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Share topicHeh . . . anything I wrote that first year in business when I had no idea how to actually sell anything . . . that was a blunder.
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle & Renton, Washington | Mar 09, 2008
What Was Your Worst Copywriting Blunder?
Over the years, I've heard so many stories and collected some of my own. A few that come to mind:
Working for an international relief and development organization, as manager of grantwriting, I didn't catch a typo in a proposal before it went out the door. The writer left the "t" out of the word "mortality," so the goal of the project was to reduce child MORALITY. It was probably the worst mistake a Christian nonprofit could make!
I was writing a grant proposal and the name of the applicant school was Dimmit. Spell check changed it to "Dimwit Middle School." Fortunately, I caught that one in time.
And once at a trade show, I saw a banner for a company that listed, in huge letters, one of their services: "pubic relations" (left the "l" out).
So, copywriters: what was your most embarrassing typo of all time?
15 Bizniks have posted replies
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Posted by Chris Haddad, Seattle, Washington | Mar 17, 2008 -
Posted by Nancy Juetten, Bellevue, Washington | Mar 18, 2008A newspaper column I wrote about public relations made reference to "public" without the "l" in position. Fortunately, the editor made a change in the online edition soon after the column debuted, but the error lived on for as long as the print edition was readily available.
Now, "media relations" is my preferred way to describe what I do because the sting of that typo lingers still today.
If you need a great proofreader, check out fellow BizNik member Colleen Johnson of CMJ Office. She has an eagle eye that will serve you well.
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Posted by Rebecca Kraus, Seattle, Washington | Mar 18, 2008Oh geez, I'm sure there were many over the years.
One of my favorite typos was actually in an article about me as a games copywriter at Mattel. The article listed games I'd worked on, including one called "Bladerdash", instead of "Balderdash" (a game all about WORDS).
Bladerdash, the other kind of racing game.
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Posted by Kevin Selkowitz, Seattle, Washington | Mar 18, 2008LOL, though some of these "errors" seem like truth in advertising =)
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Posted by Cathy Goodwin, Seattle, Washington | Mar 20, 2008Spelling the client's name wrong in the copy...you do it once, and you check carefully next time around.
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Posted by Kim Pearson, Issaquah, Washington | Mar 20, 2008I wrote "Internal Peace Day" when it was supposed to be "International Peace Day," and didn't notice it until after the book was printed. Oh well, I guess we can't have international peace until we all have internal peace anyway.
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Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle & Renton, Washington | Mar 22, 2008Oh, Cathy. I did that just once, but it was a doozy. For an event that drew Oliver Stone, John Kerry, that guy from the Mary Tyler Moore show (Ed Asner?), Mike Farrell, and a bunch of other celebrities, I misspelled the name of the director of the international relief foundation in the charity event program. IN HUGE LETTERS! Boy, was she upset.
Thanks for the laughs. (Although when they happen, they aren't really that funny at the time.)
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Posted by Justin Baker, Seattle, Washington | Mar 23, 2008this thread is really relevant in the era of web 2.0, real time website updates, and blogs. seems like every time i read a post, or web copy i've recently written some error i didn't see before manifests.
even happens on copy i think i've thoroughly vetted. things have gotten better lately since i found a great person to review my copy. just goes to show you two eyes are better than one.:)
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Posted by Karen Pierce Gonzalez, Rohnert Park, California | Mar 27, 2008HA! There are some funny ones here, to be sure. I'm sure they weren't funny at the time... I, too, experienced the missing "l" in Public in a headline that had been created for one of my stories so that it read: Pubic Interest. And, of course, no one caught the typo. Am just glad it wasn't mine!
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Posted by Karen Pierce Gonzalez, Rohnert Park, California | Mar 27, 2008
HA! There are some funny ones here, to be sure. I'm sure they weren't funny at the time... I, too, experienced the missing "l" in Public in a headline that had been created for one of my stories so that it read: Pubic Interest. And, of course, no one caught the typo. Am just glad it wasn't mine!
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Posted by Karen Pierce Gonzalez, Rohnert Park, California | Mar 27, 2008
HA! There are some funny ones here, to be sure. I'm sure they weren't funny at the time... I, too, experienced the missing "l" in Public in a headline that had been created for one of my stories so that it read: Pubic Interest. And, of course, no one caught the typo. Am just glad it wasn't mine!
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Posted by Karen Pierce Gonzalez, Rohnert Park, California | Mar 27, 2008
HA! There are some funny ones here, to be sure. I'm sure they weren't funny at the time... I, too, experienced the missing "l" in Public in a headline that had been created for one of my stories so that it read: Pubic Interest. And, of course, no one caught the typo. Am just glad it wasn't mine!
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Posted by Nancy Hanauer, Seattle, Washington | Mar 27, 2008Thanks for the chuckles, all! I like "reducing child morality" for the Christian non-prfit the best...hee hee!
When I started my biz, sign language for hearing infants (to reduce frustration and aid early communication before they're able to speak) was so new that many people didn't know what it was. "Signing with your baby" in my course descriptions was often mistaken for "singing (la la la la la) with your baby" and once the class was posted as "swinging with your baby". Doh! Not sure exactly what kind of swinging the hosting venue was thinking off...any type sounds pretty dangerous with a baby! ;0)
Nancy
www.hoptosignaroo.com
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Posted by Jeff Fisher, Portland, Oregon | Mar 28, 2008Years ago I worked on a designing/producing a mailer to be sent to 50,000 senior citizens by a major insurance company. All copywriting was done in-house, with multiple levels of a proofing and approval within the company.
The design was approved and signed off on by multiple staffers, printed and mailed to the 50,000 addressees - and then the phone started ringing off the hook at the insurance company offices.
A benefit description that should have read -
You pay nothing. Medicare pays nothing. XXXXX Insurance pays 100%
- was printed with it reading -
You pay nothing. Medicare pays nothing. XXXXX Insurance pays nothing.
Thousands of senior citizens were suddenly VERY worried about who was going to pay the specific medical bill.
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Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle & Renton, Washington | Mar 28, 2008
Boy, someone should really collect these and put them in a book. Karen, how funny! The public-pubic mistake seems to be very common.
Nancy, I guess if I was a parent, I would also like singing with my baby, and, yes, even swinging!
Jeff, that must have gotten all those seniors riled. SOMEBODY has to be paying, right? If not the insurance company you are giving your money to, then who? Th funny thing is that usually, the more people who approve it, the more likely there is to be a glitch.
Thanks for the laughs, all.
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