What’s the word for when the opposing army’s arrows blot out the sky?
by Dave Sandstedt
Even if you haven’t seen the movie, I’m sure you’re familiar this now famous scene from Zack Snyder’s movie, ’300′. It’s that beautifully CGI’ed portrayal of the Spartan army withstanding Xerxes’ first parry at the Battle of Thermopylae; the classical epitome of stoic resolve against incredibly imbalanced odds. But what’s the word for it?
Lately questions like these keep popping into my head. (What’s the word for that little fizzle of smoke that appears over exasperated cartoon characters’ heads?) I got to thinking maybe I was too busy at work, but an informal poll showed that it wasn’t just me. Some of the responses to my question: ‘Armageddon?’ ‘Overwhelmed?’ ‘Tuesday?’ And my favorite so far, ‘Middle Management.’
When I sat down to write this post a few weeks/dozen projects/hundred Change Requests ago, I was tempted by the thought that ours is a uniquely 21st-Century dilemma. (What’s the word for when every generation thinks it’s the end of the world?) Then it hit me, plunk. Maybe, sometimes, there simply are no words.
As a copywriter turned small agency owner turned creative director, I’ve seen, time and again, that visual solutions to communication problems trump great copy, just about every time. (What’s the word for when you need a PPT chart to explain your job?) This is increasingly relevant to me as our clients’ products become increasingly complex—Fabric Computing, Optical LANs, Subsea Repeaters are just a few things I know far too much and far too little about—and the markets we play in become increasingly fractionalized and crowded.
The digital world lobs a sky full of arrows at us consumers every day. Companies need to find the most efficient way possible to help people understand their product and form an immediate emotional connection to it before, plunk, the next Skype message starts to blink. Enter the impactful visual. Maybe this is why the iPad is one of the fastest adopted technologies ever? I think it’s one of the first devices to deliver on the promise of making technology truly transparent—almost visceral. But, ultimately, maybe it’s just an all-around amazing visual experience. (What’s the word for when you go to look up directions on Maps on you iPad, then click to Satellite View, and 30 minutes later realize you’re exploring an underwater trench in the middle of the South Pacific?)
So, as I board a plane to visit a client and prepare to discuss whether a 60-second video should have more than 10 seconds of voice over copy attached to it, and the arrows plunk plunk plunk around my shield, I keep telling myself: Keep it simple, keep it visual.
What’s the word for that, again?

