Friday, April 29, 2016

grammaticality - Is "uplift your life" grammatically correct?



A superior would like me to go with this structure for advertising headlines, e.g. Uplift your life / Uplift your recipe.




I'm not certain if this is grammatically correct and would like to check it with you before I go ahead with the work.


Answer



Thesaurus.com says that these are synonyms for "uplift":




boost, brighten, bring up, cheer, elate, excite, exhilarate, improve, lift up, perk up, raise spirits




so the semantics of the structure are fine.




It's an advertising slogan, so the grammar doesn't really matter unless it gets in the way of understanding. Advertisers have been using deliberately incorrect grammar for decades just to get people to notice them, so it's a strategy for garnering attention where none may be due.



In the airports in Taiwan, there are myriad posters with the slogan "Taiwan. Touch your heart." There's no problem there. The grammar got lost, but people remember the phrase. It's even in the dictionary.



McDonald's uses "I'm lovin' it", and (almost) nobody objects. The meaning is clear. The bad grammar did its work well.



Just do it! I mean, like, Go for it! Don't think so much about grammar but about emotional effect. That's what advertising's about.


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