Bad Copywriting & Grammar, On Display For All

This really is why you need a copywriter. So you don’t look stupid.

No-one wants to look stupid. Especially not this great Manchester based restaurant. 

And yet, I couldn’t help taking a picture after reading this advert in the toilet at Per Tutti Manchester. They’ve likely used this advert/newsletter around the restaurant and on an email campaign, so a lot of people in Manchester have seen this poor copywriting. And this wasn’t just me being the copywriter/grammatical hawk either - there were lots of different things I picked up on. 

Can you spot the mistakes?

I’ve always wanted to be surley impressed. Impressed by rudeness/bad temperedness - the definition of surly? Hmm… not really the kind of vibe you want to give off at a restaurant. Just the opposite in fact. I think here, they were looking for the word - surely. 

An easy mistake, sure (forgive the pun), but just a simple mistake in the arrangement of the letters, and you get a totally different meaning. 

Ok, how about this one? It’s a little easier to spot on this one. 

Found it? Found one? Found two?

The main one on here, which affects the whole paragraph immediately, is the missing we in the first line. An easy mistake to pick up with someone reading over it. That makes you look silly straight away. 

Then there’s the little grammatical error, having aswell as one word instead of two. And the missing apostrophe on lets. And on the Mothers above too. And then the random use of apostrophes throughout on days of week. Sunday’s does not need an apostrophe. (Apostrophes are hard to get your head around, granted)

But the random capital letters! Why!? Is Draught that important to mention, it needs a capital? How about Bring?

Now I honestly believe that at certain times, grammar rules are there to be broken, if it’s in keeping with the brand and the tone of voice you’re going for. Here, the brand is about trusting their expertise in the kitchen. I’m nitpicking yes, but mistakes don’t sit well with being the very best at something. They don’t make me put my trust in Per Tutti. 

The thing is, this doesn't take long for a copywriter to do. They could easily just tweak this copy for example, if you wanted to keep costs low. But even at just an hour’s work, a copywriter could help Per Tutti appeal to a huge audience in Manchester, keeping in brand, talking from the heart, but jazzing up the advertisement to really intrigue and entice. For what? The cost of meal? 

So next time you’re writing a newsletter or an advert that the public is going to see, just stop and think. Should I get a copywriter to look at this? Could they check how it’s written and improve on it? Why shouldn’t I make it look better? 

After all, I don’t want to look stupid.