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MacMall Ad- "Soothe the Savage Breast"

175170

175170

Cancelled
Original poster
Mar 28, 2008
964
0
I just got this ad, funny typo. :D
Screenshot2009-11-16at92744PM.png
 
It's not a typo. The phrase has been misquoted so many times over the years using "beast" instead of "breast" that people think that's what it really is. It comes from a poem called "The Mourning Bride" written by William Congreve in 1697:

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
What then am I? Am I more senseless grown
Than Trees, or Flint? O force of constant Woe!
'Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.
Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night
The silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;
He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd
Within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.
Why am not I at Peace?

Thankfully the copywriters of that ad are more familiar with English literature than the average reader!
 
Stampyhead said:
It's not a typo. The phrase has been misquoted so many times over the years using "beast" instead of "breast" that people think that's what it really is. It comes from a poem called "The Mouring Bride" written by William Congreve in 1697:

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
What then am I? Am I more senseless grown
Than Trees, or Flint? O force of constant Woe!
'Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.
Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night
The silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;
He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd
Within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.
Why am not I at Peace?

Thankfully the copywriters of that ad are more familiar with English literature than the average reader!
Click to expand...

Maybe the poet made a typo in 1697? :D
 
Stampyhead said:
Thankfully the copywriters of that ad are more familiar with English literature than the average reader!
Click to expand...

Then their marketing dept has no clue about who they are selling to.

if people just in these forums thought it a typo, its just badly done ad. plain and simple.
 
Music_Producer said:
Maybe the poet made a typo in 1697? :D
Click to expand...
Of course. That must be why! :)

Stampyhead said:
It's not a typo. The phrase has been misquoted so many times over the years using "beast" instead of "breast" that people think that's what it really is. It comes from a poem called "The Mouring Bride" written by William Congreve in 1697:

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
What then am I? Am I more senseless grown
Than Trees, or Flint? O force of constant Woe!
'Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.
Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night
The silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;
He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd
Within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.
Why am not I at Peace?

Thankfully the copywriters of that ad are more familiar with English literature than the average reader!
Click to expand...

Hmm... Interesting.
I guess you are right.
Sdashiki said:
Then their marketing dept has no clue about who they are selling to.

if people just in these forums thought it a typo, its just badly done ad. plain and simple.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's true. If most people think it's a typo, then the people writing the ad better use some other phrase.
 
Yeah I'm sure MacMall expects its customers to be familiar with late 17th century poetry. :rolleyes:

They're not trying to quote the original poem
  • it says soothe not sooth
  • it says the savage breast not a savage breast
It's a typo, and a pretty amusing one at that.
 
And just look at all the additional "press" they have gotten. All the adolescent males on here are thinking, "Heh..heh...they said 'breast'...heh...heh!"
 
Stampyhead said:
It's not a typo. The phrase has been misquoted so many times over the years using "beast" instead of "breast" that people think that's what it really is. It comes from a poem called "The Mouring Bride" written by William Congreve in 1697:

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.
What then am I? Am I more senseless grown
Than Trees, or Flint? O force of constant Woe!
'Tis not in Harmony to calm my Griefs.
Anselmo sleeps, and is at Peace; last Night
The silent Tomb receiv'd the good Old King;
He and his Sorrows now are safely lodg'd
Within its cold, but hospitable Bosom.
Why am not I at Peace?

Thankfully the copywriters of that ad are more familiar with English literature than the average reader!
Click to expand...

pwned! :p Just kidding... As an English major, I am impressed that you knew that. Sadly, I should clarify that the title of the poem is "The Mourning Bride", not "The Mouring Bride". Typos abound!
 
Darth.Titan said:
Yeah I'm sure MacMall expects its customers to be familiar with late 17th century poetry. :rolleyes:

They're not trying to quote the original poem
  • it says soothe not sooth
  • it says the savage breast not a savage breast
Click to expand...
The phrase is a familiar one via books and popular media and to nearly anyone who's taken English Lit, in spite of its having been misquoted from time to time.
 
eawmp1 said:
And just look at all the additional "press" they have gotten. All the adolescent males on here are thinking, "Heh..heh...they said 'breast'...heh...heh!"
Click to expand...

Oh yeah man!!
They mentioned "Breast", I'm getting those phones now! :D
Thomas Veil said:
The phrase is a familiar one via books and popular media and to nearly anyone who's taken English Lit, in spite of its having been misquoted from time to time.
Click to expand...
To me, or to most people in the United States today, we don't think that a breast needs calming.
Of course, it makes much more sense, calming a beast.

Well, anywho, thanks for pointing it out. Perhaps they copied + pasted from some other document, and the drafter didn't realize it said "breast". A word like that should not be in an ad advertising headphones.
 
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