Does this make sense?

[Wilson Gray]

Thanks, Michael!

-Wilson


On 8/26/07, Michael H Covarrubias <mcovarru at purdue.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Michael H Covarrubias <mcovarru at PURDUE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Does this make sense?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Quoting Wilson Gray:
>
> > "_Free Agent_:
> >
> > "Your on.
> >
> > "Don't take just your files –
> > "carry your desktop environment
> > "and files in your pocket."
> >
> > What does it mean for _Free Agent_ to be someone's "on"?
> >
> > -Wilson
> >
> -------------
>
> On 25 July Nancy Friedman wrote about "Grammar Girl's" exchange with Seagate
> regarding the company's FreeAgent ad campaign using "Your On"
>
> <http://nancyfriedman.typepad.com/away_with_words/2007/07/memo-to-seagate.html>
>
> Grammar Girl quotes a Seagate rep--"someone named Forrest Malloy":
>
> >      "Your On" is spelled this way to
> > indicate that Seagate is your (possessive)
> > access to being "on." In essence, Seagate = On.
> >
> >     This version ties the connection more
> > closely to Seagate (as your access to being
> > 'on') as opposed to the more traditional
> > spelling of "You're On," which places the
> > emphasis more closely on the consumer and away
> > from Seagate itself.
>
> Friedman responds to the explanation:
>
> > "Impressive tap-dancing, Mr. Molloy! Too bad
> > you neglected to check your company's own
> > press release, which reads:
>
> > > And now, wherever you are, whenever you
> > > need it, Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX)
> > > makes sure "Your On."
>
> > Which certainly sounds, in context, very much like a misspelling of 'You're.'"
>
> Friedman's post quotes a commenter who claims to be a Seagate employee. On Mark
> Hachman's blog, "David" writes:
>
> "As an employee I can tell you that this
> was caught internally before we went to
> press. But it was too far gone to stop.
> When faced with a blunder like this, the
> only thing to do is pretend it is [a]
> play on words and hope that you can get
> away with it."
> ------------------
>
> Hmmm...
>
>
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>


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