Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Exhausted.

This morning I had a bowl of Raisin Bran Crunch for breakfast. It's a good cereal as far as I'm concerned, slightly too sugary but it's rife with raisins and clusters of whole oats.

Because the paper hadn't arrived yet, I turned my ever-watchful eyes to the copy on the cereal box and read these words: "Plump, juicy raisins..."

They set my head spinning to life in Clientville.

Client 1: "We need to finalize the copy on the Raisin Bran Crunch box."

Client 2: "I have it right here from the agency. 'Plump raisins.'"

Client 3: "I don't think that sounds appetizing enough."

Client 4: "I don't think that copy paints a picture of the raisin's 'mouth-feel.'"

Client 5: "I really like the word 'plump.'"

Client 6: "I don't it rhymes with 'dump'"

Client 7: "I think 'plump' is fine, but we need another modifier. Plump isn't enough."

Client 8: "How about tasty?"

Client 9: "No, tasty is bland. We need something tastier."

Client 10: "How about delicious?"

Client 11: "Delicious is a good word but it's kinda long. Kids read these boxes and might not understand it."

Client 12: "Good point. 'Yummy'?"

Client 13:  "It won't translate."

Client 14: "How about 'juicy.'?

Client 15: "I like that 'plump, juicy raisins.'"

Client 16: 'Plump, juicy raisins.' That sings.

Client 1: "All agreed?"

Client 2: "Let's put that into testing."

Somehow the line "Plump, juicy raisins" survived testing and myriad client discussions. It probably went up to the CEO of the cereal company and maybe even to his wife. This morning, it landed on my breakfast table.

As my old boss used to say, "Here's the thing:"

Here's the thing.

Raisins are a dried fruit.

By definition they can't be juicy.

3 comments:

Rich Siegel said...

Dried raisins are not very plump either.
Maybe crack-whore thin, hard-as-rock raisins created a widow.

jls209 said...

This one's a gem. A plump, delicious and tangy gem.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Geo. That made my day.