Washington DC is a city seeped in historical significance. There are monuments built in memory of the great presidents who lead our nation through some of its most challenging times. There are memorials to help us remember the sacrifices that have been made in the name of freedom. There are buildings where great ideas are debated and shaped. And there are museums which house the relics of times past so that we will not forget those who lived on this world before us.

On a recent business trip to our nation’s capital I was touring around the city in the afternoon and came across the Lincoln Memorial. As I walked up the steps to the entrance I was in an extremely contemplative mood. As I entered the monument, I walked to the left of the statue of Abraham Lincoln and I found, etched in the limestone and marble walls, the Gettysburg Address.

I recalled having to memorize the Address for a speech I had to give in school, but it had been many years since I had read it last. In reading it to myself, I was struck by the eloquence of the words Lincoln used in the address, the flowing nature of the sentences, and how each phrase evoked meaning and imagery. What a treasure it would have been to be able to listen to a recording of the speech on that day.

After I left Mr. Lincoln, I reflected on the copywriting, the marketing materials, and the tag lines I create. So much of the marketing language today is meant to evoke a reaction or a feeling – much like Lincoln succeeded in doing with his Gettysburg Address. Unfortunately, much of the eloquence and formality of the great speeches and writings of the past has given way to short and broad phrasing in much of the advertising and marketing copy created today. Americans of today have short attention spans and the sound bite carries more weight than the long form speech.

Marketing today is rarely Lincoln-esque in its phrasing, prose, or wording. I’m not arguing that it is a bad thing on the whole - people adapt and life is at a far different pace than in the time of Lincoln. When I read the Gettysburg Address, I longed for a time when great men wrote great speeches using words and phrases to raise the level of the human mind, where feelings were evoked, and where the listener left with a clear picture of the greatness of this country we live in.

Thank to Abraham Lincoln for reminding us that sometimes we need more than 140 characters, a short tag line, or a quick sound bite to get a message across to the American public.