Lazy law billboard copy.

advertising, annoying stuff, corporate crap, “humor”, wordplay

Morgan & Morgan is a law firm, prominently known for its nonstop ubiquitous advertisements that feature a Fat Man.

They started in Orlando, Florida, and then expanded throughout the southeast and have now even made their way to sunny Los Angeles.

And all the while, they've made sure that you never forget their name, with an onslaught of billboards, bus ads, bus stop ads, and fittingly, ads inside the bus, all screaming Morgan & Morgan & Morgan & Morgan in a loud shade of yellow with a Fat Man staring at you.

Along with publicizing their name, they're trying to go with a bit of “clever” wordplay in their choice of taglines, like “Size Matters,” or the one this entry will focus on: “Laws Angeles.”

Laws Angeles!

Get it? The billboards are in Los Angeles.

Los kind of sounds like “laws.”

And they're lawyers.

“Laws Angeles.”

So… uh… is that it? is that all they have to say? A weak pun? I mean, I'm sure their business is doing just fine even without Jared M. Gair managing the portfolio, but… is that all the ad was designed to communicate? Just the… concept of laws. In a vacuum. Nothing about their ability to understand, interpret, defend you from them. Just… laws, themselves.

Yeah, the law is a thing that exists. Yeah, the city we live in is named Los Angeles.

That's the whole message, and it's plastered everywhere. Okay……….?

Now, let me nip this in the bud. I don't want to hear any of the following: ”Well, they're going for name recognition,” “less is more,” “here you are talking about them,” “now you associate their law firm with the city you're likely to need legal help in” — or anything else. You've been saying that (in my head) since the very first entry.

If that were the case, why spend money for ad campaigns at all? Why have ideas? Why go into advertising creative? Anything said at all could lead to name recognition and all criticism of anything could be considered “talking about them.”

I picture Morgan himself hiring me as a consultant to evaluate their marketing strategies. He brings me into his office, serves me a nice lunch, and then sets up his display easel featuring the campaign. He proudly turns around the presentation board, revealing a photo of the giant “Laws Angeles” billboard. I just sit there, blinking at him. He's trying to hold a smile even though he's sweating, clearly panicking. There are a few moments of uncomfortable silence before I say, “Oh! I'm sorry. That's it?”

I imagine this scenario multiple times a week. Sometimes, while I'm on the treadmill at the gym, I see a bus with that very ad plastered on the side go by from the front window. I am very tired. ✍︎