Category: Blogs about Writing

Introducing a new, cheap media space: the out of office auto-reply

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Not a lot of people realise how much fun there is to be had with the humble out of office auto-reply. I (lol) was startingly reminded of what an unsung media space it is the other day when I wrote an email to my friend, copywriter and poet of adland, Rishi Dastidar. This bounced back into my inbox telling me he was away. I was about to delete it unread when the first line caught my eye, and I realised there was a lovely little poem inside, in place of the robotic missive you’re normally confronted with.

It was so charming I decided to share it. It’s not quite the same just repeated here, but try and imagine it ‘in situ’ if you will, in an email.



The paperclip told me
In a menacing way,
“You can’t just flee
Because it’s your birthday.
I solemnly propose
That you compose
A short, pithy note
Allowing you to gloat;
Then inform friends, colleagues
And those pesky bots
Who cannot stop,
That your absence will end
On Friday the 5th.
Do it now. Forthwith!”

Has anyone ever received or composed a better one than this? I remember reading about a rather lovely one which Bronte wrote. No, not Emily or Charlotte, but Bronte of Fruit Towers, as written about in John Simmons’ book on Innocent, where he describes her own exceptionally long and kooky Out of office auto reply:

Hejsa. Somewhere, beyond the sea, is a small country called Denmark. It’s almost like a fairy tale there: lots of little castles set amongst the rolling green hills, beautiful princes and princesses who ride white horses around town, their blonde shiny hair shimmering like gold on the gentle minus 15 degree breeze. Happy people are Danish people who love nothing more than to wave red and white flags around profusely – and drink what is probably the best beer in the world. They also love not saying the word “please” but we can’t be too upset about this, for in this lovely country, a word for “please” simply does not exist. Truly, a magical (but sometimes a little bit rude) place.

So, I’ve gone to the wonderful Copenhagen for a few days. I’ll be running around going to lots of important meetings and it is unlikely I’ll be on email (no fancy Berry thing for me, but my mobile is on so you can try to catch me that way if you need to get hold of me).Bye for now (or hej-hej, as the Danes would say).

OK so it’s actually even longer than that but you get the idea. It’s a nice extension of the brand… the tone of voice kind of explodes into your inbox whether you like it or not… either way, that’s surely the world record for the longest out of office reply, isn’t it?

This has just got us thinking….surely we could do more with this space? Brands could try and buy this space somehow, and do partnership tie-ins, for the different ‘reasons’ people are away, there could be sponsorships for each of them. e.g. If e.g. with Thomson for when you’re on holiday. Or if you’ve gone home ill, maybe Lemsip could be tied in with this? Just a thought…

 


 



 

Funny and bleak in equal parts: Stoppard does Chekhov in the West End

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So Lol went to see the Donmar production of Ivanov the other night. It was brilliant all round – incredible music, set design and performances. The translation was as witty as ever (and being a massive Stoppard-obsessive this came as no surprise).

The only slight quibble on people’s lips was the way that Stoppard had thrown in a bunch of oddly modern phrases. Being as the setting was meant to be the late 1800s, it did seem strangely anachronistic to hear Brannagh and co. saying things like ‘Going like the clappers’ and ‘knackered’. There were lots of phrases which upset the purists in the audience – as though Stoppard was trying to ‘dumb down’ the words of Chekhov.

It got me thinking though – if you translate Russian into English, does it matter whether you change the language to that of the modern day? Surely if we’re being pedantic, they ought to be speaking Russian anyway??

Either way I really recommend seeing it – not if you’re feeling remotely depressed though. Although it’s funny, It’s not the most uplifting of night’s out.  

Danny the Champion of the Film Festival….early review of Slumdog Millionaire

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Last night was the premiere of Danny Boyle’s new film. I (Lol) knew nothing about the story in advance, but I’m pleased to report that it was one of his best yet. Shocking, funny, romantic, gut-wrenchingly sad, but incredibly uplifting. I’m a big ‘Boyle’ fan but this is definitely one of my favourites. Beautiful cinematography, and as usual the music is a huge part of the experience. It’s always the soundtracks which stand out in Boyle’s films, more than any other British director, and this is no exception. Oh, and I won’t spoil it but there’s a wonderful moment early on in the film which has distinct echoes of ‘that’ toilet moment in Trainspotting.

As it was the closing night of the London Film Festival, Danny was there to introduce it and said one thing which was really interesting. He said until recently, the big movie distributers had basically disregarded the film, to the point where it was going to sink without a trace. But then the Toronto Film Festival happened, it went down a storm there, and everything’s all changed now… it’s all, according to Danny, down to the power of film festivals. Which makes the film even more compelling as the story of an Underdog, or Slumdog, shining through.

Go and see it as soon as you can.