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Do you believe in the power of grammar to move consumers?
In Canada, there was a recent controversy around the song “I Believe,” the official anthem of Canada’s Olympic broadcast media consortium. The lyrics go like this: “I believe in the power of you and I.” The songwriter chose the word “I” over the correct word “me.” Red pens were drawn; angry grammarians cried foul and forecast the apocalypse. The story was picked up by most of Canada’s major news sources.  

Now those who create content know that it’s an evolving, made-up language. Breaking the rules of grammar and contributing to its evolution is fun and part of the job. But rule breaking should always be part of a calculated plan to create something relevant and exceptional. Otherwise it can be interpreted as negligence or laziness. And that can lead to bad press like in the case of “I Believe.”

Joanne Buckley, a professor at the Centre for Student Development at McMaster University, launched a technical attack on the song’s language. She said, “Of course, we grammarians know that the words should be ‘believe in the power of you and me’ since ‘of’ is a preposition and takes an object.”

But, in the court of popular opinion, Canadians didn’t seem to care. We allow artists and song writers to break the rules all the time. The lyrics drew fire because the brand, in this case a consortium representing Canada, is expected to know better. A double standard applied. It’s not fair. It’s reality.

The best way to defend against bad publicity is to avoid the dubious mistakes that wake the cranky grammarians. No one attacked Snickers for making up the word Hungerectomy. And Koodo mobile wasn’t called out by the Strunk and White set for inventing Big Billification.  

If you want to break the rules, do it in grand fashion. Go all the way. Do it with purpose, in a way that will create something exceptional and not be mistaken for illiteracy. And believe in your power to move consumers.

John Ellis