Boo & Hooray Words

Advertising is centrally concerned with making us feel a certain way, rather than actually telling us anything specific; as a result, understanding and effectively using hooray words and images – and avoiding boo words – is a crucial part of the business. Think of all those TV adverts with youthful, glamorous couples, happy families and satisfied children. Think of the smooth, reassuring voices at the end of the ads reciting one hooray word after another.

Imagine, then, that you work in an advertising agency that has won a contract to launch a new brand of, say, chocolate chip cookies. Look at the words in the box and find the three boo words that you must avoid mentioning at all costs in your promotional campaign.

Credit: www.wordle.net

All the other words in the box can, and should, be used in your campaign as much as possible. Even if you don’t think they especially apply to the biscuits you’re trying to sell, it doesn’t really matter, because none of these words means all that much anyway. ‘Organic’ food is certified as ‘organic’ by governments and regulatory bodies when a number of rules concerning its production have been followed, but the rules vary from country to country, invariably include many exceptions, and few people know what these rules are. Whatever … it’s a good thing, isn’t it?

Probably the most over-used word in the box is ‘natural’. It would be unnatural if it were otherwise! 'Natural' products can range from foods to gas, from cosmetics to therapy, and from golf accessories to healing crystals. My favourite example of a ‘natural’ product is Camel Natural Flavor cigarettes which come in a wholemeal packet. Apparently, they are made from 100% whole leaf tobacco, and contain no artificial additives or flavourings. What a relief!

‘Natural’ expresses particular cultural values, but in my view, it has no meaning in science. When it comes to natural flavourings, it’s very hard to understand what is natural and what is artificial, and the regulations are different in the UK and the US. Most of these additives, natural and artificial, have been synthesized and mass produced in factories, and to my mind, there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that natural flavourings are better for us in any way. Yet I still buy raspberry sweets with ‘natural colours’ and ‘no artificial flavours’ for my kids. I rarely read the small print, but when I do, the 'natural' colours turn out to be carmine (made from pulverised cochineal insects) and anthocyanins (pigments extracted from aubergine skin, red cabbage and the skin of açai fruit). Not a raspberry in sight!

But back to the box of words for our promotional campaign; can you identify which of those hooray words collocates with all of the phrases below?

• Chinese cooking utensils / ingredients
  
• curries
  
• French cheeses
  
• Italian cooking / food
  
• Provençal / Scottish recipes
  
• taste of China
  
• Tennessee ribs

The answer is, of course, ‘authentic’. The Observer journalist, Nick Cohen has suggested that there is a ‘cult of the authentic’ in Europe, and it’s not just limited to food. Hooray for anything authentic, and boo to all things fake. Boo to fake smiles, boobs and Moschino belts, and hooray for authentic experiences, Rolexes and ‘real authentic psychics’ (840,000 hits on Google for this phrase!). Authentic Foods, a Californian company, can sell you a Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix (made with whole grain and dark chocolate). And if you’re really into the authentic experience, you can read the online Real Authentic Women magazine which is ‘dedicated to dealing with REAL, AUTHENTIC life and living’.

‘Genetically-modified’, one of the three boo words in the box, sounds truly dystopian to most ears. It simply means that the genetic structure of an organism has been changed to suit a particular purpose. It could be argued that this is true for everything we eat, animal or vegetable, that comes from a farm. Despite this, and despite attempts by the GM industry to rehabilitate their product by coining phrases like ‘genetically enhanced’ (enhancement – hooray!), most people, myself included, feel there is something a bit Frankensteinish about the whole thing.

Finally, a recommendation. One of the most entertaining books about language that I’ve read in recent years was Unspeak, by Steven Poole, a Guardian journalist. Poole explores a wide range of boo and hooray words in contemporary (authentic) life. Check out his excellent blog.

Next in the series

In the Classroom

top