Please End the Dramatic Clichés

I browse the web a lot and probably pay too attention to the smaller things in life; So as a dork I can’t help but notice the dramatic clichés at every turn. It’s getting old –fast.

There seems to be a constant urge to make any company or organization feel like they are describing the Kennedy Clan–Camelot deal; with magic, curses, love and tragedies, with some sites and ad material verge on the edge of Chris Crocker-ness and his “LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!” bit –ok maybe not that dramatic but surely there is no need for such weird-ness.

I recently clicked on to this UK based sign design site and the first thing I read was “Once upon a time,” With a huge story-book O. Needless to say I was quickly turned away from the story and not sucked in like I’m sure was meant. I went back and here’s a snippet:

“Once upon a time (26 years ago to be precise) a man had a simple need to make a sign for his business. After he made the sign his family and friends all told him how beautiful it was. With joy and delight the man would stare at his sign every evening thinking to himself: “What a wonderful sign I have made! There should be more like these!”

Oh come on! That might be cute for some people but most would find that a bit off. It was so terrible I’m simply moving on.

A great local example I stumbled upon recently came in the form of a brochure I picked up from an all around great place, the Boca Paila restaurant at Rancho El Charco in La Joya (20 minutes from McAllen.) I unfolded the cute little brochure and the first two words are “Imagine this;” which bring the question “why should I imagine anything?” Coincidentally this is also on their “Property Overview” page of their website, and of course that is only the beginning here’s a bit more.

“Imagine this: riding quietly in a mule drawn covered wagon rides over 3 miles of rustic and wild plant-life. You stop for a bit, step down, wipe your brow and take in the view: a group of longhorns beside a bundle of hackberry trees. Over there to the left, a few birds are perched on the back of a buffalo.”

Once again what if I don’t want to imagine it? Why not just tell me about it instead of going into what might be a lost part of Home on the Range? Yes the deer and the antelope play at Rancho El Charco, but come on. Here’s my 30 second rewrite.

“At Rancho El Charco guests can enjoy quiet rides on mule drawn covered wagons. The ride spans over 3 miles of rustic plant and animal life; with animals such as longhorns and buffalo, and gorgeous hackberry trees, there is a lot to see and enjoy.”

That’s it and I covered every point that was covered in the original but made it slightly less painful.

While I fully recognize that marketing teams and people in general love clichés, euphemisms, and figures of speech. They aren’t always the best solution. Why the heck make anything sound like it came out of a five year olds book?

Just to make things clear: Rancho El Charco, home to the Boca Paila restaurant is really great place to eat and hangout. I have nothing against anyone but their marketer or writer. Great food!

Also, the sign place does produce awesome work and even though I didn’t link to them you can Google the quote and find them for kicks.

And finally Chris Crocker might be cliché at this point but not retro-cliché.