diff --git a/core/js/placeholder.js b/core/js/placeholder.js
index 3c7b11ef468eaa27d56dd5a8df5526a7e8a541b0..ee2a8ce84c42b1fa0996abe6fc82fbc3492d8d5a 100644
--- a/core/js/placeholder.js
+++ b/core/js/placeholder.js
@@ -48,9 +48,8 @@
 
 (function ($) {
 	$.fn.placeholder = function(seed, text) {
-		if (typeof(text) === "undefined") {
-			text = seed;
-		}
+		// set optional argument "text" to value of "seed" if undefined
+		text = text || seed;
 
 		var hash = md5(seed),
 			maxRange = parseInt('ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff', 16),