August wordy round-up
Thoughts worth thinking, stuff worth reading
August pick ‘n’ mix for your brain.
In this post -
Olympics-obsessed copy
Sporty stuff to watch and listen to
A warning about some women’s health apps
✍🏻 Gold medal copy
Currently Olympics-obsessed. I don’t know how I’m getting anything else done.
Here’s some Olympic-themed copy that’s tickled me lately.
This poem from Brian Bilston, the Unrequited Love of an Olympic Pole Vaulter.
This succinct example of copy magnificence from Greggs.
And this plane-themed copy in Ryanair’s inflight magazine (nothing to do with the Olympics but I enjoyed it enough to share).
📺 Speaking of sports …
My watching/listening has veered in a sporty direction too.
In fact I’ve given up mid-Bridgerton. I ran out of steam, but seemingly it didn’t 🤭
Instead I’ve been watching other activities that make you breathless. Namely Quarterback and Receiver. Also America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Because this is what happens when the Netflix algorithm gets a grip on your brain. I’ve no real interest in American Football, but unending fascination with other people’s stories. All three offered food for thought on the psychology of winning, losing, ambition and persistence.
Although cheerleading vexes me greatly. Women cheering on men as the main purpose of their employment. It doesn’t sit well but I loved hearing why they did it. One woman was also holding down a nursing job on the side, because the cheerleading pay is so poor. Lots to debate.
I’ve bookmarked this episode from the Culture Study podcast - The Beautiful Cult of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. I feel the need to formalise my opinion on cheerleading, so this might help.
If you’re also loving all the activity this summer, I highly recommend The Real Science of Sport podcast. A proper sports science professor and his journalist mate are currently all over the Olympics coverage, including pro tactics and ongoing controversies like doping and gender inclusion. Gripping!
Now they see us …
I read this recently about women’s health apps and it made me wary. It reveals problematic practices used by apps tracking things like menstrual cycles or pregnancy. Some apps link private in-app data to users’ web activity. This means that sensitive health information is potentially far less confidential than users might reasonably expect.
When women’s health finally gets dragged out from under the carpet, not a minute passes before commerce looks to fleece us. Hold the menopause tea please. I’m not even going to google for an image to share with you, in case I end up inundated with more dubiously useful products for midlife.
If you’re interested in the crossroads where marketing and midlife women meet, I’ve got a whole new section right here on my Substack.
Anything you’d like to recommend? Feel free to share in the comments. Your stuff or something else.
I’m Sue Moore, B2B Copywriter and Psy-copy® Strategist. I fix words using copy psychology, so you can engage and persuade buyers human-to-human.
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