When I was working with Antje and Leslie as a recruiter in the marketing and advertising industry, I learned quite a bit about the business. Not near enough, mind you, to consider myself part of it, but at least I had become aware of the various roles and positions and their importance.

Before coming to Korea I had come across several advertising firms that needed Hispanic, bilingual copywriters. I understood well the need for a Hispanic copywriter and not just a gringo who knew the language. A copywriter needs to understand his audience in order to better market to them.

You might still be wondering (as I once was) what a copywriter really does. Copywriters , well, write copy.  The formal description of a copywriter was this:

Develops concepts and ideas for advertising and marketing materials and campaigns. Writes a wide variety of communications for print, TV, radio, and the Internet. Generates ideas with other members of the creative team. Works in both agency and corporate settings.

Of course, that still doesn’t describe it from a consumer’s perspective.  A copywriter is the person who writes (among other things) the flashy description of the product on the outside of the box, heralding its wonders and enticing all who view it to buy.  A deodorant can might contain such copy as “Smells Great! Keeps You from Smelling Nasty when You’re Sweaty!” or some such stuff (I told you I wasn’t qualified to be one of these guys.)

So now that I’m here in Korea, I see a need for native English speaking copywriters. Not just one who knows the language, but one who understands the audience and how to motivate them to buy their product versus another product. 

The reason for all this diatribe is that I went shopping for a hair dryer. I have to keep that new rock star hair looking swell and letting it air dry just wasn’t doing it. Oh, the copy I found on the various boxes of dryers I found! Some were pathetic and it was clear they had no one on staff who undertood more than basic English. Some were valiant attempts but fell far short of selling me. Others were simply hilarious. Some examples I found:

“…gives a large rush of warm air and provides a feeling of wellbeing.”

I needed a feeling of wellbeing, I just didn’t know it came in a hair dryer

“Three Settings – Hot, Warm, Off!”

I was worried about one that wouldn’t turn off.

“…driesit more faster with a great output of wind.”

My favorite. The ‘driesit’ is theirs, not mine.
But in the end, none of that mattered to me. I bought one with absolutely no English on the box – I simply chose the one with the highest wattage and lowest price. Momma didn’t raise no fools. Jessie is the one who is prone to buying based on the advertising alone.

In all fairness, there were a number of products with well-written copy on the packaging, so it isn’t like everything here is bungled up.  Its just fun to point out the ones where they skimp on translation services.

Maybe when I’m done teaching English I can find a job writing copy here. There’s certainly the need.   I can do as well as some of these guys.