Wednesday, 29 September 2004
12:54 PM
This post is a pretty direct rip-off of an email thread started by my friend John G. But I've thought about doing this before, really I have.
Anyway. NPR listeners, and possibly other patrons of the airwaves, get to hear every morning the brain-twisting slogan that is as good a wake-up call as any alarm. Per John's transcription, the smooth-voiced baritone reminds us every morning:
Microsoft: Your potential inspires us to create software that helps you reach it.
Many folks have scratched their heads at this one, and I believe that this is even an improvement from the original. Fact is, that slogan is just plain hard to parse. For me, for example, it takes some work to reconnect that lonely pronoun at the end with its antecedent.
But comes then the challenge: how can this be phrased in a way that's less loopy? John takes a stab and says:
Microsoft: Our software: inspired by your potential.
But he admits that this corrupts the meaning of the original. My attempt:
Microsoft: We're inspired to write software that helps you reach your potential.
But ditto.
What say ye?
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