Only when I’m on vacation camping in Michigan do I have time to sit down and read what they’re putting on breakfast cereal boxes these days. (Experienced copywriters write this stuff, yes?)
So imagine my surprise to find a glaring error on a box of Post Shredded Wheat (spoon size, vanilla almond flavor) while eating breakfast at our Ludington State Park campsite this month.
The golfer on the front of the box leads the unsuspecting breakfast reader to copy on the side, which reads: “Tee off every morning with the goodness of Post Shredded Wheat cereal, it provides natural fiber and antioxidants from whole grain to help you feel good so you’re ready to take on the challenges of the day.”
Apparently for the copywriters and editors at Post, the challenge of the day involves punctuation; clearly, that was a run-on sentence.
When employed professionals don’t know the most basic rules, it’s no wonder our children write like they do.
Perhaps the Post copywriter meant to say: “Tee off every morning with the goodness of Post Shredded Wheat cereal. It provides natural fiber and antioxidants from whole grain to help you feel good so you’re ready to take on the challenges of the day.”
Guess we’ll see. Cereal’s on my grocery list for this weekend. Stay tuned.
