Capital Letters in Adverts

Capital Letters in Adverts

Capital letters attract the eye. Therefore, it is acceptable to use them in advertisements and signs as required. Some grammarians don't like this advice, but there comes a time when the need to be effective trumps grammar rulings. Therefore, have the confidence to use capital letters in your adverts and signs as required.

Examples of Capital Letters in Adverts

• We offer independent Mortgage Advice.
(There is no grammatical reason for the "M" on "Mortgage" or the "A" on "Advice." This is only acceptable in an advert.)
• Eat our Doughnuts and get Thinner!
(The capital "D" and "T" are only acceptable in an advert.)
• Simply the Best Pies in town
(The capital "B" and "P" are only acceptable in an advert.)
• Kids Eat FREE
(The "E" and "FREE" are only acceptable in an advert.)

Overview of the Writing Cases

Here is an overview of the main writing cases, comparing their use in normal writing and in advertising:

Uppercase

Description	Normal Writing Context	Advertising and Signage Context
ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS	Uppercase is not used for long texts as it slows reading speed. It can be used for buttons and, typically, single-word instructions (e.g., YES, NO, STOP)	Uppercase is useful to attract the eye. It is used with short phrases, particularly single words.

Lowercase

Description	Normal Writing Context	Advertising and Signage Context
all lowercase letters	Using all lowercase letters for long texts is rare as starting a sentence with a lowercase letter can look slapdash. Lowercase is often used for short phrases, especially on buttons or titles where no emphasis is sought. Lowercase has a fast reading speed.	Using all lowercase letters is used for style purposes (it can portray the user as trendy and daring). Lowercase is also used as a contrast to the other cases.

Sentence Case

Description	Normal Writing Context	Advertising and Signage Context
First word capitalized then lowercase. It's normal writing.	Sentence case is tidy and unobtrusive. It is the default case before any rhetorical effect (e.g., emphasis, style) is sought. Sentence case has the fastest reading speed. Of note, sentence case is often used for texts that are not full sentences.

Title Case

Description	Normal Writing Context	Advertising and Signage Context
All the Principal Words in Capitals (Articles and Prepositions Are Not Given Capitals)	Less stark than uppercase, title case is used for multi-word titles. It is often in bold to highlight it as a title.	Title case is useful for titles because it is easy to read and less shouty than uppercase while still attracting the eye.

Read more about title case.

Beware! Grammar Mistakes Can Be Costly

A third of those questioned said they would not do business with companies using poor spelling or grammar. (In the US, lost revenue through bad writing is estimated at over $200 billion a year. In the UK, the Royal Mail states that poor written correspondence costs business £40 billion a year in lost sales.)

Therefore, there is a balance to be struck. From a grammatical perspective, a capital letter on a common noun is wrong. Therefore, it has the potential to scare off your customers. However, it will make a word more prominent in your advert, and this could make your advert more effective.

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