5 ESSENTIAL TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE A KILLER SLOGAN (WITH INTERACTIVE EXAMPLES)

5 Keys to Creating a Great Slogan video (2:51)

FAMOUS CAMPAIGN SLOGANS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ZJ0Y7NrXA

FAMOUS ADVERTISING SLOGAN BY NOKIA

Have fun remembering the famous advertising slogan used by the Nokia company as an aid to the advertising, publicity, promotion and marketing of their product.

This famous advertising slogan is so well known that it has entered our everyday language and used as a quote or quotation.

This famous and familiar advertising slogan is now seen as a clever saying and catchword used as a motto and catchphrase to identify the brand.

This famous advertising slogan has been made even more popular and memorable by the addition of a catchy jingle - a great example of a celebrated ad slogan.

The most famous and well-known of the advertising slogans are familiar when they are in the humorous and funny ad slogan category.

Remember this famous advertising slogan?

WILL YOU MARRY ME - BEST NOKIA AD.WMV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTXKDF-QI8k

FAMOUS ADVERTISING SLOGANS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b4CWOg65Cg#t=31(video 1:52)

Popular ad slogans have proved to be so successful that they have become part of our culture. We associate the famed slogans with various brands and products. 

SLOGANS

Slogans are memorable phrases often used in conjunction with company logos and in advertising campaigns.

The first step is to decide whether or not you need a slogan.

If you have a logo, you are already engaged in branding your product or your company.

If you have already taken this step, you really should consider a slogan as well.

DO YOU WANT TO BRAND YOUR PRODUCT OR COMPANY?

That depends on the image that you are trying to project.

If you want to attract larger corporate clients, branding is pretty much a necessity.

The business model of your company determines your level of branding.

If you want to take things to the next level, this is a good starting point.

1. START FROM THE LOGO

If your brand doesn’t have a logo yet, you should get that done first.

A slogan works with a logo in order to promote brand identity.

WHICH COMES FIRST?

A slogan doesn’t really work without a logo unless your sole advertising medium is radio.

The logo is the chicken, the slogan is the egg.

If you are designing the logo and producing the slogan for a business, you have a unique opportunity to create both at once, which can allow you to better integrate the two as a final product.

Remember that top brands change their slogans all the time, and you can do the same if you feel you need to five years down the line.

No slogan is cast in stone.

Coming up with a slogan isn’t easy, even for seasoned veterans, and takes at least one working day, so charge accordingly.

On the flip side, if you are hiring a slogan writer, there needs to be an element of trust there before you hire them.

You have to trust that they really are going to come up with some great slogan ideas for you to choose from, and you can’t really keep going back and expect them to go through the process indefinitely after paying for an initial session.

If you really don’t like the slogans that they give you, or feel that they misinterpreted your brand’s vision, most slogan writers will want to make it right within limits and these limits will usually be made very clear in your initial contract.

2. GIVE THE PROJECT THE TIME IT NEEDS

You need one hour to research the company that you are doing the slogan for, 1-2 hours to brainstorm ideas after your initial research, and 1-2 hours for client consultation and editing.

You have to trust that they really are going to come up with some great slogan ideas for you to choose from, and you can’t really keep going back and expect them to go through the process indefinitely after paying for an initial session.

3. KEEP IT SIMPLE A logo is only effective if your

audience can understand it quickly.

You only have a few seconds to impress, so a slogan like “the best in olfactory widgets since 1949″ isn’t going to do the trick. Simplicity is what you’re aiming for.

Slogans absolutely cannot go over one sentence and five dollar words such as “olfactory” should be avoided. Some rules are made to be broken; if there is a five dollar word that rolls up a few sentences of meaning in one word, go for it.

The one sentence rule, however, should be adhered to at all costs. Simple slogan: Just Do It (Nike). Not simple enough slogan: Selling the Highest Quality Organic & Natural Products (Whole Foods).

4. MAKE IT FUNNY, IF YOU CAN Where you can bring humor to a

slogan, do it. A great example is Cracked.com’s

slogan: “America’s Only Humor & Video Site, Since 1958″. This slogan packs in a few jokes including making fun of the usual “since such a year” slogan and claiming to be the only humour site in America.

There is also a claim about being the only video site, and the fact that they couldn’t have been a website since 1958. All of this in eight words, if you count the “and” symbol.

While they had to make their slogan funny, the same approach to slogan writing of injecting a joke or two is something that you should adopt when appropriate.

If you can’t make it funny without making it lame, just drop the funny and go with your next best options.

5. STAY HONEST AND DON’T “TRUMP UP” YOUR PRODUCT

Honesty is important. Can your business actually deliver on the promise that your slogan makes? If not, rethink the slogan.

You’ll also want to stay away from slogans that incorporate language like “the best” or “#1 at what we do” because that kind of language is not only standard and boring, but hard to substantiate even if it is true.

This is a fine line to walk because you still want to present the idea of a quality product without coming off as being too pushy, but a good slogan writer can manage it.

If it seems too intimidating, don’t think of it as writing a slogan, think of it as writing a brand message. What would your product say if it could talk?

Some companies change their slogans very often while others keep their slogans for years. Just how memorable are slogans in general and do they really accomplish what they’re set to do?

Here are 20 examples of well known companies and their slogans. We have purposely hidden the companies behind these slogans so that you can see if you can figure out which company is connected to which slogan.

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN

Finger lickin' good

NOKIA

ENERGIZER BATTERIES

MOTOROLA

SKYPE

IKEA

BMW

PRINGLES

COCA COLA

Throughout the years, the slogans used in advertising for Coca-Cola have reflected not only the brand, but the times.

Slogans provide a simple, direct way to communicate about Coca-Cola.

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coke-lore-slogans

SLOGANS FOR COCA-COLA FROM 1886 TO 2006 1886 - Drink Coca-Cola 

1904 - Delicious and Refreshing1905 - Coca-Cola Revives and Sustains1906 - The Great National Temperance Beverage1917 - Three Million a Day1922 - Thirst Knows No Season1923 - Enjoy Thirst1924 - Refresh Yourself1925 - Six Million a Day1926 - It Had to Be Good to Get Where It Is1927 - Pure as Sunlight1927 - Around the Corner from Everywhere1929 - The Pause that Refreshes 1932 - Ice Cold Sunshine1938 - The Best Friend Thirst Ever Had1939 - Thirst Asks Nothing More1939 - Whoever You Are, Whatever You Do, Wherever You May Be, When You Think of Refreshment Think of Ice Cold Coca-Cola1942 - The Only Thing Like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola Itself1948 - Where There's Coke There's Hospitality1949 - Along the Highway to Anywhere1952 - What You Want is a Coke1956 - Coca-Cola... Makes Good Things Taste Better1957 - Sign of Good Taste1958 - The Cold, Crisp Taste of Coke

1959 - Be Really Refreshed1963 - Things Go Better with Coke1969 - It's the Real Thing 1971 - I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke (part of the "It's the Real Thing" campaign)1975 - Look Up America1976 - Coke Adds Life 1979 - Have a Coke and a Smile1982 - Coke Is It! 1985 - We've Got a Taste for You (for both Coca-Cola & Coca-Cola classic)1985 - America's Real Choice (for both Coca-Cola & Coca-Cola classic)1986 - Red, White & You (for Coca-Cola classic) 1986 - Catch the Wave (for Coca-Cola)1987 - When Coca-Cola is a Part of Your Life, You Can't Beat the Feeling1988 - You Can't Beat the Feeling 1989 - Official Soft Drink of Summer1990 - You Can't Beat the Real Thing1993 - Always Coca-Cola2000 - Coca-Cola. Enjoy2001 - Life Tastes Good2003 - Coca-Cola... Real2005 - Make It Real2006 - The Coke Side of Life

PEPSI SLOGANS THROUGH THE YEARS

1939–1950:  ”Twice as Much for a Nickel” 1950:  ”More Bounce to the Ounce” 1950–1957:  ”Any Weather is Pepsi Weather” 1957–1958:  ”Say Pepsi, Please” 1961–1964:  “Now It’s Pepsi for Those Who Think

Young” 1964–1967:  ”Come Alive, You’re in the Pepsi

Generation” 1967–1969:  ”(Taste that beats the others cold) Pepsi

Pours It On”. 1969–1975:  ”You’ve Got a Lot to Live, and Pepsi’s

Got a Lot to Give” 1977–1980:  ”Join the Pepsi People (Feeling Free)” 1980–1981:  ”Catch That Pepsi Spirit” 1981–1983:  ”Pepsi’s got your taste for life” 1983–1984:  ”Pepsi Now! Take the Challenge!” 1984–1988 and 1990-1991:  ”Pepsi. The Choice of a

New Generation” 1989:  ”Pepsi. A Generation Ahead” 1991–1992:  “Gotta Have It”/”Chill Out” 1992:  “The Choice Is Yours” 1992–1993:  ”Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Pepsi” 1993–1994:  ”Right Now” 1994–1995:  ”Double Dutch Bus” 1995:  ”Nothing Else is a Pepsi” 1995–1996:  ”Drink Pepsi. Get Stuff” 1996:  “Change The Script”

1997–1998:  ”Generation Next”

1998–1999:  “It’s the cola” (100th anniversary commercial)

1999–2000:  “For Those Who Think Young”/”The Joy of Pepsi-Cola”

2003:  ”Its the Cola”/”Dare for More” 2006–2007:  “Why You Doggin’ Me”/”Taste the one

that’s forever young” 2007–2008:  ”More Happy”/”Taste the one that’s

forever young” 2008:  ”Pepsi is #1″ 2008–present:  ”Something For Everyone” 2009–present:  “Refresh Everything”/”Every

Generation Refreshes the World” 2010–present:  “Every Pepsi Refreshes The World” 2011–present:  ”Summer Time is Pepsi Time” 2011–present:  ”Born in the Carolinas” 2012:  ”Where there’s Pepsi, there’s music” – used

for the 2012 Super Bowl commercial 2012:  ”Live For Now” 2012:  ”Change The Game” 2012:  “The Best Drink Created Worldwide”

BRANDING: SLOGAN WARS BETWEEN COKE AND PEPSI The world is divided. Some

people enjoy the classic feeling.

Others, prefer to be the next generation. Whether you're a Coca-Cola or a Pepsi fan boy, you have witnessed the constant war between these two giants.

When you place this war under a microscope, it's possible to see how these companies have tried to change their brand awareness during the years, trying to overcome each other.

When it was first introduced back in 1886, Coke didn't have much opponents in the cola drink market.

That until 1898 when Pepsi was released and the rivalry between these two exploded, making the need for brand positioning really urgent for both. In marketing, positioning has come to mean

the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization.

It is the 'relative competitive comparison' their product occupies in a given market as perceived by the target market. - Wikipedia

Since both were developed and introduced by pharmacists, they claimed that both drinks had medicinal properties.

Coke's 1900 slogan was "For headache and exhaustion, drink Coca-Cola", while Pepsi's 1903 slogan was "Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion".

In 1929, Pepsi claimed: "Here's Health!"

Coke has been selling a "refreshing" and "satisfying" image for a longer time than Pepsi.

HERE'S A QUICK LIST OF SLOGANS THAT REMIND US A LOT OF THOSE WE SEE TODAY:

1904 - Coca-Cola satisfies 1904 - Delicious and Refreshing 1905 - Good all the way down 1906 - Thirst quenching - delicious and

refreshing 1907 - Cooling... refreshing... delicious 1909 - Delicious, wholesome, refreshing 1909 - Delicious, wholesome, thirst

quenching 1909 - Drink delicious Coca-Cola

In the other hand, Pepsi tried to show that their drink was better for small pockets, having more ounces of drink avaiable in each bottle. Check it out:

1934 - Double Size 1939 - Twice as Much for a Nickel 1943 - Bigger Drink, Better Taste 1949 - Why Take Less When Pepsi's

Best?

After that, since Coca-Cola was the top selling cola drink for so long, Pepsi started to change their awareness.

Pepsi had to find a way to make people think different of what they were used to. Making Coke look old was solution they found.

1961 - Now It's Pepsi for Those Who Think Young

1963 - Come Alive! You're in the Pepsi Generation

1984 - The Choice of a New Generation 1989 - A Generation Ahead 1993 - Be Young, Have Fun, Drink Pepsi 1997 - Generation Next

Although its reign was never trembled by Pepsi, Coke replied these slogans reaffirming its untouchable quality and tradition.

1942 - The only thing like Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola itself

1945 - Whenever you hear "Have a Coke," you hear the voice of America

1970 - It's the real thing 1985 - America's Real Choice 1989 - Can't Beat the Feeling 1990 - Can't Beat the Real Thing 1993 - Always Coca-Cola

Another detail that makes clear to us that Coke never felt threaten is the fact that the Coca-Cola logo was hardly ever changed.

The times Coke tried some change, the feedback was all negative, and they had to bring back the classic logo.

Pepsi has been changing its logo since ever, adjusting themselves to each generation, making their way to become the "young choice".

FAMOUS SLOGANS

Here are some of the most famous slogans ever created:

Where do you want to go today? – Microsoft Where’s the beef? - Wendy’s Between love and madness lies Obsession. –

Calvin Klein’s “Obsession” Plop, plop; fizz, fizz; oh, what a relief it is. – Alka

Seltzer There are some things money can’t buy. For

everything else there’s Mastercard. – Mastercard Sharp Minds, Sharp Products. – Sharp

Do you… Yahoo!? – Yahoo! Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. – Wikipedia Because you’re worth it. – L’Oreal Be all that you can be. – United States Army M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand.

– M&M candies Let’s Make Things Better. - Philips

We make money the old-fashioned way….We earn it. – Smith Barney

Everything is easier on a Mac. – Apple Computer

Don’t leave home without it. – American Express

The king of beers. – Budweiser Welcome to the World Wide Wow – AOL. (play

on World Wide Web) Live in your world, play in ours. - Sony

Playstation and Playstation 2 gaming consoles

When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. – Federal Express

Push Button Publishing. – Blogger.com The best a man can get. - Gillette We’re number two; we try harder. - Avis Rental

Cars Nothin’ says lovin’ like something from the oven.

– Pillsbury Come alive! You’re in the Pepsi generation. –

Pepsi Cola

No battery is stronger longer. – Duracell Batteries Intel inside. – Intel

SUMMARY

A slogan is as necessary to a brand, even an online-only one, as a logo is. If you have one, you should have the other, if only to differentiate yourself from the rest of the crowd that has a logo with no slogan.

Even if you are going to hire someone else to produce it, you should brainstorm a list of options just to make sure that they understand what you believe your own brand message to be.

Keep it simple, try to make it funny, and make sure you aren’t making an inflated claim about your product.

RESOURCE

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/09/5-tips-on-how-to-write-a-killer-slogan/ Sept 1, 2009

http://abduzeedo.com/branding-slogan-wars-between-coke-and-pepsi Feb, 18, 2009