An ampersand is a logogram representing the conjunction “and.” The symbol is a ligature of the letters in et, Latin for “and.” That’s more semi-useless trivia from Wikipedia.
I love it. I also love ampersands, especially when they appear in a particularly interesting typeface. What I don’t love is receiving ads that mix ampersands with the written out word a-n-d. I start feeling hyper-responsible for the appearance of those ads. Should I change all the ampersands to a-n-d? Or maybe it would be better the other way around. I’ve finally gotten over the need to have every ad on a page look the same. You all have your own unique style of writing and I don’t believe there’s any hard and fast rule about what’s right and what’s wrong. 3 bdrms/3 baths or 3BD/3BA or 3/3. But there’s still a nagging voice in my head that tells me each individual ad should have a consistent look.
My suggestion is to consider a couple of things before making a decision about the ampersand issue:
– Do you need to limit the number of characters you use in your ad? If so, use ampersands.
– Do you want your ad to have a more formal look? If so, use a-n-d.
– Do you think the Marketing Muses should spend less time obsessing over every little detail of their jobs? If so, you might just have a point there.
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” I didn’t say that; Ralph Waldo Emerson did. I wonder how much real estate Ralph sold.
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