I love Entertainment Weekly magazine for a variety of reasons. One of them is the fabulous job they do with headlines and subheads. (I say “they” because in the newspaper biz the editors write these things, but I’ve written a few magazine pieces and was asked to compose titles and subtitles myself. So I’m not sure who does it at EW.) A blurb about last year’s remake of True Grit tells us the movie is “riding high” (it’s a Western) and that the directors are “gunning for Oscar.” A book about zoos “uncages a story about freedom … and exploiting the call of the wild.” A Verizon ad in the magazine, a cross-promotion with the film Inception, begins, “Here’s an idea worth stealing.”
It’s the little things that please me. 🙂
You know I write, too, right? Not just this blog, silly. 🙂 I write a lot of book jacket copy (more correctly I write “copy packs,” which usually include catalogue copy, cover copy, headlines, ad copy, and other bits and pieces). Sometimes I finish a piece of copywriting and I feel like I should attach a note: Do you see how I cleverly tied in the milieu or theme of the story with the words I used?
Yes, this writing is a lonely business. 🙂
I’m just not always convinced these things are getting noticed. And don’t you think they should? I do! I send the copy off and don’t hear another word until the next assignment. The Irishman says, “You’re getting paid, aren’t you?” and thinks that should be enough. But I want someone, somewhere, to smile when I title a piece “To Boldly Go…” and then assert that “I’ve had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the whole enterprise.” (sigh)
The Irishman also tells the story of a historic sports headline, when the tiny Scottish football team Inverness Caledonian Thistle (team nickname: Super Caley) upset the legendary Glasgow Celtic in the late ’90s. The next day the Sun, a British tabloid, trumpeted, “Super Caley Are Fantastic, Celtic Are Atrocious!” Honestly, there’s not much more that can be said after that, although they’re still talking about it in Inverness. 🙂
Tweet: It’s only marketing copy? Smile when you say that!
Tweet: There’s good writing out there wherever you look—even marketing copy!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I love titles, too! I once had the title, “That’s My Dad” for one of my newspaper columns. It was a tribute to my father on his 79th birthday, and with that title, I had the word count of 790, 10 words per year of life. I thought it was outstanding! The editors changed the title to, “Pastor father is God’s love personified.” Oh well, their playground, their rules, right? Still…
Loved this post, keep up the good work!
Oh, Brenda, this made me laugh out loud! I have written some for the local university’s magazine, and I’d offer what I thought were lovely (nay, brilliant!) titles or subheads and the elderly editor-in-chief would change them to something dry and, well, boring.
Your post immediately reminded me of this blog….
http://tpdsaa.tumblr.com/
🙂
P.S. I also feel exactly the same way when I do arrangements…doesn’t anyone appreciate my painstaking attention to voice leading?? *sigh*
Hahahaha. Great blog, that one! I used to worry and worry about how to keep the Boy from succumbing to television marketing.
And PS: I guess the creative life is often a lonely one, eh? I’ll do my best to pay attention to your voice leading from now on. 🙂
Everybody’s cup of appreciation, eh? I just dare you to try and write copy without pouring heart-and-soul into it. We write because we can’t help ourselves…praise and recognition are nice, but they come after the fact.
BTW, I’ve heard that chestnut about editors coming up with the headlines, but I’m not sure how true it is: maybe 50%? Personally, when I get an magazine article assigned to me, I can’t even START to write it until I come up with the headline. I’d submitted a few pre-headlined articles to one particular editor, but those pieces hadn’t yet been published when I got the fourth assignment. Along with the specifications for the gig, the editor commented: “And I love that you title the articles for me!”
So on the assumption that I can’t be the ONLY writer offering headlines, and that there are a LOT of over-worked editors out there, I’m gonna say many of the headlines you read come from the writers themselves.
Great comments! I just assumed that since EW is “bigtime” and their headlines and subheads are routinely brilliant, someone must have that specific job.
Funny, though, Wayne: I always write the article and title it later! 🙂