Quick. In a sentence tell me what your agency is all about. Come on, we don’t have all day. Ad People Can’t Seem To Sum Themselves Up Darren Woolley is the founder and global chief executive of TrintityP3, an independent global marketing management consulting company. Q. A what? A. He’s a consultant. Over the past […]
Stock images are hard to “own.” That’s because anyone can buy them and render your singular look obsolete in a few keystrokes. Nevertheless, creative teams are tasked with tight production schedules and shallow budgets, which forces their mouse hands. There’s Stock, And There’s Shutterstock Shutterstock claims to know that “creative professionals are busy, but they […]
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I like when brands act as canvases for their customers to make meaning. To me, that’s how connections that lead to repeat transactions are made. Today, Vans is launching their latest brand campaign – Waffleheads – a series of videos about collectors, customizers and creatives that have truly turned Vans into a canvas for creative expression. These […]
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When a big consumer brand has an even larger media budget, and the will to use it, viewers hope that the company’s ads do not annoy the living hell out of them. It’s a hope that is often unfulfilled. Did you know that American television viewers are asked to endure approximately three hours of advertisements […]
The post Ads That Try Too Hard Leave A Stain; Why Can’t More Ads Simply Entertain? appeared first on Adpulp.
Dan Wieden and his ad agency are many different things to many different people. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the copywriter’s copywriter. His game-changing tagline for Nike has always summed up the sports brand in three perfect syllables. Just Do It. The brand mantra is now 30 years old and Nike wants to let […]
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The Washington Post drove Tricky Dick Nixon to resign. Will the nation’s newspaper also drive Don Trump from office? Time will tell. What we know now is the mainstream press is consistently under attack from a wannabe dick tater. Don Trump says the press is “an enemy.” The fact is he and his criminal syndicate […]
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Since 1927, Wheaties has been known as “The Breakfast of Champions.” The man behind the iconic tagline was Knox Reeves, a Minnesota advertising executive who created his own agency that would be bought by Bozell in 1975 (Good Jeopardy trivia there).
Reeves needed to a slogan to go on a billboard for Wheaties, then a fledgling cereal brand that sponsored the radio broadcasts of the Minneapolis Millers, a minor league baseball team. That inspired Reeves to sketch on a Wheaties box: “Wheaties-The Breakfast of Champions“.
A brand was born then. Today, according to the New York Times, General Mills is looking to appeal to a younger demographic.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Earlier this year, the home of the Whopper slapped the advertising world with one of its own by parting ways with lead agency Mother. It was a public divorce attributed to the all-too-familiar “creative differences.”
Now something else is grilling: Burger King just announced that it has found a new home for its 40-year-slogan in the tagline cemetery. The new line is “Be your way,” because nothing could be more personal than ordering a No. 2 with a large carbonated beverage.
Witness the strategery in action after the jump.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
This holiday, McCann Helsinki is seeking to make copywriters and creatives everywhere hate them with the fire of a thousand slightly burnt gingerbread men. They're offering free, tailor-made slogans in a two-hour turnaround time with their Lean Mean Slogan Machine, backed by a photo of a shirtless guy in a cowboy hat (Liquid Plumr, your ideas are leaking—PUN!). Visit the site, type in your business name, and within two hours you'll have your own slogan.
Some taglines from their gallery:
• Mayer/McCann Erickson: "But ma! Mayer came in last! Why can he always sit in the front?"
• Google: "Don't just doodle."
• Anitotes: "For anyone without a bag."
• FP7/CAI: "Kind of like AC/DC, only advertising."
• Leo Burnett: "Porn to be wild."
• Starbucks: "Covering up mermaid boobs does not make us a sellout."
OK, so maybe the slogans aren't billboard worthy, but it's a fun idea nonetheless. Jyrki Poutanen, one of the creative directors at McCann Helsinki, spoke with AdFreak about the campaign:
What's the story behind the Lean Mean Slogan Machine?
We wanted to give our clients, affiliates and fans something for Christmas. Something that we think we're good at and that they'd hopefully enjoy. Something that would show excessive commitment to plain silliness. And it does, you know—we've been responding to the requests almost 24/7. Especially when the requests started pouring in from your continent; your day is our night. During the first 48 hours we had written about 300 slogans. And there's only three of us writing.
Do you have hate mail coming in? As a copywriter, I'm working on my draft to you now.
Not yet. You'll be the first then. Sure, mail it in, we'll stamp it with a fitting slogan, and you'll have your hate mail back in two hours. 🙂
Shouldn't you guys look for new jobs if it only takes you two hours to write a slogan?
We've always been good, or at least enjoying, verbal acrobatics. So yes, there may be a better future for us in professional athletics—gymnastics, that is. And if you're referring to the slogan machine mocking the copy profession, luckily there's so much more to our work nowadays than just taglines. And naturally the really, really great ones, the ones to live with us for decades, take a bit more than two hours to create. But I'm also a big believer in spontaneous stupidness that just might become some greater universal stupidness just because it wasn't so analyzed, chopped to pieces through and through.
What's your favorite slogan ever?
Hmmm. Tough one. I remember really liking Honda's "The Power of Dreams" when it first came out. Having said that, it really doesn't portray my typical favorite slogan. I usually like them 40 percent rebellious, 40 percent stupid and 30 percent clever. Yeah, I know, the math's not right, but I may have proven a point there? But I can't think of any of that sort right at the moment. So maybe my favorites really aren't that good, then. Oh, there was this slogan once for PeakPerformance (I think) … "Boredom Comes to Those Who Wait," which really stuck to my mind.
Santa needs a new slogan. Any ideas?
A rebel with a claus.
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Welcome back to the third and final edition of “Want to Play a Game of Tag (Lines)?” because like a good movie franchise, it ends as a trilogy (hint-hint Indiana Jones). In case you missed it, here’s part one and part two.
Now, weren’t these some cringe-worthy taglines? Before rolling your eyes so hard into unconsciousness, did you figure out the corresponding movies? Here they are with special Tommentaries:
“He stole the money…and he’s not giving it back.” (2003) -Kangaroo Jack
As witless as this tagline may be, it does give you an idea of the movie. It’s witless (forgive me Estella Warren, I’d still watch you in anything).
“Rocky shows he’s a champ…and wins!” (1979) -Rocky II
All I can say about this one is “wow.” There is just no combination of words I could string together to better express my sentiment for this tagline. I mean… wow.
“Size does matter” (1998) -Godzilla
I’m all for clever double entendres, but this one has been beaten to death. It lacks relevance on its second level of entendreness (made up word, don’t use it). Sadly, I drive by a billboard for a casino everyday that uses this same phrase to reference its jackpot. It just makes me shake my head. In my mind. Not while driving. That would be dangerous.
“You will believe a cow can fly” (1996) -Twister
Kudos to this one for parodying the Superman tagline and having relevance, but sadly the Superman tagline wasn’t very good either. Plus, I’m sure not many people realized the parody, which renders this tagline silly. So close…
“The wait is ogre” (2008) -Shrek 3
You just know the guys who came up with this one were patting themselves on the back for the sly wordplay. Unfortunately, it makes no sense. Unless “the wait” actually is a monstrously ugly green creature, then I apologize for criticizing so Shreklessly (it’s contagious, I’m sorry).
“Twelve is the new Eleven” (2004) -Ocean’s Twelve
I tried using this line in grade school to explain my math answer. Mrs. Dodson was not having it. And now, neither will I.
“Everything that has a beginning has an end” (2003) -The Matrix Revolutions
Umm, yeah… and I bet there was probably a middle too. In an attempt to be metaphysical and profound (catch my irony?), the creators of this gem failed miserably.
“The saga is complete.” (2005) -Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Where’s the effort? Star Wars is the biggest movie franchise and this is the tagline they end it with?! They might as well have gone with “Done.”
“It could happen to you!” (1997) -Breakdown
This is only a bad tagline because a lot of the stuff that happened in the movie really couldn’t happen to you.
“Cowabunga, it’s the new turtle movie.” (1991) -Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze
I realized this was a terrible tagline even as a kid. I just wish I realized how lame Vanilla Ice was. Oh well, “go ninja, go ninja, go!”
Thanks for playing!
Tommy Liu, the man, the legend (to be) wields his pen of creativity against the injustice of mediocriety plaguing the world as the Creative Officer at Supercool Creative & Marketing Director at SpotZero where he also manages the blog. Click here to view some of his battles (he doesn’t always win).
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Last week I posted various movie taglines that I enjoyed from the last two decades. One thing I realized about these taglines is that they aren’t very compelling if you don’t have any prior knowledge of the movie. Particularly the puns. Pun-intended taglines come off as awkward and persuade you to raise an eyebrow (kind of like this guy ~_^ ). Overall, there were actually very few from last week’s list that would lure me into watching that movie based on its tagline alone.
Anyhoo, here are the corresponding movies to last week’s taglines:
“Five good reasons to stay single.” (1994) -Four Wedding and a Funeral
“Vampires. No Interviews.” (1996) -From Dusk Till Dawn
“Before you die, you see…” (2002) -The Ring
“Earth. It was fun while it lasted.” (1998) -Armageddon
“On May 6th… See Paris Die!” (2005) -House of Wax
“Love is in the hair.” (1998) -There’s Something About Mary
“See Our Family, Feel Better About Yours.” (2007) -The Simpsons Movie
“Even a hit man deserves a second shot.” (1997) -Grosse Pointe Blank
“From the brother of the director of Ghost.” (1994) –Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult
“The Lucky Ones Died First.” (2006) -The Hills Have Eyes
“When it comes to love, sometimes she just can’t think straight.” (2001) -Kissing Jessica Stein
“A life misunderestimated.” (2008) -W.
“Be All That Someone Else Can Be.” (1999) -Being John Malkovich
“He loves her. She loves him not.” (2005) -Just Friends
“He Was Dead… But He Got Better.” (2008) -Crank 2: High Voltage
Don’t beat yourself up for missing them as I chose some pretty tough ones. Now that you’re all warmed up, here comes a second batch of movie taglines. The twist? These are the really bad ones.
“He stole the money…and he’s not giving it back.” (2003)
“Rocky shows he’s a champ…and wins!” (1979)
“Size does matter” (1998)
“You will believe a cow can fly” (1996)
“The wait is ogre” (2008)
“Twelve is the new Eleven” (2004)
“Everything that has a beginning has an end” (2003)
“The saga is complete.” (2005)
“It could happen to you!” (1997)
“Cowabunga, it’s the new turtle movie.” (1991)
Good luck with these! That second and last one you may never guess. Be sure to look for my next post (or IMDb) for the answers.
Tommy Liu, the man, the legend (to be) wields his pen of creativity against the injustice of mediocriety plaguing the world as the Creative Officer at Supercool Creative & Marketing Director at SpotZero where he also manages the blog. Click here to view some of his battles (he doesn’t always win).
Do you know a great place to read an occasional great one-liner? On movie posters. I’m talking about movie tag lines, a close cousin to a company’s or brand’s slogan. Writing a great one-liner for any copy is difficult because it has to embody an entire message and be memorable and even smart, funny or entertaining, and the scrutiny for a movie poster is amplified. Movie tag lines really only get one shot. A company’s or brand’s slogan can be changed, but movie tag lines don’t get that luxury when they go from movie posters to DVD covers. If it’s bad it will be bad…forever, and that’s a long time.
What I’m saying is that I appreciate a good one-liner. Listed below are a few I like (see if you can figure out which movies they belong to). For your memory’s sake, I kept it to the past two decades and provided the year as a hint. I’ll reveal the titles in my next post along with a list of infamously bad tag lines. Here they are:
“Five Good Reasons to Stay single.” (1994)
“Vampires. No Interviews.” (1996)
“Before you die, you see…” (2002)
“Earth. It was fun while it lasted.” (1998)
“On May 6th…See Paris Die!” (2005)
“Love is in the hair.” (1998)
“See Our Family, Feel Better About Yours.” (2007)
“Even a hit man deserves a second shot.” (1997)
“From the brother of the director of Ghost.” (1994)
“The Lucky Ones Died First.” (2006)
“When it comes to love, sometimes she just can’t think straight.” (2001)
“A life misunderestimated.” (2008)
“Be All That Someone Else Can Be.” (1999)
“He loves her. She loves him not.” (2005)
“He Was Dead…But He Got Better.” (2008)
Obviously, these are my just my opinion and you don’t have to agree (I encourage you not to), but you have to appreciate that last one (it’s so bad it’s good). Let me know of any good ones I missed.
Tommy Liu, the man, the legend (to be) wields his pen of creativity against the injustice of mediocriety plaguing the world as the Creative Officer at Supercool Creative & Marketing Director at SpotZero where he also manages the blog. Click here to view some of his battles (he doesn’t always win).
Some ad pros consider slogans and taglines to be the equivalent of remedial coursework in the ad trade. I disagree. A good slogan or tagline can communicate a client’s value proposition in a pithy, memorable fashion. And isn’t that the point of what we do?
Paul Hirsch has been practicing communications since 1983. He now owns his own marketing/pr firm in Northern California. Paul specializes in media relations, marketing collateral, website copy development and ad design. You can learn more about him on Facebook or by visiting www.nowville.com/paulhirsch.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
