Ask an Expert: Get serious with your sloganeering

ByABC News
October 20, 2008, 6:28 AM

— -- Q: What makes for a great business slogan? Paul

A: It is almost impossible to understate the value and importance of your business slogan, tagline, or catch-phrase. Do it right, and people get exactly what your business is about, and in just a moment, but get it wrong and you ruin that rare opportunity to brand with potential new customers.

Example: At the end of his career, my dad owned a giant discount carpet warehouse. His slogan was "Elegance underfoot." I always thought that odd, that it didn't fit. So one day I asked him about it and he explained that he hoped that people would see the slogan in his ads, think it was some upscale store, and then they would be surprised and happy at the bargains they got.

I think he had it wrong.

A great business slogan explains in a nutshell what your business or product is really all about. Ideally, it sells your desired benefit and creates your intended brand at all once.

In 2000, some of advertising's all-time top honchos analyzed the 115 of the best business slogans ever, and then, after that, Nick Padmore analyzed the results. His conclusions are very informative.

The best slogans and catch-phrases

Mention the brand only about half the time. Usually use declarative or "imperative" sentences (Burger King "Have it your way.") May bend the rules of grammar or spelling (Campbell's Soup "Mmm, Mmm good!") Often use a rhetorical devise like alliteration, metaphor, or rhyme ("You're in good hands with Allstate.") Are short, generally five words or less ("Just do it.")

The only caveat with the analysis above is that the list was made by British ad execs, and therefore apply to slogans that are both British and American. Do these rules hold up when used to look at what works in the U.S. alone? The answer is yes.

Inc. magazine recently looked at the Top 10 slogans of all time. They fit the model above. Consider (in no particular order):