The late, verbal mastermind, George Carlin, became famous (and infamous) for his “Seven Dirty Words” you can’t say on radio or television.  You know the words.  I won’t print them here.

But for those of us who craft messages in advertising, a truer, “Yeah, ya got me” riff featured Carlin rambling and ranting for two minutes, reciting virtually every advertising cliché ever used on Madison Avenue and Main Street.

(Like that one.)

If you’ve never seen “Advertising Lullabye,” I heartily recommend that you take two minutes and enjoy the show.

And, for those of us who actually write advertising copy, here’s a gift from George repackaged and repurposed by Tom Wanek at MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com.

You simply copy-and-paste your advertising copy into the box found at this link: George Carlin Ad-Speak Calculator 

Then, the ghost of George Carlin tells you where your ad copy ranks on the Advertising Bulls**t-O-Meter.  Any score above 10% earns you a detention and a sharp admonition to compose a new draft.  (I was extremely pleased to see that the three scripts I fed into the “The Carlin Ad-Speak Detector” registered just 2-3% on the meter.  Whew.)

Aside from the obvious comic relief, using this tool is an effective control against your script being self-neutered by too many clichés carrying too little meaning.

Go on!  Try it!  Act now!  Your advertising dollars are limited!

Mark Lipsky is the President and CEO of The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the email or RSS links above.Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com