Jelly Bellies, Jelly Jam, Jellyfish
Even when you’re working with the driest topics, the most technical, I mean stuff that would put a bunch of hyperactive first graders to sleep, well, even then you have to do your best to be creative. But creativity often brings on a case of trying-to-be-clever, and the results can be deadly or at least not very productive. That’s usually why brainstorming is still such a good idea, the kind of mind dumping during which no one’s allowed to make faces (smirking, eye-rolling), or text nasty remarks to fellow snarky colleagues, or leave the room altogether.
I wonder sometimes when I read something about, say, the new jellyfish exhibition at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, how the people involved came up with a name. Did they conduct a brainstorming session? Why is that so interesting to me? Because the opening paragraph isn’t about the way jellyfish look or how exciting it is for the Shedd to be able to offer such a fabulous exhibit. No, the opener is all about the titles that were not picked for the exhibit: “Some titles that were not used for the soon-to-open special exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium:
‘Jellyfish: Lava Lamps of the Sea”
‘Jellyfish: ‘Ew. Ew. Ow!’
‘Jellyfish: Making the Boomerang Kid Who Lives in Your Basement Seem Like a Go-Getter’
Chicago Tribune reporter Steve Johnson tells us that “not even the word jellyfish is used in the exhibit.” Why? “Marine experts feel the term gives the wrong impression about the drifting, brainless, bloodless blobs.”
He then goes on to describe the physical attributes that many of remember all too well from our childhood visits to the beach. But what’s really interesting to me is that the people (or person) who came up with the exhibit title know how important labels can be. Sort of like subject lines in an email. Or the title of a press release or anything that seeks to attract attention. I just wish I’d been a proverbial fly on the wall (or jellyfish in a tank) during what I’ll imagine was the “title” meeting.
I would’ve loved to hear how they got to “Jellies.” Johnson writes, “The corporate sponsor is Walgreens, rather than, as you might expect, Smucker’s, and apparently no food experts were asked to weigh in on whether the term ‘jelly’ is also misleading.”
Even though I wasn’t part of the planning meeting (I didn’t get that email) the article reminded me that we should never minimize the importance of a name, of what gets people to walk through the door, open an email, return a call and otherwise provide some kind of response to whatever we’re selling. Yes, speed is key and brevity seems to rule, but words still matter.
Follow the jellies on Twitter @shedd_aquarium. Follow me on Twitter @LeslieLevine.
