Glenfiddich

Date: November 2008

Client: Glenfiddich

Agency: World Writers

Job: Branding Commercial (Copywriting Test Part 1)

Adaptation & Backtranslation of:
- Advertisement tagline
- Advertisement copy

Why I Wrote What I Wrote:

Was approached by World Writers London to be registered under the company as a freelance copywriter. With it was an assessment on my abilities; this is the first instalment – to do an adaptation from the original English copy to Mandarin, then doing a backtranslation to English again.

Read the original copy provided and watched their ad on YouTube to get a feel of their company image. The ad had several lines running through the visuals:

A day is a step, a year is a tango
A day is a tourist, a year is a traveler
A day is frustration, a year is a melody
A day is a thought, a year is a philosophy

I decided on "A day is a thought. A year is a philosophy." as the amended headline for the ad to make it (i) more elegant, (ii) link up the ad and the company, and (iii) bring out a point that makes more publicity sense compared to the existing "A DAY SAYS CRAZY A YEAR SAYS GENIUS". Did a major overhaul of the original copy for the adaptation and the backtranslation to make them more elegant.

Headline Option 1:
A day is a thought. A year is a philosophy.
一天的思潮。一年的信念。

Headline Option 2:
In a day a thought. In a year a philosophy.
一天里的思潮。一年里的信念。

Ending quote:
Glenfiddich. Every year counts.
Glenfiddich。连年精酿。

Status: Completed