If you try to be too clever you can trip over your own feet, as Dumfries and Galloway has discovered. An advertisement for youth workers for the council’s summer activities programme asked if applicants could walk on stilts. But this subtle example of the copywriter’s technique was beyond the comprehension of many readers who phoned to ask if it was a job requirement.
Derek Crichton, representing the community resources service, had to spell out the significance: “What we meant was that we want people who can offer a whole range of skills. In other words, we do not want boring people to apply for the job.” Isn’t stilt walking boring?
