Public Relations Blog

What’s in a tagline?

I apologize for being remiss in not posting these past couple of weeks.  To be honest it’s been a bit of a shocker since I live in the NY Metro area and was affected by Sandy.  No power, gas rationing, and empty grocery stores can do that…I can only imagine what some others have dealt with on the shoreline or in lower Manhattan.

Anyway, as promised I owe you an article about taglines.  What are they?  They are probably most commonly thought of as slogans.  Their purpose is to emphasize the brand that is being promoted and to provide another way for the product to stick in a consumer’s mind.  Sometimes, the line can be so ridiculous, you wonder how someone came up with that!  Kind of like watching Geico commercials.  At this point with or without the gecko I know who did the ad by the crazy scenario I see on screen.

So let’s take my tag for example, “Communication Strategies for the 21st Century”.  My goal is to impress on potential clients that I am well versed in traditional methods in public relations and marketing but I also embrace new media and everything it can offer to a campaign (hence 21st century).  What am I going to do when the 22nd century hits…fortunately I won’t be responsible for that, but it has run across my mind, should my enterprise become the booming conglomerate every entrepreneur dreams of…

Here are a couple of others I’ve noted that kind of go out on a limb, if you ask me, but at the same time I certainly can’t forget them.

Applegate Farms: a maker of fresh, hormone free sausages and hot dogs has this on it’s trucks “The Cleaner Weiner” shaped in a smiley face.  See this video for more fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAwemDM2INo

A septic service in Wisconsin touts it’s excellence with “Yesterday’s Meals on Wheels”.  This is actually the name of their company, but it emphasizes the service.

yesterday's meals on wheels - Chilliwack & Abby Septic Service truck
From collegehumor.com

I have sat in meetings in the corporate world where a room full of people try to come up with a catchy, poignant way to highlight a brand.  I wish I could have been there for these two.  Please share any great taglines you’ve observed.  I’d love to read them.