My daughter came home and recited an entire ad campaign she’s been seeing in Mid-Town Manhattan. She told me I’d love these headlines and she was right because they are wonderfully Micro-Scripted. It’s a public health campaign to promote flu shots for folks in one of the tightest human environments in the world:
In the subway car downtown, she saw this ad: “The flu has the same commute as you…” On the top of a cab she saw: “The flu is right behind you.” At a phone booth, she saw the sign: “The flu just made a collect call.” And at a bus stop, it said: “The flu just caught your bus.”
She said, Daddy, I couldn’t stop remembering them. They made it sound like a real thing. I’m getting a flu shot!.”
Kudos to the copywriters for Micro-Script 101. Classic use of metaphor, a poetic device called personification, and very compact, but definitive rhythm. They passed the ultimate test: Brooke told them to me word for word. And I’m telling you now.