cliches – Neil Sagebiel

I need a game change on “game change.” Apparently a darling of the media and business world, this cliché is everywhere. I just heard it on All Things Considered. If this cliché continues to spread like kudzu, the program might become All Things Game Changed.

Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin is the new big political book in the news. It’s being talked up on CNN and other news outlets. Actually, the book sounds pretty interesting, even if it has been infected with a cliché.

Google returns more than nine million results for “game changer.” For “game change,” there are 600 million Google search results. That’s too many.

Look, I like sports. But have you ever wondered why almost all our clichés are from the sports world? (“At the end of the day” is one exception.) And once people start using them, they never seem to stop.

Which is why I think it’s important to stop “game change” now before it’s too late. That, my friends, would be the ultimate game change.

Everyone has a “proven track record.” Or so it seems. I do, and I’m not an Olympic sprinter or a NASCAR driver.

“Proven track record” is one of those tired phrases that virtually everyone uses. I plead guilty. As a copywriter, I’ve surely drafted those words dozens of times for marketing materials.

Actually, I’m fond of the word “proven,” but when it’s combined with “track record” eyes glaze over. In fact, those three words just popped up in an article I was reading in BtoB’s Best 2008, which is why I’m writing this post.

Any suggested alternatives? “Proven track record” returns 3.84 million results in Google. Maybe we can start to whittle away at this cliché.