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The jargon bin: what phrases would ad execs throw into the garbage can of history?

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By Sam Anderson, Network Editor

April 3, 2023 | 8 min read

Adland has a reputation for talking occasional nonsense, hidden behind initialisms and buzzwords. Here, ad execs from The Drum Network get a chance to atone, by throwing their own hated phrases into a pit.

A dumpster filled with recycling

The Drum’s jargon bin: what words and phrases could the industry really do without? / Jilbert Ebrahimi via Unsplash

Gail McFadzen, copywriter, TrunkBBI: 'snackable content'

These bitesize pieces of content are designed to be easily digested, but the name leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

When digital and physical platforms are saturated with marketing messaging, it makes sense that the most successful formats are short and attention-grabbing. But this places so much importance on things like ‘thumb-stopping moments’ – grab the audiences’ attention in the first three seconds or lose them forever, often at the expense of beautifully crafted long-form content.

Now and then, a refreshingly bold, long ad will make you think, “Yes! Storytelling! Emotion!” before an evil little voice in your head will ask, “but how will it work as a 15-second cutdown?”

Don’t get me wrong: I love a snack. Sweet or savory, hot or cold, healthy or nutritionally inadvisable. But sometimes, I don’t want a snack to ruin my appetite for something more substantial.

Laura Mignott, global chief experiential officer, VMLY&R Commerce: ‘circle back/circle up’

Who wants to ‘circle up’? What does that even mean? The constant use of weird tech bro language in advertising is useless and is just another reason the meeting to “circle up” should have just been an email. Phrases like this are used by folks to make themselves sound smart. It sounds like something Kendall Roy would use in Succession. Actually, I think I’ve heard him say that on the show. So, honestly, don’t be the Kendall Roy of advertising.

Ailis Rhodes, senior content strategy executive, Builtvisible: ‘ToFu’, ‘MoFu and ‘BoFu’

It's got to be ToFu, MoFu and BoFu, the abbreviations for ‘top, middle and bottom of the funnel’. Strategies for content marketing at every stage of the funnel are important. But these abbreviations make me angry (and a little hungry).

ToFu has a literal meaning that I just can’t shake. I challenge anyone to say it with a straight face in an awareness-stage strategy meeting. MoFu sounds questionable, and BoFu is just plain silly. Advocates will say these phrases are fun, catchy, and less of a mouthful than their original forms. In my opinion, they’re on par with ‘Platty Jubes’ as a desperate attempt to abbreviate for the sake of it. Leave the amalgamated names to SoHo and TriBeCa, I insist.

Grant Hunter, global executive creative director, Iris: ‘greenwashing’

No more circular logos becoming planet earth, no more vague claims, no more turning your labels green, no more accredited illegal logging, no more promoting how natural your product is when it's packaged in plastic bottles, no more burying our collective creative industry heads in the sand. Ban the action of greenwashing, call it out, and then together we can make the term obsolete, too.

Sarah Henderson, group managing director and chief client officer, PrettyGreen: ‘brainstorming’

The term ‘brainstorm’ is probably responsible for 90% of the inefficiencies in our time-poor industry. We’ve banned the term ‘brainstorm’ in our agency group.

Everyone loves brainstorming – people in a room together, drinking tea, having a chat… What’s not to like? But do brainstorms deliver Cannes-worthy creativity? No!

Group problem-solving is proven by scientists to be ineffective in both the quality and quantity of ideas. Need proof? Check out the study Productivity Loss in Brainstorming Groups. It’ll tell you everything you need to know.

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Bill Lyne, head of copy, Fox Agency: ‘I want to say…’

I want to say…

Except I don’t. Because it’s an annoying phrase. Yet it’s being used more and more often (particularly by my teenage daughters). Me: “How long will you be?” Them: “I want to say 20 minutes.”

Well, do you want to say that, or don’t you want to say that? Worse still, this sorry answer often gets turned into an even more irksome question by the raising of their voice at the end. “I want to say twenty minutes?” Eh? You’re asking me to confirm that you’ve correctly guessed your private estimation? That’s madness. For sanity’s and society’s sake, I propose a simple sense-check.

If you want to say what you’re about to say, then say it. If you don’t want to say what you’re about to say, then don’t say it. No precondition is necessary.

Or to paraphrase Yoda. Say or do not say. There is no “I kinda want to…”

Rebecca Bampton, PPC Director, Tipi Group: ‘PLA (Product Listing Ads)’

PLAs, an acronym coined by Google for Product Listing Ads, is a Google ad format that contains merchant details for a shopping product. PLA is not a universal term used in the industry and will confuse clients and colleagues when used in conversation.

Even searching for ‘Google PLAs’ leads to a results page for ‘Google Plus’.

Not every Google product needs an acronym. We should avoid the acronym fever.

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