04 September 2014

Ice creams at Rush Munro's Ice Cream Parlour are an infrequent treat in our extended family so we don't know how long this sign has been up, but take a look for yourself...

 

[Snapped on a cellphone]

..did you see Frisbee's

 

So okay, I don't personally like the capitalisation of Rings either but have accepted that this is probably one craze that I am not going to be able to win.

 

Syntax Schmintax is an attempt to document, and make myself more aware of, the grammatical errors being made in advertising and marketing by organisations who in the main employ professional sign-writers and printers.  It is by no means an authoritative reference, and is only my personal opinion.  Feel free to chime in and comment, especially if you are one who has an English honours degree (which I don't)!

 

08 March 2014

 

I hesitate to say this is entirely wrong, it just doesn't seem right.  It sounds disjointed.

They could have left the tagline as "The best place for nails" even though it would be a duplicate of their business name.

Using "The best place in town" would still convey the right message and tie the exotic idea in with being local.  It would also add a second message of it being the ultimate business in the locality - perhaps not something they can prove on a supreme level but possibly on some level.

However the way that it currently is, breaks up "The best place in town" which we are used to hearing - it disturbs the 'rhythm' of the phrase. 

If they really wanted to keep all the words in the second line then how about "The best place in town for nails".

 

Instead as they have a strong business name that describes exactly what they do, two signage areas, and don't really need a tagline, they could use the sign real estate for something entirely different.

What about opening hours?  Contact details?  Something that further defines 'exotic'?  A website or Facebook page url, where they had examples of their handiwork?  An incredibly witty statement that makes you smile?

 

Syntax Schmintax is an attempt to document, and make myself more aware of, the grammatical errors being made in advertising and marketing by organisations who in the main employ professional sign-writers and printers.  It is by no means an authoritative reference, and is only my personal opinion.  Feel free to chime in and comment, especially if you are one who has an English honours degree (which I don't)!

 

Hawke's Bay
01 March 2014

 

This may be a little contentious as it is a matter of formal vs informal usage of the word 'through'.

I believe that the proper spelling for the expression on these signs is 'Drive-through'.  Hyphenated and formal.

McDonald's can't even seem to agree which way they want to use the informal - with or without a hyphen.

Others may argue that both these examples are for family fast food joints and by their very nature they are not formal establishments.  I get that.

The flip side though is that these are serious businesses, and unless their usage of the informal 'thru' is a specific marketing angle, then it would be better for the English language to use the formal.

After all McDonalds goes as far as putting the acute accent on the 'e' in café, don't they‽

 

Syntax Schmintax is an attempt to document, and make myself more aware of, the grammatical errors being made in advertising and marketing by organisations who in the main employ professional sign-writers and printers.  It is by no means an authoritative reference, and is only my personal opinion.  Feel free to chime in and comment, especially if you are one who has an English honours degree (which I don't)!

 

Hawke's Bay

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