Singtel draws criticism over slogan grammar
A new advertising slogan for Asian telco giant Singtel has drawn criticism for being grammatically erroneous.
The company rebranded earlier this week, introducing a new logo and the slogan ‘Let’s make everyday better’ with a pledge to improve its customer service.
However, Mumbrella’s readers have pointed out that the slogan is grammatically wrong – a “the” should run before the word “everyday” or a space is needed between the words “every” and “day” for the wording to make sense.
One Mumbrella reader wrote beneath the story about the rebrand on Wednesday of this week: “The tagline makes no sense. I am assuming singtel means “let’s make EVERY DAY better” and not “EVERYDAY”?! Get your grammar right, or fire your hopeless copywriter.”
Another reader wrote: “The use of “everyday” is just embarrassing. Singtel (or Ogilvy??) should change it asap… before they paint the tagline on the Singtel building!”
Singtel was also criticised for the copywriting. One reader suggested that the client may have pushed ahead with the slogan despite the advice of the agency. They wrote: “Haven’t you ever been in a meeting when the client’s insisted that bad is good, wrong is right and bad is good? And out of a misguided sense of ‘client solidarity’ is backed by her boss?”
A Singtel spokeswoman told Mumbrella that the “everyday” in the tag line “refers to the day-to-day things that matter most to our customers. Singtel is committed to addressing these concerns to ensure a more seamless and effortless experience for our customer.”
She added: “For instance, our first customer initiative was designed to address the everyday experience of visiting the Singtel shop. With the ability to pre-book appointments at our shops, customers will be served quickly even when the shop is crowded.”
The agency behind the rebrand was Ogilvy & Mather Singapore, which won the business from BBDO in October 2013.
Ogilvy Singapore boss Fiona Gordon commented: “The use of “everyday” refers to ordinary and routine encounters. In the tagline that we developed for the client we are encouraging the public to join hands with Singtel to improve their normal or day-to-day experiences. This is what we have found to be really important to Singtel’s customers, employees and partners. And so we and Singtel are focusing on improving those routine experiences.”
I notice the spokesperson didn’t address the issue…
But this could just be Singlish?!
Either way pre-booking appointments at SingTel stores won’t stop the massive queues you see day and night outside every store.
Why don’t they do more on line and have more customer service people answering their own phones? StarHub are just as bad so maybe it’s just a Singapore customer experience challenge?
How come every time I complain to LinkedIn or Google I get replies immediately and they sort my problem out without me needing to meet them in a store?
ReplyThe reply from the Singtel spokeswoman is exactly what’s wrong with Singtel’s approach to customer feedback.
ReplyDeny, ignore or acknowledge that there is a problem and then fob it off with an irrelevant motherhood statement that has absolutely nothing to do with the question.
They deleted my email address by mistake in early December and said they will help me to reinstate my email….up to now, nothing is happening and meanwhile I have lost all my contacts and their attitude is that it is not their problem. Just lousy and irresponsible service.
Replyyep I don’t know anyone who would rate the SingTel brand no matter how they spell their straplines! i’ve been waiting for them to install fibre for over a year! given up calling customer services, they don’t listen, any day, every day and and in every way!
ReplyThe problem with Singtel is that they engaged the wrong people inside…too many useless FT who are PRs inside now cannot even speak proper english…that is why you have grammer issues…it is like lost in translation…
And the entire processes are so non cost efficient and non energy savings that it is eating up shareholders money and we are all paying high premiums for their mistakes…
The last breakdown affected so many people and no cost went to reinburse the customers for their downtime…
Can someone please do a proper audit on singtel…
ReplyNever mind the bad grammar. Can anyone explain the drops of blood above the name? This calls for CSI!
ReplyGene you may want to check your “grammer” first before you plaster it all over the Internet.
ReplyGene Wong, maybe, just maybe look at your own grammar before you blame foreign talents about grammar. You are exactly the reason why the country needs FT.
ReplyThe comment from Ogilvy’s CEO didn’t address the grammar issue. What you meant to say and how you let your client say it are two different things. I wonder why Ogilvy is always so smug. Just admit that your copywriter made a massive mistake. Ogilvy doesn’t employ proofreaders, even for the fees they charge no Ecd is on the job to catch these typos. The right thing to do is to pull all the ads, correct the problem, and then take responsibility so your clients don’t look like illiterate fools. We are supposed to be in the business of communication after all. Or is that communications? Not that it matters one.
ReplyActually, the online services is a big joke. What is the use off having a userid and password when you cannot login and purchase something that you want? The stupid message was – you need to change your password (even after changing my password)!
I gave up and went down to Comcentre to get what I wanted! Useless cheap charlie FT programmers behind this shitty software I suppose, just like the useless staff who cannot answer simple questions!
ReplyIt should surprise us that such a glitch is made. However, no, it cannot as Singtel dies not make sense. The message service deletes your messages without you hearing them – as they are so short of storage. Yes, those filing cabinets are just straining. This is ad ‘great’ a sevice as Sing Post. If it makes sense it can be done cannot can cannot.
ReplyVery pissed off calling the cutomer service trying to reset my password to chk bill online. First hurdle was the automatic voice which has nothing relevant to my issue. Next was the indian accent which is very difgicult to understand. They talking tamil. Not English. Nxt i was put through like 4-5 music on hold while they keep redirecting me to other operators. The last one had me repeating my ic and dob 4-5 times, and made me wait on hold again. In the end said my singtel subscription do not exist. Thats not possible. Then how the hell they billed me? In the end realised that they think my M1 mobile number was Singtel. Horrible.
ReplyAnother error… You should not use “let’s” in a written text. Instead, you should say, “Let us”. Food for thought. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
ReplyWell the logo’s already a travesty. Who cares about the bloody slogan? I actually liked Singtel but Ogilvy just made me hate the company completely now. That old school charm from the old logo is gone, why couldn’t this have been a small update of a logo that was already pretty alright? Why make it a complete change?The whole thing looks like a last 15 minute logo job approved by an AD with exceptionally poor taste, not enough depth and weight in the font, not even enough to carry the company forward another 50 years, which is what a LOGO is supposed to do. Don’t even get me started about the effin circles? They scream lazy so loud the folks in Guam can hear it! And this is SINGTEL, hello? This is a telecommunications corporate GIANT. Unspeakably disappointing. I’m a designer in a small agency and you Ogilvy people give us creatives a bad name man, seriously. You should hear the jokes being cracked throughout all the smaller design houses over your absolute joke of a rebrand, and O&M as a whole. Lol.. Wow. I’ve no words left.
ReplyAnother reason to make fun of Singapore. How can one of the most literate countries in the world stand for this? I think a correction is needed here Fiona. Singtel didn’t write that line. They bought it. And now they are paying for it.
Reply“Grammar”
ReplyA couple more examples of ineptitude by banks:
ReplySeveral years ago when I worked with OCBC, the word “tenor” was being used instead of “tenure”. When I alerted them to the problem, I was told that it couldn’t be changed. I wondered if OCBC enjoyed the singing of the Three Tenures.
Later, when I worked with HSBC in mainland China, I discovered that the Chinese translation for “The World’s Local Bank” was incorrect. This problem was only solved when the slogan ceased to be used globally.
@Pendant
ReplyIt is ‘tenor’.
Go check it in the directory of banking and financial terms.
OCBC is inept in other aspects.
But they are right in this case.
Firstly, I think it’s not quite right to solely place the blame on the copywriter for this one. I mean, how many levels of client and agency would this have had to pass? As Mark pointed out, what’s with the little red blood drops? Oh, they’re like the signal bars. But wait, there’s more. Singapore is the little red dot. Gee, brilliant! What was the second idea?
As for the OCBC comment. We’re talking about a bank that insists their name be spelled, Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation, not Overseas..
Reply@Barney
ReplyOCBC knows about ‘Oversea’.
It was an error a lawyer made in the original incorporation of the company and all its subsequent associated companies , JVs and appears in all its legal documents from the articles of association, title deeds, share certificates and any thing with a company seal.
Unlike a tagline in an ad, rectifying it would cost millions and open a closet of corporate problems.
The only way to correct it is to finding a time travelling DeLoren.
Everyone loves Think different
ReplyIt’s conversational English. Imagine the uproar if ee cummings became a copywriter.
“They should use proper capitalization and punctuation!”
The greatest example: “Think different.” (apple campaign)
The grammar police said it should be “Think differently.” Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. In the end, bottomline: service should be better. No matter what th eff the tagline says.
Chill. Peace. Trust.
Reply“Let’s make everyday better” is no “think different.”. Conversationally speaking, this shit slogan will last until the next pitch when Ogilvy loses this business to another agency. “Just saying…”
ReplyI all thee time used to stud post in news papers but now
Replyas I am a user of net therefore from now I am using net
for articles or reviews, thanks to web.
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