'The Only' what? Stomper calls out 'bad' ad on train, MindChamps says missing word is to draw attention
Sometimes you come across an advertisement you have to read more than once because you can't be sure you read it correctly the first time.
Stomper Edmund shared a photo of one such ad he saw on the train on Nov 13.
The ad by MindChamps preschool said: "The Only to make history by attaining Patent programme status in the US, UK, AU for its breakthrough education methodology."
"The Only" what? Is there a word missing?
And what is "Patent programme status"? Would "patented" make slightly more sense?
"Bad ad on the train," said the Stomper. "MindChamps doesn't even proof read."
In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson for MindChamps said: "This is just one ad in an overall campaign which celebrates MindChamps' many achievements.
"Because these achievements are unique in the early learning sector, we chose to showcase this uniqueness with a series of headlines that emphasise that we are the only organisation to do so."
An Instagram user named woo.zy posted a photo of another MindChamps ad from the same campaign on the train on Nov 15.
This ad said: "The Only to have a research-backed education method that enables students to achieve up to 6 grade improvements in English, Maths, Science & Chinese as verified by global accounting firm Farvis Mazars'."
The Instagram user asked in the post: "Why does this sentence have no subject or antecedent?"
So for both ads, a word appears to be missing after "The Only". This is not a coincidence.
The spokesperson said: "Internally, we refer to this as 'The Only' campaign and have created a special Only MindChamps logo to accompany the campaign.
"While the normal writing convention would require a noun after the word "Only" (as it is used as an adjective in this context), as a copywriting headline, we chose to omit the noun to create emphasis on our 'Only' message and draw attention - and we believe we have succeeded."
Regarding the usage of the word "Patent", the spokesperson said: "Our ad refers to the patent we've attained for our unique Education Methodology across three major territories: the US (Patent No: 11,790,800), UK (Patent No: GB2607416), and Australia (Patent No: 2022202096).
"This breakthrough methodology enhances students' interdisciplinary cognition - the brain's capacity to build and connect understandings across multiple disciplines simultaneously.
"By drawing on fundamental concepts shared between five key literacies - Numeracy, Language, Social, Emotional, and Music - it serves as both a bridge and a catalyst for developing other literacies.
"In contrast to the traditional approach of teaching each subject separately, this interdisciplinary method fosters deeper learning by connecting core concepts across different areas, resulting in a more integrated and meaningful understanding."
