Before it's news, it's Reuters

In the hands of advertising copywriters, the English language is a powerful tool. And copywriters, sometimes, are children.

Children should never be allowed to play with power tools.

Once in a while, however, a humble copywriter taps into something truly amazing, truly magical, that captures the essence of a brand in a heartbeat, stops competitors in their tracks, and reinvents the category.

Some brilliant writer, somewhere, not so long ago, coined five simple words, in an eternal verity, to announce Reuters sponsorship on National Public Radio. I almost drove off the road when I first heard it:

"Before it's news, it's Reuters."

In today's topsy-turvey world, where the news really isn't The New York Times anymore, nor ABC, nor NBC, nor CBS, nor frankly, even NPR. But rather, the Internet in all its forms, including Yahoo!News, just to give one example, where we can decide if we prefer the Associated Press (AP) view of the universe, or Reuters, or both on our home page ... this killer phrase defines Reuters in a new world.

We happen to like Reuters. We think Reuters offers a balanced, global perspective. And that's our perspective.

We have no connection to Reuters, just so you know. And to be truthful, we are shocked that Reuters doesn't use this brilliant 30-carat diamond idea anywhere else, at least so far as we can tell, other than on NPR.

Yet it belongs all over their brand.

This five-word pearl defines the Reuters brand.

If you know Reuters, tell them.