Plus

[Uncle M]

I work in the advertising/print business as a proofreader and I'm frequently perplexed by the use of the word 'plus', meaning variously 'and', 'furthermore' etc.

Here's an example: Great fashion, unbeatable prices, plus, you get 10% off if you buy before the end of the month.

In our business, text is often written 'as it is spoke', resulting in clumsy looking sentences on the page.

Does anyone have any suggestions for alternative construction, punctuation or other pet hates in advertising copy?

 

[louhevly]

I work in the advertising/print business as a proofreader and I'm frequently perplexed by the use of the word 'plus', meaning variously 'and', 'furthermore' etc.

Here's an example: Great fashion, unbeatable prices, plus, you get 10% off if you buy before the end of the month.

In our business, text is often written 'as it is spoke', resulting in clumsy looking sentences on the page.

Does anyone have any suggestions for alternative construction, punctuation or other pet hates in advertising copy?

IMHO, good advertising copy can be like good song lyrics and so should be allowed a little poetic license. (Imagine the hit Jagger would have made singing "I cannot obtain any satisfaction"). Informal registers are often appropriate. In your example, substituting "plus" with "and what's more" would be "better" English, but it would destroy the "breathless" quality of the text. ("I'm so excited about this wonderful deal that I don't even have time to utter a coherent sentence").

However, this use of "plus" is nothing you'd want to put on your resumé!

Lou

 

[Anglika]

If faced with your sentence for copy-editing [not proofing], I would remove the comma after "plus" - I think the intrusive comma often ruins the movement of a sentence. I would also be tempted to change it for "and" emphasised in a typographical way.

 

[Uncle M]

Thanks Anglika and Lou.

You're both quite right - it's a question of poetic licence really.

As far as using 'and' and putting it in italics, CAPITALS, underlined or bold breaks the rules held dear by typographers i.e. don't change the style halfway through a sentence/paragraph.

It just shows you can't please all the people all the time!

Dave

 

[David L.]

Never mind the niceties of the copy - Where's the sale?!!

 

[Uncle M]

You must be a Sales Manager or Account Manager!

 

[David L.]

Just an avid shopper about to go off cruising for a month and needing some knock-em-dead wear. You did say, great fashion at 10% off??