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Evolution of advertising slogans
The Institute for Infinitely Small Things has put together a neato site compiling what it calls corporate commands. Taken individually, these things seem pretty meaningless, but a long list like this paints a nice Orwellian picture:
DRINK. WIN. PLAY. - Pepsi
Invent - Hewlett Packard
JOIN! - Procter & Gamble
HAVE IT YOUR WAY - Burger King
Revive - Glaceau (flavored water)
REWARD YOURSELF - American Express
Find it. Book it. Easy. - Expedia (Microsoft)
Celebrate more, Spend less - Boston Globe Rewards Card
change the way you look at color - Nexus
EMPOWER YOUR VISION - RayBan sunglasses
KEEP YOUR IDENTITY TO YOURSELF - Citibank
Simplify. Modify. Magnify. - Avalon at Crane Brook Apartments
Travel with Someone You Trust - AAA Travel
Start Your Day RIGHT - Tropicana
Relax. Go Nuts. - Planters
Enjoy uncertainty. - Apple
Do More, Feel Better, Live Longer - GlaxoSmithKline
Be Cool - Keds
Make it Real - Coca-Cola
Never stop exploring! - North Face
Drive Your Dreams! - Toyota
Funny how exhortations such as these having pretty much replaced classic slogans. Compare these to Advertising Age's Top 10 Slogans of the Century, for example. Only Nike's--the most recent--is a corporate command. The rest of them (with the exception of Wendy's) are basically product descriptions. And here you have the history of modern advertising in a nutshell, with its trend away from telling people about products and focusing instead on telling people about themselves and what they should do.
Posted by carrie on 03/17/2005 | Permalink
Comments
they all look like commands to me
Posted by: war is over if you want it | Mar 24, 2005 12:46:46 AM
The worst command is the recent ad from Orbitz (or maybe Expedia) - "Don't Think Twice, America - book your vacation now!" and there's a chorus in the background of the tv ad singing "don't think twice". It's a command, and also a bad idea. At least with something like "feel better, live longer" they're talking about something we all want to/should do. It's also pretty funny because it's so close to just plain saying "Don't act rationally, America! Just buy our stuff! Now!"
Posted by: cody | Apr 5, 2005 8:59:26 AM
The worst command is the recent ad from Orbitz (or maybe Expedia) - "Don't Think Twice, America - book your vacation now!" and there's a chorus in the background of the tv ad singing "don't think twice". It's a command, and also a bad idea. At least with something like "feel better, live longer" they're talking about something we all want to/should do. It's also pretty funny because it's so close to just plain saying "Don't act rationally, America! Just buy our stuff! Now!"
Posted by: cody | Apr 5, 2005 8:59:26 AM
