Double Meanings in Ads

Hi, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Allie in Milwaukee, and I have a question for you guys.

All right, shoot.

Okay, so I was out to lunch with my family a few weeks ago, and I noticed a flyer on the table highlighting a campaign, something like The Last Straw. And I then realized our drinks had been served without straws, you know, on purpose, and this was part of an environmentally friendly campaign to limit plastic straw. And so I thought it was so clever that they were using this phrase, the last straw. You know, literally they’re trying to end using plastic straws. So they’re actually looking for that last straw. But, you know, also it kind of says something to me about the ethos of, you know, we’re fed up with the amount of pollution going into the Great Lakes and the ocean. And, you know, this was the last straw. And so I just thought it was so clever, you know, not only using this old phrase for something new, but having that double meaning and kind of wanted to know what you guys thought about that. Or maybe even a triple meaning, right? The usage we all know. And then the idea that they have served their last straw. They’re no longer providing one in that restaurant. And they’re hoping to see the last straw on the earth or the last straw that goes into the rivers or lakes.

Yeah, maybe three meanings.

Yeah, so I agree with you. That’s very clever, and it caught your eye, and I wonder how many other customers had the same feeling, and that their marketing was totally perfect and spot on.

Right.

Yeah, and this is a characteristic of really successful advertising. There’s been research showing that puns work better in slogans, and I think you’ve got one there. You’ve zeroed in on one, the last straw, referring, of course, to that old story about the camel that had baskets on its back and somebody put more and more and more straws in there, and then the last straw broke it. But there is research showing that a pun in a slogan can be more successful, that people respond better to it. And I think there are a couple of things going on there that Grant alluded to one of them, which is that it catches your eye or it catches your ear. It makes you do a double take and think, well, what’s that? And then the other thing is I think about that saying that laughter is the sound of people congratulating themselves. And I think that that’s some of what’s going on there, that a slogan like that is kind of a mini riddle. You know, it’s a little bitty riddle. And when you figure it out, then you get this little dopamine rush and you feel a little bit more invested in it.

I think that’s so true. And I’ve thought about this phrase since then and even thought about how, you know, it’s such a good metaphor for pollution. Every little straw in and of itself doesn’t do a whole lot. But together, it really wreaks a havoc on the environment. When I was in newspapers, working for online newspapers, we did a headline analysis of our most successful stories. And it wasn’t puns necessarily. It was things that could have multiple meanings without the humorous intent of the pun. So it’s kind of what Martha was saying about the research. So when you put something where people have to pause for just a second to decide whether that’s a noun or a verb, or where they had to say, oh, is that a person’s name or is that referring to? So, for example, if you did a headline about the television show House, is it House the TV show or the thing house or is it House music or something else? Those where they had to pause for a moment are the ones that had the highest click rate. And the people’s more likely to get into the story and spend more time in the story to figure it out.

Oh, that’s cool.

Yeah, that’s very interesting.

So I guess they have a really good marketing campaign there.

Yeah, they sure do. The other thing I should say is humans, one of the really common traits across all languages is how much we play with language. And double meaning is a part of poetry and music and everyday wordplay and the languages that families use in themselves, you know, that they don’t really share with the outside world. And it is utterly, completely human to do that, to take a phrase and say, oh, but maybe we can make it mean this or make it mean that or twist it around a little bit. We do this all the time.

Yeah. Yeah. And that’s what I love about your show, Grant and Martha, even you saying, you know, hello, you have A Way with Words. That’s just hilarious to me. I love it.

Yeah. We don’t want to get rid of words when we say that.

Right. Right.

Well, cool, Allie. Thanks so much for your call. We really appreciate it.

OK. Yeah. No, I appreciate you guys. And we listen to you on every road trip. We just think you’re the best. So thanks so much for what you’re doing.

Yep. Bye. Take care.

All right. Bye bye.

Take care.

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