Branding

I met an old friend for lunch today who has been working in management consultancy. He told me his company has been considering changing its internal branding. I misheard and loudly poo-pooed the idea, believing that branding ones employees was over the top in this day and age, and doing it internally would pose considerable logistic difficulties that wouldn't be cost-effective. I had misunderstood – by branding he was meant letterheads and suchlike – it was merely one of those Americanisms

When I hear such Americanisms I always feel like a man who has had something he lent a friend returned in less than top nick – we gave them a perfectly nice language and they've given it back to us all mangled and battered and now we have to make use it as best we can because we can no longer afford a new one. Historically, of course, the rot started to set in when we stopped using Iambic Pentameter. And what on earth was wrong with manuscript?