Selling Advertising Again...
When I was on local papers, taking public calls, the most sensitive type you could get was people placing Death Announcements and Obituaries. There's nothing worse than an angry bereaved relative ringing to say you've spelt their dear departed's name wrong, or mangled the meaningful bit of verse they wanted to include.

As a result, there was a general rule that you eliminate all doubt before the thing runs: read it through back to them, check any spelling, even email or fax a copy to them to check through.

Sometimes, there's things you don't notice until the ad's ready to run though, and you have to make a last minute call back to the family to check.

One day, we had just such a situation when there were a few people clustered round a screen as I wandered back from the coffee machine, and I joined them and asked what was up.

'Read this' I was told.

I was looking at a fairly lengthy Obit for a young guy who'd died in a car crash the week before. The family had included a poem which had obviously been written by them, and which whilst terrible from any sort of technical or artistic viewpoint, was quite touching in that it clearly meant a lot to them, however, the last stanza read:

'You really loved your car,
It was your little toy,
You used to clean it all the time,
And drove it every day'

'The rhyme doesn't work...' I muttered.

'That's what everyone thinks. I'm going to have to call them back.'

So she gets on the phone and dials the mother. We don't cluster round as we all have to get back to our desk and back on the phones, but we're curious about the outcome and are all listening to the call from our end.

To our surprise, our operative calls up, says hello to the mother, then just says 'I just wanted to let you know for sure the ad will run tomorrow... OK Mrs. ______... Yes, we'll send you a copy... Goodbye.'

'You didn't check it?' we ask.
'No need.'
'Eh?'
'They're from Dudley.'

Now read it again in a Black Country accent and see how the rhyme works...
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Sun 6 Sep 2009, 14:34, 13 replies)

excellent.
i like that enormously.
( disasterprone "Pyjamas caused the Holocaust", Sun 6 Sep 2009, 15:37, closed)

Bostin
Click
(randomstupidname would really like this signature field to be bigge, Sun 6 Sep 2009, 16:36, closed)

have one on me son
click
(CaptainCuntyBollocks the man who can with a frying pan full of lamb, Sun 6 Sep 2009, 18:05, closed)

Thanks
I'll have a mild and some scratchings.
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Sun 6 Sep 2009, 18:24, closed)

For those of us to stupid/un-British to get the joke...
do they pronounce "day" as "doy" in that region or something?
(chase, Mon 7 Sep 2009, 3:49, closed)

Yes,
and they also drawl that vowel, which makes it even funnier.
(Juan Quar is clinging to her front teeth on, Mon 7 Sep 2009, 7:42, closed)

Yes
But thats a very Cod Brummie accent for that....
(never-right -getting it wrong since '78, Mon 7 Sep 2009, 15:22, closed)

So we're clear on this
Brummies aren't from the Black Country or Vice Versa.
Consequently, no-one from the Black Country has a Brummie accent.
(NDayave , Hooray For, Wed 9 Sep 2009, 15:41, closed)

Definitely different...
Admittedly not obvious to anyone not from round there, but I could tell you whether someone's Brummie or Yam Yam from a sentence, and I've never yet been wrong.
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Wed 9 Sep 2009, 21:45, closed)

As A Proud Yam Yam
I didn't get the bit when you said it didn't rhyme!!

Click
(never-right -getting it wrong since '78, Mon 7 Sep 2009, 15:21, closed)

D'oh!
Someone will probably ask for 'Yam Yam' to be explained, now...
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Mon 7 Sep 2009, 15:32, closed)

Also a yam-yam
and didn't get the bit about it not rhyming either!

clicky click
( Mrs.D, Mon 7 Sep 2009, 20:13, closed)

Brilliant
is all I can say, have a click.
(lochii, Mon 7 Sep 2009, 23:57, closed)