The past 10 years, I've watched as my headlines have become much less fun. Part of that is SEO wearing me down even when working on the magazine. But this reminded me of the joys and lengths we used to go to for a good headline. One that you were behind and I still remember as a bit bonkers was for a review of the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I believe the hed was "Quartet Beset by Statuette" because, you know, the Silver Surfer kinda looks like an Oscar.
Ah, thank you! Perhaps all great headlines are the opposite of reader service. And perhaps, just as big-box bookstores crushed independents and were in turn crushed by Amazon, the SEO speedwagon will be derailed and the pun will rise again.
Some proof of this theory in No. 40 from Whitwell's list:
"Social media headlines are evolving fast. Since 2017, they’ve got shorter (11 words vs 15 words), and many clickbait phrases like “…will make you…” or “things only … will understand” no longer work."
Also have to call out Chris Knight for his heroic work of movie review headlines that continues to this day. "Timbers, Shivered" for Pirates of the Caribbean sticks in the head, as does "*May Not Actually Bring Down House" for Bringing Down The House. Also "Wide Collar Crimes" for Zodiac.
The past 10 years, I've watched as my headlines have become much less fun. Part of that is SEO wearing me down even when working on the magazine. But this reminded me of the joys and lengths we used to go to for a good headline. One that you were behind and I still remember as a bit bonkers was for a review of the Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I believe the hed was "Quartet Beset by Statuette" because, you know, the Silver Surfer kinda looks like an Oscar.
Ah, thank you! Perhaps all great headlines are the opposite of reader service. And perhaps, just as big-box bookstores crushed independents and were in turn crushed by Amazon, the SEO speedwagon will be derailed and the pun will rise again.
Some proof of this theory in No. 40 from Whitwell's list:
"Social media headlines are evolving fast. Since 2017, they’ve got shorter (11 words vs 15 words), and many clickbait phrases like “…will make you…” or “things only … will understand” no longer work."
Also have to call out Chris Knight for his heroic work of movie review headlines that continues to this day. "Timbers, Shivered" for Pirates of the Caribbean sticks in the head, as does "*May Not Actually Bring Down House" for Bringing Down The House. Also "Wide Collar Crimes" for Zodiac.