treating english badly
To The Coca-Cola Company,
The slogan for Dasani mineral water contains an egregious error. The tag line is "Treat yourself well. Everyday." The word "everyday" is an adjective that is used to describe things that are routine or ordinary. "Everyday concerns" or "everyday life" would be two examples.
Your slogan should read: "Treat yourself well. Every day." In this case "every" is an adjective modifying the noun "day." This is a popular construction which is also used in such phrases as "every week," "every time," "every breath I take," etc.
David Armstrong, a grammar geek after my own heart, takes on Coca-Cola's Dasani brand slogan. I especially like when he challenges "impactful," one of my least favorite terms of corporatespeak: "By the way, 'impactful' is not listed as a word in any dictionary that I am aware of. Was this neologism spawned by the person who hatched your Dasani slogan?"
Comments
I think we should form a roving band of grammar vandals, who take to the streets by night and tag the Bi-Marts and laundramats of the world with correct spelling.
Am I wrong in thinking the proper Dasani slogan would be, "Treat yourself well every day"? Contrary to the Real. Comfortable. Jeans. -style of advertising, I thought a sentence consisted of a subject and a verb.
And yes, I know how to spell 'geek'.
Posted by: Valarie | July 8, 2003 7:44 PM
Yeah! We could correctify people's ridiculized word usements!
Posted by: LionIndex | July 8, 2003 7:51 PM
Under what circumstances should the period be outside the quote, as in "'geek'." ?
Thanks.
Posted by: david | July 8, 2003 7:51 PM
Under no circumstances.
I'm willing to let the "Every day." slide. Sentence fragments are OK by this guy.
Posted by: nedlog | July 8, 2003 8:26 PM
The period only belongs inside the quote if it explicitly belongs to that which is being quoted. This is Adam's Rule of Quotation.
Posted by: sudama | July 8, 2003 9:21 PM
Something I didn't know:
I would have put the punctuation in the second and fourth sentences inside the quotation marks. But this makes more sense.
Posted by: nedlog | July 9, 2003 11:22 AM
But this makes more sense.
Yes, and I extend this rule to commas and periods as well. I see no reason not to, except perhaps an appeal to aesthetics to which I say humbug.
Posted by: sudama | July 9, 2003 11:54 AM
People like the interesting word usements
I structure.
Posted by: zagg | July 9, 2003 3:31 PM
you're right, in the expected manner of speaking. but on the other hand what if we were so hip that treating ourselves right on an everyday basis i just what we expected? the malaprop thus becomes an inside joke that only us fit and trim dasani drinkers know.
ok that was contrived. but i must confess that after a lifetime, this is the best flat water i've ever purchased. i have two bottles right here on my desk. next to pellegrino, dasani is king.
Posted by: Cobb | July 10, 2003 3:18 AM