A long time ago, in an ancient time

The voiceover on the current Ferrero Rocher TV ad begins:

A long time ago, in an ancient time


Surely most ancient times were a long time ago?

And while repetition can be a powerful rhetorical device, those two 'times' don't do much for me.

1 comment:

The Honourable Husband said...

Ah, but fantasists, game designers, and such create NEW ancient worlds all the time. Perhaps "ancient" nowadays simply means forgotten and rediscovered, like the Greeks and Romans. Not just old.

Or, it could just be a repetition for effect, as would be the first line if it read "A long, long time ago"...