Pokemon Headlines Gone Wild!
A couple of weeks ago, Poynter declared that the media is obsessed with Pokemon Go, and with reason. People all over the world who were way too cool for Pokemon in June have spent their July catching Rattatas and complaining about how their neighbourhood is full of Drowzees. This has resulted in a torrent of Pokemon Go-related articles gushing out of most any outlet you can name, and people who have never written about Pokemon before are forced to churn out regular headlines about the game. I decided it's time to take a peek at how well that's going.
Before we get started, I want to be clear about what this isn't: This is not a list of grabby headlines from the weirdest Pokemon Go-related stories on the web. There are already so, so many of those lists, and I'm sure by now we all know some kid found a dead body while searching for Pokemon. The point of this exercise is to look at a handful of headlines I thought were worthy of discussion, and to consider their merits and faults. And, this being the Internet, I am then going to rate them. Each will be graded by arbitrarily assigning it a Pokemon, using no discernable criteria whatsoever.
'Waiter, there's a Squirtle in my soup': When Pokemon invade your restaurant, Washington Post,
July 12
There may be no newspaper in the world as devoted to turning out copy about Pokemon Go as the Washington Post. (A quick search of the website shows they posted 10 stories about Pokemon Go on July 25. Ten!) As far as I can tell, this story only appeared online.
I have mixed feelings about this headline. On the one hand, there's a nice play on the phrase turtle soup, and we've got a Pokemon other than Pikachu named in a headline. On the other hand, the games list Squirtle as being roughly half a metre tall, which takes this far out of the fly-in-my-soup territory it's aiming for. Still, it pulls the reader into the story with colourful language and gives a clue as to what's in store, so I rate this a solid Lickitung.
 Pokemon Go released. It's super effective!, Vancouver Sun, July 13
OK, OK, I'm kinda cheating here. I wrote this one. The phrase "super effective" is used throughout the Pokemon games to describe the extra damage that occurs when a certain type of Pokemon is hit with a certain type of attack - say, when a water type attacks a fire type. This might require a bit more knowledge about Pokemon than the average reader would have, but that's the great thing about this layout - the super effective bit is in the sidebar headline, and it's clear enough from context that anyone can grasp the meaning. Meanwhile, for the main head we went with the sort of catch 'em all headline you'd see anywhere.
But I'm obviously not going to rate my own work here, so let's turn to a similar headline:
It's super effective: Players say Pokemon Go helps their mental health, themarysue.com, July 10
This is really good! I was sort of jealous when I came upon this. The big difference between my headline and this one is context: This is a great fit for a story about mental health. I couldn't have done better myself, so I'm going to rate this a Ditto.
I mug you, Pikachu!, The Economist, July 14
This is a pretty short article, digesting a lot of what you'd read about Pokemon Go in the week before. The headline, which plays off the common "I choose you!" declaration trainers make in the video games and cartoon as they send a Pokemon into battle, doesn't do much to describe what you're about to read. But the fact is I like how evocative it is. Brevity is always great, and in four words the Economist sets the stage: Pokemon, with a hint of violence. I'll rate this a Trapinch because it's small but it has bite.
The old Pokeball and chain: Is your 'Pokemon Go' addiction dragging you down? Here's when to seek help, Wall Street Journal, July 15
I don't think this is online anywhere, so unfortunately I can't link any version of this article. But the Wall Street Journal uses a fun play on words here, and pairs it with one of the iconic Pokemon images: a Pokeball. It's not a big story, but the treatment is daring. It takes a bit of a risk by using imagery so specific to Pokemon, but I think it strikes a wonderful balance. A cool and brave headline deserves a cool and brave Pokemon, so I rate this a Charizard.
Toronto Goes Ape For Pokemon, Toronto Sun, July 19
First things first: I have no problem with the splash of yellow on "Go" in the headline. I rather like it! Some fussy old-school types would frown on mixing colour and font sizes in a headline like this, but you are not going to hear that argument from me. My problem with this headline is the context: The headline uses the word ape, but we show a picture of Pikachu (who is a mouse Pokemon). This causes an immediate disconnect for the reader: There's a name of one animal, but a picture of another. There are ape Pokemon, but I don't really expect those to appear on the front page of a newspaper. I would suggest changing "go ape" to "go nuts" or something of the sort, or perhaps play up Pikachu instead: "Pokemon mania shocks Toronto" or something.
Anyway, this headline's a little tangled up, so I'm going to rate it a Tangela.
 Don't play Pokemon Go in minefields, bbc.com, July 19
This exact phrasing of this headline only appeared on the main news page of bbc.com, but it's my favourite iteration. This headline doesn't mess around! We need a Pokemon that's small and explosive for a headline this small about explosives, so it gets a Voltorb.
Nations of the world confront the Pokemon menace, New York Times, July 21
This headline doesn't quite ring true within the universe of Pokemon, as the creatures coexist with people and fight alongside them, not against them. But I'm a sucker for headlines with this sort of construction, and it reminds me of my days as an intern, when I wrote a similar headline about a robot competition that didn't make it to print. (The battle is over, but the tragedy remains.) This headline is goofy, but I like it, so I rate it a Mr. Mime.
Sometimes it's game over for Pokemon Go, San Diego Union-Tribune,
July 22
Confession time: I don't subscribe to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Shocker, I know, but I can't show you how this headline looked in print, and for that I apologize. This is a simple headline, but there are two things I don't like about it. First off, the word "sometimes" makes this headline too soft. I mean, sometimes it's game over for Pokemon Go, sure, but isn't it sometimes game over for all of us? It might be an improvement to instead say: For some San Diegans, it's game over for Pokemon Go. (Then again, "San Diegans" looks awful in a headline, so maybe not.)
The second problem is that the player never encounters a game over screen in the main Pokemon games - you just wake up back at a Pokemon Center when your companions can't fight anymore. This headline just doesn't feel like it has a lot to do with Pokemon, so I'm rating it a Vanilluxe.
This is just a little sidebar, but the headline nails it. It perfectly explains what the story is about (the meteoric growth of the Pokemon app) and cleverly makes use of a catch phrase immediately familiar to anyone who has seen the cartoon. (Apologies if that YouTube link ever stops working!) I award Fortune the coveted Meowth.
Why T.O. is a Pokemon GO ghost town, Toronto Star, July 26
Who says everything is online nowadays? I can't find the main article on thestar.com, so I'm linking the sidebar instead. Anyway, the story itself is interesting enough: Buildings are getting knocked down to make room for more condos so fast in Toronto that some landmarks used in Pokemon Go were already demolished by the time the game came out.
The headline itself I'm less in love with. I never like these how-Stella-got-her-groove-back headline constructions: If you took the "Why" off the headline, should I assume the article just won't bother to explain why Toronto is a ghost town? The bigger issue is style. The Toronto Star hasn't nailed down one style for Pokemon Go. Sometimes it uses the accent, or doesn't. Sometimes it's in italics, sometimes not. Here, however, we've got GO in all caps, as sometimes seen with GO Transit, the regional transit system based out of Toronto. (On the bottom story on this same page it's styled as Pokemon Go instead of Pokemon GO - that one got past the copy editor.)
Anyway, I think it's kind of a crummy headline, so I'm awarding it a crummy ghost Pokemon.
 Picking off Pika? Woman charged after Pokemon Go players shot at with pellet gun, Toronto Sun, July 26
We reach the end, and yeah, it's the Toronto Sun again. Sorry to bring you guys up twice, but man, these Pokemon front pages are just so nutty, I can't help it.
I got a chuckle out of Pikachu with those Xs for eyes, but what's with the short form for Pikachu? Pikachu says "Pika," but no one calls him Pika. That'd be like putting Mickey Mouse in a headline and calling him Mick. I think this was done for the layout, which I'll admit is sharp, but it seems so weird to me. This headline sort of understands what Pikachu is, but doesn't get it quite right, so I am giving it a not-quite-Pikachu rating of Pachirisu.
That's it! As always, if you want to offer feedback, sound off or just say hello, my address is justin@meetjustinholmes.com. Thanks for reading, and until next time we meet, may all your Pokemon references be coherent.
|
CONTACT
Feel free to email me at JUSTIN@MEETJUSTINHOLMES.COM or use the quick form below:
|
|
|
