Lisa: Editor at Large

Blake and I have often thought that cities should hire an "editor at large," to remove errant apostrophes and spelling mistakes from billboards and signs--in other words, to beautify the landscape and make commuting more pleasant. Of course, I would be this editor for our city.

One error in particular has been attacking my brain with an ice pick lately. Have you seen the McDonald's commercial starring Dominic from Kindergarten Cop? In the commercial, Dominic picks up his mother and several of her mom-type friends, who all pile in the back of the minivan and start yelling their McDonald's menu selections at the top of their lungs. This is not the worst part.

The camera then cuts to a shot of an artfully tossed Crispy Chicken Caesar Salad (tm) or similar, overlaid with a woman's voice saying "If your kids could, they'd take you!" Now, I guarantee that the advertising whizzes who came up with the concept for this commercial meant for that slogan to be read "If your kids could, they'd take you!" Do we all understand the difference here?

Now, if McDonalds had hired a grammar specialist to oversee the production of all advertising, signage, etc., this disaster could have been averted! Here's the moral of the story: if you are an executive at a powerful company that wants to portray an intelligent image, contact me immediately. I'd be glad to fax over a resume.