Kathleen Valenti

Tag!

My dad loves to say that my job is writing slogans and jingles. Although I have only jingled on a few occasions (or if we’re being fancy, written “song-beds with sing-out”—and I’m not making that up), slogans are bread and butter for copywriters like me.

And honestly? I’m here for it.

The verbal equivalent of a logo, a slogan (a.k.a. tagline) reflects a brand’s promise, purpose, or ethos, or serves to create an emotional response in the reader. If done right—or wrong—these little word snacks stick to our proverbial ribs, even if they’re just filling us with empty noun calories.

Sure, they take up precious brain space better served by the Pythagorean Theorem or remembering Aunt Joanne’s birthday. But there’s comfort in these advertising ear worms’ persistent presence in our cultural lexicon. I mean, who can forget “Just do it,” “Mmm mmm good,” and “Let your fingers do the walking”?

And we all know that the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup.

But what happens when good taglines go bad—or just weird?

My boyfriend, Ian, purchased a vintage soda machine for me. As a fan of vintage, I had been pining for one for aaaaaaaaages. But it wasn’t until I got a gander at the tagline emblazoned across the front that I truly appreciated its value.

 “Get real action.”

Uhhhhh…whut? Or more specifically, what was happening in 1963 when this tagline came on the scene? And take a look at the ad copy:

This look through the advertising sands of time is such a treasure–and a mystery. I can totally appreciate “7-Up your thirst away.” It’s cute and playful, and the use of a brand as a verb has a nice nod to strategy. But “Get real action”—and later the brand’s infamous “Make 7-Up yours”?

You okay there, 7-Up?

Of course, the un-cola isn’t alone in cringe-worthy taglines.

I’m not going to count “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette” because it was probably true. And I don’t mind Electrolux’s “Sucks like an Electrolux” because it’s cheekily clever.

But I’m not over-fond of UPS’s “What can Brown do for you?” Carl’s Jr’s “If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face,” or (and let’s all say a collective OY here) Dr. Pepper’s ill-conceived (and likely job-terminating) “It’s not for women.”

GOODNESS.

The takeaways are that a) great taglines are amazing b) questionable taglines are a different kind of amazing and c) the humble tagline (and yes song-bed with sing-out) proves that words have power. They make us feel, remember, and—if advertisers have their way—trust, talk about, and buy.

So while I ponder why Hilton Hotels embraced “Travel should take you places” as their tagline, I’m going to break off a piece of that Kit-Kat bar and have a snack.

Dear friends, do any taglines take up space in your brain? Have you secretly (or not secretly) written the perfect tagline for a brand?

38 thoughts on “Tag!”

        1. I wish! There should be some kind of medium that specializes in connecting copywriters across the ages. It could look like the Zoltar booth (Think BIG with Tom Hanks) and be called The Copy Machine.

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    1. Here are a few that have stuck with me through the ages.
      In sing-song voice, “So, tonight, let it be Lowenbrau.”
      Then there’s Prudential’s, “Get a Piece of the Rock.”
      Last, but certainly not least, “Porsche, there is no substitute.”

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  3. Taglines are on my mind right now. I’m writing some for my new release, Shooters!

    Two of my faves:

    When someone you love does something unthinkable…

    and,

    He swallowed the whole bottle of black pills.

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  4. Hestia here.

    making us believe insurance companies are like good neighbors (yeah right!) – State Farm via Barry Manilow
    And did you know even though he sang “you deserve a break today”, he didn’t write it? He only ate there once, a Big Mac, and it gave him gas

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  5. I’m sure some are swimming through my head right now, but I can’t think of any. All I can think of, since you mentioned it, is how much I hate the Carl’s Jr. commercials where there’s food all over people’s faces.

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  6. I’d love to add writing jingles to my resume. Kudos to you, Kathy! Sometimes I think about author branding and slogans–and whether to tweak things.

    As for slogans that stay, I’m partial to cereals, like: Frosted Flakes & They’re Grrreat!

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  9. Having grown up for a Mad Man as a dad, I totally relate to this post! What’s interesting is how taglines are so indicative of their time period. I.e., try using “I’d rather fight than switch” showing people with a cigarette and a black eye as an ad campaign nowadays!

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  10. I’ll always remember, as a really little kid, “I’m Janet/Mary/Susan. Fly me!” (Was that United Airlines, flying the friendly skies, while PanAm merely made the going great?) I never understood why everyone thought it was so great, but I do remember people liking those ads a lot. We’ve come a long way, baby!

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    1. GUFFAW. Indeed we have! (I don’t have to tell you that until pretty recently, almost all creatives in the ad biz were men. Even in my agency, I was the only woman in the creative department forever.)

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