Breaking Free from Using Clichés

By: Kaye Z. Marks
May 06, 2008
Bear with me for a moment, and read the following four lines.  Then I will get to the point of this article.

“The early bird catches the worm.”

“Win-win situation.”

“Thinking outside the box.”

“Bring out the ‘A’ game.”

You have certainly heard all of these phrases before.  They are all famous and long-lasting business clichés.  In addition, they all have their own place in the business world.  They can be wonderful motivators to use in a board meeting.  You might throw one out there to describe an employee’s performance in understandable terms.  To be sure, there are uses for these, and all the other business clichés.

However, they are definitely not for use in your advertising campaign!

Business clichés are better off without being used in your advertisements. They can certainly muddle the things you would like to convey to your target market.

Do not make the mistake of using clichés in your advertising.  It is tempting, I know, because they are so readily available, and you see them in a lot of advertising already.  Nevertheless, think about it for a second. Clichés are so common that when a customer hears one, they do not really register.  They hear the “cliché”, but they do not hear what you are trying to tell them.  Your message gets lost behind the cliché.

Consider the following example.  I am going to write the same simple, text ad twice.  The only difference will be in the headline.

A Cut above the Rest!
At Anybusiness, we pride ourselves on providing quality commercial color printing for your company.  No matter what your needs, we will meet them with expert precision.  No other commercial color printer can guarantee you high quality service and outstanding success like Anybusiness.

Expert Commercial Color Printing Done Your Way!
At Anybusiness, we pride ourselves on providing high quality commercial color printing for your company.  No matter what your needs, we will meet them with expert precision.  No other commercial color printer can guarantee you high quality service and outstanding success like Anybusiness.

Now, because you knew what I was doing, you may have read the entire ad.  However, most customers will not.  They will see the headline, which is a tired old cliché in the case of the first ad, and they will move on to something else.  Clichés just do not grab the readers (or viewers) attention.

By contrast, in the second ad there was some interesting information provided in the heading.  Imagine if your company was searching the newspaper for a commercial printer.  You would probably never stop to read the first ad since you have no idea that it is advertising or promoting a commercial color printer.  The second ad, however, tells you right in the heading what the ad is promoting, and then the ad itself tells you more specifics.

There is no better way to kill your ad campaign than by using a cliché in your headline. So do not use clichés in your ads.  In addition, put some catchy, relevant information in your headings and sub headings.
Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of developments in commercial color printing industry and how these improvements can benefit small to medium-scale business.

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