Kranz On Copy: Insights and answers on copywriting and writing copy

You don't read much talk of "policy" or "policies" in good copy -- and for a good reason: It's almost always the bearer of bad news.

When someone begins a sentence with, "We have a policy..." that person is invariably telling you something you don't want to hear. It means you can't get a raise, exchange your gift, or get your order shipped overnight. It means you have to accept some inconvenience for the convenience of the "higher power" who holds the policy.

The word "policy" suggests something permanent and unchanging, like the orbits of the planets. Once something is "policy," we dare not challenge it. The Great Oz has spoken. It's policy.

Ultimately, "it's-our-policy" is a mask. It shields unreasonable actions (or inaction) behind a veneer of pseudo-logic. It hides the speaker from personal responsibility, allowing her to duck behind a parapet of corporate dictates. It's a desperate attempt to dodge the challenges of precarious reality, in which change is the one unchanging rule and compromise, negotiation and accommodation are the standard currencies of life.

I have a policy of not proclaiming policies. (Whoops.) What's your policy?