An article about articles

A flyer arrived at the house today for "a new Jewish resource" (sorry to poke holes, and fun, so quickly, but should we not give the old Jewish resources a try first?) that is described as "an initiative of Rose Community Foundation." I was reminded of the time I had my head handed to me by a representative of said Foundation for referring to the Rose Community Foundation.

Because it's not the Rose Community Foundation. It's Rose Community Foundation. Rose Community Foundation. Not the Rose Community Foundation. Rose Community Foundation.

See the difference? Or should I say: see difference?

Just as people named Andrea are free to insist they actually are named Ahhhhhnnn-DRAAAAY-aaaaaah if they choose, organizations are free to call themselves whatever they wish. (Within reason; Peaberry's may not call itself Starbucks even though it seems to wish it could.) This may be a slightly subversive suggestion coming from someone who takes words and identities as seriously as I do, BUT can it be possible for branding to go just a smidge too far? As long as the checks clear, should any of the charities that the Foundation supports really care whether the word Rose is preceded by the word the?

A similar battle brews at one of my former workplaces. I participated, as marketing director, in a long, lively, and extremely thoughtful rebranding process that resulted in the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture metamorphosing into the Mizel Arts and Culture Center. That's right, it took a year of sweat and tears (and very nearly blood) to turn MCAC into MACC.

My successor doesn't want to stop there: she wants to banish "the" from the name, written or spoken, so that one can refer to, for example, "kids' art classes here at MACC" but not "kids' art classes here at the MACC."

Part of the appeal of "MACC" is that it's pronouncable, like a name. MACC can thus be said to do lots and lots of things, even to have a personality, and this could be a useful characteristic to exploit in future campaigns. But is it really a marketer's proper role to go around being the the police?

In multilingual lands, where a lowly "de" can cause a mighty "el" or "le" to quiver and fall like a leaf at Thanksgiving, learning when articles can be lived without is one of the many small accommodations people -- even marketers -- make to reach one another. Could we not do same?