Anthropomorphize this
Anthropomorphism. An almost unpronounceable word… giving human characteristics to something that isn’t human. It has a long tradition in mythology and fiction, as we associate human traits—even genders and names—with hurricanes, star formations, and sailing vessels. It’s not altogether a bad thing. Without it, there would be fewer fairy tales and Disney movies.
It even makes sense for an animated bear to tell children they shouldn’t start forest fires.
But many advertisers think anthropomorphizing is cute… and cute sells. So they make some very odd things into little characters with faces and voices, and you have to wonder what message they’re trying to communicate:
A pest control service portrays termites as lovable little characters with Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks voices. Termites are not lovable. The object is to kill them before they eat your house.
Another pest control service shows a man holding a giant hammer behind his back, staring at an adorable little mouse with a quizzical look on his face. Mice and rats are vermin, and you don’t want them in your house. If they’re cute, do you still want to kill them?
A brand of chicken portrays two scruffy characters as wannabe poultry candidates their company would never accept. They lie about being all natural, hormone-free, and so on. Think about this. They’re not trying to get into Stanford. They’re trying to be accepted by a chicken processing plant where they will be killed and eaten. Who does that, even in cartoons?
Humanizing in commercials is not always bad—but it seems counter-productive if the point is to eat or eradicate the humanized character.
Anthropomorphism also creeps into technical and business writing. Especially those books with titles like “Quantum Physics Made Ridiculously Easy for Complete Idiots.” Some things just shouldn’t be trivialized, humanized, or animated. And trying to make them fun (1) usually fails, and (2) does nothing to make the subject easier to understand:
If the system thinks the printer is not installed, it will give you an error message.
Other applications might be interested in the information you’ve stored in your database.
The barium sulfate particles resulting from the reaction want to fall to the bottom of the tube.
Processors of that type don’t understand FORTRAN syntax.
Computer systems and chemicals don’t think, express interest, want to fall, or understand. They detect, access, precipitate, and interpret. If you’re tempted to humanize the subjects of your writing, ask yourself if it will enhance your message or confuse the reader.
My favorite quotation on this subject is from Michael Ernst, a professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington:
“Don’t anthropomorphize computers. They hate it.”
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