Grammatical error???

Question

i have been curious about this certain commercial on the television.it's an insecticide that has a lemon scent on it.the product's name is "Raid".the last catch phrase is:

"Raid: Kills bug DEAD!"

i think the catch phrase is grammatically incorrect.is it?

Answer 1

Yes, it is grammatically incorrect, but they make it that way so it's catchy.

Answer 2

It is intentionally informal, almost to the point of self-ridicule.  

What counts as an error depends on context.  Contemporary English does not conform to the standards of Olde English, and love letters do not conform to the standards of research papers.

In any context with an even slightly greater formality than that found in this commercial, the tautology would be a stylistic error, the colon would be inappropriate internal punctuation, and the monosyllabic delivery would be inane and heavy-handed.

Within its original context, Raid's tagline is acceptable.  The redundancy is effectively emphatic, the colon provides caesura without removing the subject from its predicate, and the monosyllabic delivery is mnemonic.

Please realize that the original context includes cartoon cockroaches that are comically fearful of nothing except their own impending demise.  Formality was simply not of any concern to the advertisers.

Answer 3

wow my world has suddenly come crushing down upon me

Answer 4

It's an example of tautology - it unnecessarily repeats something. See here:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tautolo...

If it kills them, of course they are dead!!

Answer 5

Advertising is the very last place to look for good grammar, which is possessed by relatively few of the vast audience it hopes to reach.

To be grammatically correct, this slogan would have to be. "Raid kills bugs." The response to that would be "What's an insecticide SUPPOSED to do? Keep it's  hair in place?" No. The message is that is REALLY kills them.