Feb 22 2010
President’s Day? Presidents’ Day? Who knows?
There has been a discussion amongst us email nerds about what is correct in a subject line: “President’s Day” or “Presidents’ Day” or “Presidents Day.” I thought “Presidents’ Day” was correct since this day honors multiple Presidents. Others argued that “President’s Day” is correct since this day honors Washington only. To put this argument to rest, I did some inbox diving for President’s Day, Presidents’ Day and other variations in subject lines.
Here are the results listing the sender and the subject line. What do you think about these? Please share your thoughts!
Results:
- 34 subject lines were analyzed.
- 20 used Presidents’ (59%)
- 10 used President’s (29%)
- 4 used another variation (12%)
- 2 used both another variation and President’s in different emails (6%)
The longest subject line was: Presidents Day Deals: LG 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV $999.99, Sony Blu-ray Player $176.99, Altec Lansing Speaker System $89.99, Pentax Digital Camera $62.39,..
PRESIDENTS’
Ebates: Save big with Presidents’ Day sales and Double Cash Back
Bluefly: EXTRA 20% OFF Presidents’ Day Sale – Now Up To 75% Off!
eBags: Presidents’ Day Weekend Sale – Our Best Deal is Back
HP: HP’s Presidents’ Day Sale STARTS NOW!
Disney Store: Presidents’ Day Sale Starts Today! Up to 25% Off
Bass Pro Shops: Save up to 50% during our Presidents’ Day Sale
Colorful Images: Celebrate A Presidents’ Day Flag-Waver, Valued Customer, with FREE S&H
Current Catalog: Extended for 24 hours! Double savings at our Presidents’ Weekend Sale!
Bluefly: Project Runway! See Who Won Last Night + Presidents’ Day Sale!
Bass Pro Shops: Presidents’ Day Sale – Save up to 50%
Amazon.com: Presidents’ Day Shoe Sale Up to 45% Off, Plus Free Shipping at endless.com
Dick’s Sporting Goods: Final Hours to Save Big on Presidents’ Day!
Overstock.com: Presidents’ Day Sale + Last Day $1 Shipping
Lane Bryant: Last Chance For Presidents’ Day Savings + New Must-Have Tees
HP: HP’s Presidents’ Day Sale – Save up to 50%
Radio Shack: Preview our Presidents’ Day 48-Hour Sale!
Cooking.com: President’s Day Weekend Savings – Save up to 75%
The Sportsman’s Guide: Presidents’ Day Sale! Savings Coupon from The Guide…
Bluefly: Presidents’ Day Sale featuring COATS – Now Up To 75% Off!
Newport News: Presidents’ Deal: FREE SHIPPING for one more day.
PRESIDENT’S DAY
Ann Taylor: President’s Day Sale: Take An Extra 40% Off Sale + 40% Off 1 Full-Priced Item!
Ann Taylor: Shop Our President’s Day Sale Now! 40% Off 1 Full-Priced Item + Extra 40% Off Sale Items
Office Depot: Hurry In for President’s Day Deals + $10 Coupon
Norm Thompson: President’s Weekend Event: 15% MORE OFF SALE!
Sam’s Club: Save big during the Serta® President’s Day Mattress Event; online and in-Club Feb. 10-15, 2010!
Spiegel: President’s Day Weekend Savings! EXTRA 25% OFF Already-Reduced Styles!
Office Depot: Celebrate President’s Day All Week + $20 Coupon
Banana Republic: Celebrate President’s Day with 25% off! Today only!
LOFT Outlet: President’s Day Sale: 50% OFF Spring Styles + Free Shipping
Ann Taylor: This Weekend Only–Our President’s Day Sale! 40% Off 1 Full-Priced Item + Extra 40% Off Sale Items
OTHER
LOFT Outlet: Presidents Day Sale…Savings Throughout The Store!
Banana Republic: Happy Birthday Mr. President! Save up to 40% + Free shipping.
Macy’s: Free Shipping + 2-day specials at the Presidents Day Sale!
Buy.com: Presidents Day Deals: LG 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV $999.99, Sony Blu-ray Player $176.99, Altec Lansing Speaker System $89.99, Pentax Digital Camera $62.39,..
For the record, Wikipedia has the following to say about the spelling of the national holiday known as Washington’s Birthday:
Because Presidents Day is not the official name of the federal holiday, there is variation in how it is rendered. Both Presidents Day and Presidents’ Day are today common, and both are considered correct by dictionaries and usage manuals. Presidents’ Day was once the predominant style, and it is still favored by the majority of significant authorities—notably, The Chicago Manual of Style (followed by most book publishers and some magazines), The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Webster’s Third International Dictionary, and Garner’s Modern American Usage. In recent years, as the use of attributive nouns (nouns acting as modifiers) has become more widespread, the popularity of Presidents Day has increased.[10] This style is favored by the Associated Press Stylebook (followed by most newspapers and some magazines) and the Writer’s Digest Grammar Desk Reference (ISBN 978-1582973357).
