Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Are brands quotable? Do they let your fingers do the walking? Are they the quicker picker-upper? Do they absolutely, positively have to be there overnight? Do they let you have it your way?

Call them taglines or slogans, it really doesn’t matter. A well-crafted tagline can be the shortest route to the heart of any audience. They should be short, unique, efficient, ownable and, above all else, memorable. The right tagline can sometimes communicate the essence of a brand better than a 12-page brochure or a 60-second television spot and cost a great deal less. Like a fine red wine reduction, a great tagline boils it all down to an intensified, attention-grabbing group of words. You know, something that is Mmm! Mmm! Good.

Taglines can be one of the hardest things for a client to settle on. It makes them stop and think not only about how they want to be known, but also about who they wish to be. It takes a great deal of soul searching. Great taglines can endure the test of time and outlast a busload of marketing directors. In other words, they should be able to take a licking and keep on ticking. Nike hasn’t used “Just do it” for years, yet any time I even see their logo, those three words come to mind. They just can’t be disconnected. Wheaties has been the breakfast of champions since 1935. Maxwell House has been good to last drop for 82 years. And the New York Times has been serving up all the news that is fit to print for well over a century. The fun isn’t reserved just for the big boys. Small companies can also benefit from a powerful persona put to words.

A few years ago, I saw a spot for a regional toy store that wrapped up with a marketing mantra I have never forgotten, even though I haven’t seen the spot since. “300,000 toys ought to do it.” Brilliant! Wide selection with sense of humor.

Taglines can take an awful and ugly turn when in the wrong hands. Like too many things in our business they are often “committeed” to exhaustion or simply plucked from an unsuspecting word document. Here are a few taglines that probably did more harm than good: H&R Block “When you got block, you got people.”The City of Philadelphia “Philly’s got BENergy!” Denny’s “A good place to sit and eat.” Delta Airlines “We get you there.” Exxon “We’re Exxon.” Jimmy Dean “Eat Jimmy Dean.” Playtex “Is that a Playtex under there?” Stillwell Ford “We put people in front of cars”

If you have any taglines that have stuck to the roof of your mind please share. Just make sure they Snap! Crackle! Or Pop!