That’s Clever
One thing I don’t think I touched on all that much was the idea of a slogan or tagline when it comes to branding (something just about every brand has at some time or another). Some of them are clever
Think Different– Apple
An Evil Plot to Destroy the World. Enjoy– Hulu
Just Do it– Nike
The Greatest Tragedy is Indifference– Red Cross
Good taglines or slogan’s should be simple, effective and clever. And above all they should make sense. As an author your tagline/slogan should represent you and what your all about. For Cult of Racewood I decided on write, defiant! Because I wanted to make the statement that you shouldn’t just write something because it’s popular. Don’t jump on the bandwagon of yet another vampire novel. I was tired of seeing authors writing the same old thing.
There are some slogans that just don’t work. They can be offensive, silly or just completely miss the point altogether. Here are a few with reasons of why they don’t work.
It’s Not For Women– Dr. Pepper Ten
Where do I even begin with why this doesn’t work? First of all, cutting out a large potential marketshare of your audience with sexist remarks is always a bad idea. Why is a ten calorie soda not for women, specifically?
Kills Bugs Dead– Raid.
Unlike the previous example this isn’t offensive, it’s just overkill. They really want you to know that Raid kills bugs. (Which sometimes they seem to just scurry and not die, but that’s another story).
Reach Out And Touch Someone– AT&T
I get where they were trying to go with this particular slogan but I really think they missed the mark. It doesn’t necessarily read as a phone company.
Ultimately what you have to remember about a good slogan is that it has to be effective. It should be instantly clear what it’s about, not offensive and not specifically ignore any potential marketshare. The point of a slogan is to add to the brand to entice customers, not exclude them.
Clever. Short. Simple.
The best slogans are easy to remember and just a few words.
