In the wake of all the chatter about Burger King’s
new-but-not-improved tagline ("Be Your Way"), I came across this interesting piece on
TalentZoo.com’s Beyond Madison Avenue blog. Brian Keller posits the idea that maybe the tagline doesn’t
matter anymore – that taglines “probably stopped working… over a decade ago”
and that no one but agency folk really care about them anymore.
The very idea that the tagline is obsolete goes against the
grain of all I’ve learned and how I’ve worked (and still work) as an
advertising/marketing writer. Creating taglines is one of the first steps in
our branding/positioning strategizing – and it still seems to resonate
strongly with our clients as more than just a vain exercise.
But I have to
admit, when I saw the jumbled list of corporations and taglines that Keller
posted, it did kind of jar me. How many well-known taglines/slogans are
interchangeable? “I’m Lovin’ It” – couldn’t it work for Macy’s as well as McDonalds? “Just Do It” – everyone knows it’s for Nike (so there’s validation
for the “it still matters” camp) – but couldn’t it also equally apply to, say,
Home Depot?
Good food for thought… and a creative challenge to writers
and agencies, to make sure that when we do create taglines, they are truly exclusive
to and identifying of a particular, unique client – and not just nice
words that could apply generically to a slew of different clients.
