How To Trick Your Brain - The Placebo Effect

As a regular blogger on GymCube.com, I don't usually share my blogs from there on here. They're usually just fitness related, or about new features on GymCube, so I keep them to that side of things. 

This week though, I blogged about something really interesting, and felt it was worth sharing with you all. 

I watched an interesting programme on BBC 2 last week, about the placebo effect. 

If nothing else, I just love the word placebo. Something about it, the way it sounds, the way it's written. It's just a good word. 

But I also love what it does, or rather, what it means. That you can trick your brain, pretty easily, into thinking it's getting some medicine, or something which can alter it's state, when it's not getting anything like that at all. 

Take a fake paracetamol for a headache, and find out that your headache actually goes away. 

Take a pill which you're told will boost your performance in an event, only to find it's fake, but that you've just achieved your best ever time. 

Take a mood boosting supplement, feel the happiest you've been in ages, only to be told that the tablet you took had nothing in it. 

It's crazy how we can actually trick or cheat our brains. But that we also can't do it consciously. Someone has to lie to us about it, otherwise it doesn't work. 

It's like we're really smart, but then paradoxically, we're also really stupid. 

Our brains are just immense, and such a mystery. But at least they're interesting. Unchartered territory. Limitless possibilities.  

Read more about the placebo effect over on GymCube. 

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. 

The Media Doesn't Wait

You don’t really think about copywriters as having emergency work do you? Certainly not like doctors, nurses, vets or anyone in life saving jobs like that. 

And yet, I do still get urgent, last minute requests, that could make a huge amount of difference for some of my clients. It could be the difference between an important sale or boost in traffic to their site. It could be an important announcement for their customers. Or it could be something which transforms their business. 

For example, one of my clients had an urgent phone call from Channel 4, asking them if they’d like to feature their tattoo parlour on a new documentary. Of course, Heart for Art jumped at the opportunity, but in order to do so, they’d have to apply to be featured, and fill in a little form about who they are, what they do, and why they should be on the documentary. 

And since it had to read and sound amazing, they turned to me straight away, to get it filled out and sent off immediately. 

Just last week, it was my very first, and most loyal client, Mr. Mole Man who got in touch with an urgent request. And I’ll always make time for those clients who have always come back to me for help. 

He’d been invited onto BBC Radio, to be questioned about his expertise on Mole Catching in Shropshire. Of course, he wanted to tell all his clients about it before hand, so I scribbled out a quick little blog for him to post. After the radio appearance, he again wanted all those new listeners to be able to find his website, listen again to his advice, and know how to get in touch, so again, I composed the perfect little blog that summarised everything, so all the new traffic from the show would be able to find out instantly what they needed to know about Mr. Mole Man.  

So while it might have seemed a bit silly to bother a copywriter for this little thing, it was urgent, and it was important. And it does pay off. Even if he gets just one new customer from it all, it’s more than worth it. 

So if you do ever have some kind of writing “emergency”, you know who to get in touch with. 

The Tweaks A Copywriter Makes

Sometimes, it’s hard to show what a copywriter does. It’s hard to explain how we take an idea and transform it into words which sound amazing. It’s hard to show what we spend our time doing, and why we are worth our weight in gold. It’s hard to impress how one word is just better than another. 

Along with the websites, blogs, press releases and other bits and pieces I write for my clients, I’m always on hand to help them whenever they need some words. Whatever they may be. It could be anything, from a letter to a new business asking them for their custom, or a short little biography to help win an award. 

And that’s what this is below. My client good friend Yaz, from Gladstone Grooming, is entering a barbering competition, to win Barber of the Year. Of course, everyone in the Manchester area already knows he’s the best barber around, delivering fantastic cuts and incredible cut throat shaves. But, he still has to enter this competition, to get the formal nod! 

He had to write something down, so he asked me for help, and of course I was only too happy to help. Now, Yaz doesn’t realise that he’s actually a pretty good writer in the first place, so I didn’t have to do much. But here is an example of how a copywriter just tweaks. Ever so slightly. Just a little re-word here and there. To make sure that copy is a little distinct, a bit unusual perhaps, but above all memorable. 

I was 11 when I executed my first cut, after being inspired by a friend. Soon after my Mother got me a job with her friend in a local barbershop called Top Man, where I worked and grew as a barber until I was 20. Over the past 2 years I have been in business for my self at Gladstone Grooming. Having cut all types of hair over the last 10 years I am a very versatile adaptive barber always looking to further my skills. Barbering has been a huge part of my life from a young age and I’m happy to be building a future on it now, winning barber of the year would be a massive stepping stone in my journey.

Age 11. Inspired by my friend, I executed my first cut. I was hooked, soon working in Top Man, a local barbershop, courtesy of my mum’s friend. Age 20. I set up my own business, Gladstone Grooming. Honing my skills as a versatile, adaptive barber, I established something unique. Age 22. A thriving success, constantly busy, but never stopping. Barbering has been pretty much all I’ve ever known, and I’m always striving to go above and beyond what I’m currently capable of. My future? Barbering. And the next step in that journey is winning Barber of the Year. 

Hopefully you can see a little bit of a difference. I’ve not really done my job if you can’t. But the point is, that’s why you hire a copywriter. To do something different, even if you already like what you have written. Because it doesn’t take much, to make it so much more. 

Do you like Gladstone Grooming? There’s only a few days left but you can still head over HERE, to vote for Yaz - Yezzan Khalil - as Barber of The Year.

An Incredible Film, I Didn't Like

So we decided this year to buy Cineworld Unlimited cards, so we could see as many films as possible at the cinema. An excuse to go out, and see something on the big screen. And the first film we saw: 

12 Years A Slave. 

It really was a great film. Outstandingly acted, superbly directed, and an incredible story. 

But I didn’t like it. And nor should I. 

And I don’t think I’d watch it again. And nor should I need to. 

In many respects, 12 Years A Slave is a horrible film. A film about the evils of humanity. A film about nasty people. And a film which is absolutely brutal at times. 

It certainly doesn’t shy away from the horrific scenes so common to many a story about slavery. So wholly based on truths. And why should it? There are lynchings, there are beatings, there are lashings, and there is death. Lots of it. And heartbreak. And shock. 

But that is what life was like in the American South during the pre Civil War era. (And quite similar afterwards too, in many respects). And so that is what 12 Years A Slave is about. 

It remembers a period of history so vitally important to this day. It doesn’t memorialise, or fabricate, or justify. It just records. Naturally, films take certain liberties with historical accuracy, but this one doesn't stretch the truth very far at all. It just remembers an era. And so it should. 

Because that period, and everything that went on there, should never be forgotten. Everyone should know what it was like, and witness how cruel and evil human beings can be. Lest we not forget, so that we will not repeat. 

12 Years A Slave is also a film about hope. A film about the strength of human nature, and power of hope. A film about how hope can help you survive. 

Is it uplifting? No. Not even at the end. It’s definitely not a film you leave smiling or feeling happy. 

But does that mean you shouldn’t watch it? Absolutely not.  

There isn’t actually much script writing, in terms of dialogue in the film. Enough yes, but that’s not really what makes it so powerful. The power comes from the story as a whole, which is certainly well written, and the visual look.  

That’s probably why it will win Best Director. The way the film is put together, with a beautiful Southern backdrop of Spanish Moss clad trees and setting suns, cotton fields and rustic plantations, coupled with harrowing images which the camera never shies away from. In fact, it stays so long on some frames, as to make it uncomfortable. Just the point.

And the acting is fantastic too. All involved fully embrace the roles given to them, which is no easy task given the brutal nature of the subject. Of course, Chiwetel Ejiofor is incredible as lead character Solomon Northup, and the audience easily gets behind his cause without a second doubt. Benedict Cumberbatch overcomes a slightly dodgy Deep South accent to have a small role as a plantation owner who you’re not sure whether to like or not. Paul Dano was great portraying someone who had been indoctrinated by the culture around to hate slaves, no matter what. But it was Michael Fassbender who stood at for me. 

Fassbender plays the embodiment of evil. A man who believes in his superiority wholeheartedly, and will punish all those underneath him. In a cruel a way as possible. And there were no doubt many people like that in America during this period. For Fassbender to become this role must have been very difficult, yet he truly excels at making the audience despise him in every way possible. 

But even if the directing and acting were terrible, you should see this film once. Just so you know. As it happens, it is an excellent film with superb directing and acting, and I think everyone should watch it. 

Just don’t expect to like it. 

P.S. If you want to know more about this period, you could always read my dissertation on “African American Responses to Interracial Relationships in the Antebellum Era”, which I wrote for my last year of university. A little self plug there.