Everyone under the age of 30 has known about it for years, but I had to hear it from the BBC. In fact, I only believe something if the BBC says it. I’m now pleased to be able to share my discovery with the rest of you over 30’s. It’s about a whole new line of work for copywriters, body of work actually.
Imagine you’re a copywriter and you’re polishing someone’s text. Could be anyone. The CEO of a large multinational, a student who’s written a brilliant piece of research but has difficulty with ‘i before e, except after c’, a senior manager who needs to prepare a communication plan for an important presentation, or a small business owner who has better things to do with his time (quite frankly) than devise clever web content. Essentially anyone who struggles to find the right words, creates rambling, mile-long sentences containing 6 subordinate clauses, has absolutely no clue about structure, or compiles doorstop sales brochures that send customers to sleep. Even broadsheet editors who can’t control their compulsion to embellish every second sentence with a metaphor - we copywriters help them all. From CEO to primary school headmaster, to the student who daren’t submit his thesis. I related this around the kitchen table one evening. And…