What I cannot write
Last night I was reclining in a bubble bath, drinking a delightful concoction of Absolut Mandrin and cranberry juice over ice in a pint glass from Arrogant Bastard Ale.
I was fascinated by the label:
A copywriter somewhere wrote this copy. It’s genius. It’s flawless. Every apostrophe is perfect. I realized as I read this pint glass that I could never be talented enough to write for Arrogant Bastard Ale. The copywriter had an extreme understanding of the tone the company wanted to convey. S/he developed the perfect cadence of words. S/he understood the audience much better than I could. S/he made a label that makes people want to share the blurb with their friends because they’d all get a chuckle.
When I’m writing about energy service professionals or online registration companies or neuroscience nursing conferences, no one will chuckle over my words. Perhaps I’m persuasive sometimes, and maybe I’m helpful other times. But very rarely will one send my copy to a college buddy with a note that says, “Dude, check this s**t out.” And the copywriter at Arrogant Bastard Ale has achieved that level of writing.
Before the bath last night, I frequently told clients I could write for any audience. I’ll have to amend that.
![[del.icio.us]](http://images.del.icio.us/static/img/delicious.small.gif){kind=small}
Sarah on 30 Jan 2008 at 1:44 pm #
you are too modest.
onward and upward - perhaps soon we, too, will be writing about beer. we can only hope.
Erin on 31 Jan 2008 at 9:43 am #
Ummm and it’s great beer as well
Thank you for bringing such a beloved product into your blog!!
Beth on 31 Jan 2008 at 10:29 am #
I definitely need to try Arrogant Bastard Ale now. Erin, do they carry it at the Turf Club?
D.J. on 05 Feb 2008 at 12:31 am #
I am a beer drinker and have been most of my, no, all of my adult life. I have tasted Arrogant Bastard Ale and know from experience that this beer is certainly not for whimps. It is certainly a tough beer. I would suggest ordering a taste of it first, rather than a pint.
The motto for Arrogant Bastard Ale is “You’re Not Worthy”. This seems very fitting to me. I will join with Beth and say I could never write a label like that.
So as my stroll down Ave. Z continues, lets drink the finer things in life, take bubble baths, and sip mandrin absolut and cranberry, with a hint of fresh lime.
D.J.
lola on 12 Feb 2008 at 9:48 am #
Also see, Smart/Vitamin waters. Glaceau is good like that as well.
Writing is writing | Life on Avenue Z on 12 Jun 2008 at 7:47 am #
[...] thing.” I can identify very well with some audiences, and others I have difficulty embracing. Chances are I would fail trying to reach the demographic of men who can talk to a woman for an hour …But the act of writing is the same, and we share the same [...]
Super Bowl Gatorade guy | Life on Avenue Z on 25 Sep 2008 at 2:23 pm #
[...] commercial writer: As I’ve written before, there are simply some audiences I will never reach with my [...]