by Grammar Girl
At the 24-second mark in this Mercedes commercial (after some stunning images), a man informs us that the car has “less doors.”
There are times when “less” may be appropriate with a count noun (for example, some people think “one less [count noun]” works, and I’ve seen more than one grammarian defend “10 items or less” signs), but the Mercedes commercial is not one of these times. It’s not an idiom and “doors” has no underlying sense of being a mass noun. In simple cases in which you’re choosing between “less” and “fewer,” “fewer” is for count nouns (like “M&Ms,” “doors,” and “forks”), and “less” is for mass nouns (such as “water,” “furniture,” and “homework”).
Mignon Fogarty is the author of Grammar Girl’s 101 Words Every High School Graduate Needs to Know.
I’m normally a stickler for the fine points of grammar…but this one doesn’t bother me at all as long as I get to hear Jon Hamm’s voiceover!
I chalk this one up to poetic license. “More this, more that, more the other… less doors.” The other nouns were mass nouns, e.g., “power”. For parallelism, rhythm, and effect, the word “less” actually works better here.
Or… it does not!
I hear you, Michael, but poor grammar is never excused in my book (except maybe in Bob Dylan songs).
Plus, its use perpetuates the error and it offers those who already say it wrong false assurance that they’re right.
Wrong, Michael. Mercedes lost some class with this gaff. I just saw the commercial and the word “less” sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. I guess it depends on your affinity for correct grammar.
Or even this gaffe
As a copywriter in advertising, I can shed some light on the issue. I had no part in writing the voice over for this commercial and I don’t know who did, but I have a good guess as to why the writer chose the words we hear in the spot.
Good copywriting is not constrained proper grammar and syntax. We’re allowed to break the rules. Personally, I feel like you should know the rules before you break them, but not everyone agrees or cares enough to take the time to whip out Strunk & White.
“More power. More style. More technology. Less doors.”
In this spot, the writer is playing off a duality: “more” and “less.” Yes, in this case it should be “fewer,” but to most people, “more” and “less” pair better than “more” and “fewer.” The latter pair feels clunky. It doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily. Even the Benz drivers would agree (or so the writer might argue).
The job of a copywriter isn’t to speak proper English. It’s to speak to the target demographic. And truthfully, it can be a lot harder to write to someone the way he or she would speak because there aren’t rules to follow.
Ugh. Your post illustrates the primary reason I quit working in advertising. “The job of a copywriter isn’t to speak proper English.” UGH!
And p.s., you need an editor.
Deanna, you took the words right out of my mouth. Thank you!
“Good copywriting is not constrained proper grammar and syntax.”
… Whereas bad copywriting is unintelligible sentences, apparently. Sorry, friend, but as the “target demographic,” I’d prefer you spoke to me without insulting either the rules of grammar or my intelligence.
I will sort of defend Skyler for a moment. If an advertiser wants to reach people to sell them things, then poetic license or gimmicky use of the language is fair game. However, I’d be willing to bet that most of the people in the Mercedes demographic might pause at this ad and think, “Well, that’s a dumb ad.” If the copywriters had used “fewer”, the Mercedes buyers wouldn’t pause, rather they would pay attention to the cool graphics and not the grammar. Unless, of course, this car is just a cheap Honda with a Mercedes logo and the target demo is young, first-time car buyers. If so, it could have simply said, “mor kewl sht #merc(heart)”.
Thanks Dobin, that was insightful.
It’s kinda like McDonald’s “I am lovin’ it” and Apple’s “Think Different”. If you follow all the rules, you miss all the fun.
I malagree. Failure to utilize well grammar makes it more harder to bring stuff serious.
Lame.
More and less do not pair better than more and fewer.
More rain, less rain.
More storms, fewer storms.
More work, less work.
More workers, fewer workers.
I don’t understand the difficulty.
Deanna said it better than I would have. I’m just agreeing it was wrong to begin with.
“Less milk, fewer cookies.” My English teacher taught me that in the 9th grade, and I have never forgotten it! It has turned out to be quite a handy rule for me!
It’s no wonder that so many people have no idea as to what is actually correct; when they hear and see so many instances of bad grammar, they begin to think it is correct.
Exactly!
Another copywriter here. And I’m going to agree with Skyler (while breaking as many formal, prescriptivist rules of grammar as I like).
I have to argue that using “fewer” in this ad would in fact have been the WRONG decision.
There are instances where more formal grammar rules are appropriate, and there are instances where the most appropriate style of communication is colloquialisms and REAL GRAMMAR, i.e. how real (even educated) people normally speak in their daily lives.
The goal of an ad is to communicate with maximum impact. The more/less contrast is simply a stronger rhetorical play that would have been killed by “fewer”.
As an aside, languages evolve over time. What’s appropriate in one century may be categorically incorrect the next. The notion of “less” being wrong for count nouns is a blip on the historical radar. It was perfectly fine for most of the history of our language. It’s only crossed into questionable grammar territory for a few centuries now, and I would argue that it’s a “rule” on its way out.
I totally agree with you. Fewer doors would sound awful and would come across as stilted.
Of course the goal of an ad is to achieve impact, but you seem to be arguing that a larger advertisers’ role is to scoot grammar rules out of existence. Since “less doors” is not grammatically correct and sounds rather like a 5-year-old wrote it, the impact here is probably not what was intended.
By the way, there is a Macy’s ad that uses the phrase “less wrinkles” with no poetic reason for doing so. Neither use is acceptable.
Well written….but the correct use of the word “fewer” is not “formal grammar”, it is correct grammar.
Proper usages of our language is a priority in everything. Improper usage breeds Stupidity.
“It’s no wonder that so many people have no idea as to what is actually correct; when they hear and see so many instances of bad grammar, they begin to think it is correct.”
I spend much time online everyday and the spelling and grammar is worse than third grade level. Very disturbing.
Love hearing all the copywriters weighing in. As a colleague, I will defend and support the use of breaking rules of grammar… where appropriate. I love finding ways to do it that Word. (uncar. unbig. for smart is a current fave)
For a different, edgier brand attracting a younger demo, this would be appropriate, but I don’t think it’s in the Mercedes brand voice to be cutesy or wink with copy. Their copy guidelines surely direct sophistication and luxury — and that construction is neither.
I want to defend this usage for a reason no one has presented yet, distinct from the idea that advertising can/should dumb down proper grammar to reach a wider audience, with which I disagree.
However, I do think “less doors” is the good choice from a copywriting standpoint, and here’s why: it’s not that “fewer” would sound too correct or clunky, but that there is a play on words going on here. When I hear the “less doors” part, I picture quotations around the word doors. The writers are cheekily pointing out the very un-sleek, uncool concept of having many doors on a car by juxtaposing it against the words “power,” “style,” and “technology.” More polish. Less whatever isn’t polished. As in, more luxury, less “I drive a sensible beige sadan.” The key to my interpretation is considering the word “doors” to be not a “count noun,” but an idea that conveys the opposite of the other three words; I think it’s a usage that is trying to be witty, not itentionally or unintentionally use bad grammar.
Especially in the almost sarcastic tone of Jon Hamm’s voice, this comes off as an active choice to me, and I have to agree with the people with advertsing experience who’ve commented that it’s the right choice, even though I hope I’ve articulated the reasoning differently.
Your comment makes the most sense of anyone defending it, CC. I still disagree with their choice because I believe in respect for the English language (I’m an English teacher, after all).
Agree with poetic license comment.
“Fewer doors” just wouldn’t be as impactful, nor would it capture one’s imagination in quite the same way.
But! It’s still ungrammatical, so good on GG for calling this out, lest people start doing it in non-advertising contexts (shudders).
Fewer doors sounds okay to me… :/
For all those who said that “fewer doors” wouldn’t have worked, then I would say that they should have left it out all together. Sorry, but “less doors” sounds atrocious.
Perhaps “less” works since they used “more” before, but this grammar misuse bothers me to no end! I would question buying their car if they can’t make a commercial that correctly uses the English language–I don’t care what leeway they think they have.
Please keep fighting the good fight, Grammar Girl! Every time I hear the “less doors” phrase in this commercial, it makes my ears bleed. My husband quickly learned to mute the sound as soon as this commercial starts so as to avert another “decline of civilization” rant from me.
I was thinking about this commercial more today and realized there would have been an easy fix. They could have simply said “less door” instead of “less doors.” Then “door” would have been a concept–uncountable–and perfectly valid to use with “less.”
YES, YES, YES! I just watched this commercial for the first time, and CRINGED! Then, I googled “mercedes commercial ‘less doors’ ” and saw that I wasn’t the only one bothered by this! Mercedes should sue the marketing company.
The rule I’ve always heard is if it’s something countable, like doors, cookies, or fingers, it’s fewer. If its something you can’t count, like power, milk, or intelligence, it’s less. How is that difficult?
This commercial hurt my ears
I am not currently in the market for a Mercedes, but if I were this commercial would have caused me to reconsider. The phrase “less doors” is, to me, equivalent to the sound of nails on a blackboard.
When I see this commercial, I just ask, “Doesn’t anyone use copy editors?” It cheapens the product. It sounds like our local sports broadcaster who talks about less strkeouts.
Like… Less doors than a Sedan because it’s a Coupe? Cause it has 2 and most coupes have 2. It’s not exactly revolutionary. Thank you Mercedes for running low on innovation.