Duper Souper and I’m a sucker for you.

(So, as to spare the blushes of the dental practice, I did not include photos of the postcard itself. I am sure that our readers will understand and appreciate this.)

Best thing since sliced bread

Posted 1 Jan 2010

Daily Life, Language | 7 Comments 

The phrase “the best thing since sliced bread” is often used, and while a helpful conversational tool, it leaves us asking: what was the best thing before sliced bread?

Taking the helm in pursuit of an answer, CMD is using this post as a poll to seek the answer to the question.

We invite you all to weigh in with comments on your suggested modifications.

Hail That Taxi

Posted 9 Dec 2009

Commuting, Guest Post, Language, Signs | 7 Comments 

Our third and final chapter from Spain:

Hey! This taxi doesn’t seem to be taking us to the address we asked for!  In fact, it seems like we’re on some sort of pre-set route with regular stops where other passengers get into and out of the taxi.

Our reader’s comments:

My Spanish is bad, but that I don’t think the Taxi is the word for the bus drawn in the photo.

Thanks again to that Chicago CMD reader who sent in these pics after her recent trip to Spain!

You too can submit photos of the quirky things you encounter to chickenmonkeydog [at] gmail [dot] com!