Teeth. Bottoms. Bed.

Parents often have to find creative ways to communicate with their children. Ours were no different. We tend to reflect on our childhood and wonder what it was that fostered our interest and curiousity for language. After all, we have both found ourselves professional copywriters and creative communicators.

Looking back, it probably started with our first memories of a father-generated tagline. When we were just squidgy young things, our Dad had a phrase that summarised our nighttime routine – it was Teeth. Bottoms. Bed.

Teeth meant brushing our teeth, Bottoms meant going to the loo and Bed meant, well, getting into bed. Those three little words, were almost like a lullaby. We would carefully follow each step, reciting the tagline as we went: Teeth. Bottoms. Bed, as if checking them off an imaginary list. They also instilled in us a sense of urgency, a call to action – there were things to be done! Get a move on! As bedtime would usually be a slow and skilled exercise in procrastination, those three little words helped spur us along.

It’s only fitting that we decided to frame them and hang them on a wall in our office. Obviously, we’re a lot more organised with our evening routines these days - but if any three words on the planet are going to give us a little spark of urgency, a kick up the backside or force us to get our A into G – it’s these.