View source for Advertising slogan

{{Short description|Short phrases used in advertising campaigns}}
'''Advertising slogans''' are short phrases used in advertising campaigns to generate publicity and unify a company's marketing strategy. The phrases may be used to attract attention to a distinctive product feature or reinforce a company's brand.

==Etymology and nomenclature==
According to the 1913 ''[[Webster's Dictionary]]'', a [[wikt:slogan|slogan]] derives from the [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]] "{{wikt-lang|gd|sluagh-ghairm}}", a [[battle cry]]. Its contemporary definition denotes a distinctive advertising motto or advertising phrase used by any entity to convey a purpose or ideal. This is also known as a [[catchphrase]]. [[Tagline]]s, or [[Tagline|tags]], are American terms describing brief public communications to promote certain products and services. In the UK, they are called ''end lines'' or ''straplines.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adslogans.co.uk/ans/nomenclature.html|title=The Art and Science of the Advertising Slogan|publisher=Adslogans.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424235057/http://www.adslogans.co.uk/ans/nomenclature.html|archive-date=24 April 2011 |url-status=live|access-date=2011-03-28}}</ref> In Japan, advertising slogans are called {{nihongo|''catch copy''|キャッチコピー|kyatchi kopī}} or {{nihongo|''catchphrase''|キャッチフレーズ|kyatchi furēzu}}.

==Format==
Most corporate [[Advertising|advertisements]] are short, memorable phrases, often between three and five words.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Dowling|first1=Grahame R.|last2=Kabanoff|first2=Boris|date=1996-01-01|title=Computer-aided content analysis: What do 240 advertising slogans have in common?|journal=Marketing Letters|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=63–75|doi=10.1007/BF00557312|issn=0923-0645}}</ref> Slogans adopt different tones to convey different meanings. For example, funny slogans can enliven conversation and increase memorability.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=Creating and Using Taglines as Marketing Tools|language=en|work=The Balance|url=https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-a-tagline-4017760|access-date=2018-03-03}}</ref> Slogans often unify diverse corporate advertising pieces across different mediums.<ref name=":1" /> Slogans may be accompanied by logos, brand names, or musical jingles.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yalch|first=R. F|date=1991|title=Memory in a jingle-jungle: music as a mnemonic device in communicating advertising slogans.|journal=Journal of Applied Psychology|volume=76|issue=2|pages=268–275|doi=10.1037/0021-9010.76.2.268}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Beechams Pills. Worth a guinea a Box from August 1859.jpg|thumb|"Beechams Pills: Worth a guinea a box" slogan from August 1859]]

In August 1859, [[Thomas Beecham (chemist)|Thomas Beecham]], founder of the British firm [[Beecham Group|Beechams]], created a slogan for [[Beecham's Pills]]: "Beechams Pills: Worth a [[guinea (British coin)|guinea]] a box", which is considered to be the world's first advertising slogan, helping the company become a global brand.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anniversary of the first ad slogan |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17815202.issue-day-anniversary-first-ad-slogan/ |work=The Herald |date=5 August 2019}}</ref> The phrase, which first appeared in a Beechams advertisement in the ''St Helens Intelligencer'', was first said to be uttered by a satisfied lady purchaser from [[St Helens, Merseyside|St Helens]], Lancashire, the founder's home town.<ref>{{cite news |title=When Beecham put St Helens on the map |url=https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/14288202.when-beecham-put-st-helens-on-the-map/ |access-date=5 November 2023 |work=St Helen's Star}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ratcliffe |first1=Susan |title=Oxford Treasury of Sayings and Quotations |publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2011 |page=478}}</ref>

==Use==
Some [[slogans]] are created for long term corporate identity processes, while others are interested in specific limited-time campaigns. However, since some [[idea]]s resonate with the [[public]] with persistence, many advertising slogans retain their influence even after general use is discontinued. If an advertising slogan enters into the public vernacular, word-of-mouth communication may increase consumer awareness of the product and extend an ad campaign's lifespan,<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Mitchell|first=Vince|date=2007|title=Social Uses of Advertising|journal=International Journal of Advertising|volume=26|issue=2|pages=199–222|doi=10.1080/10803548.2007.11073007}}</ref> or cause a company to adopt it for long term advertising and identity.

Slogans that associate emotional responses or evoke recollections of memories increase their likelihood of being adopted by the public and shared.<ref name=":2" /> Additionally, by linking a slogan to a commonplace discussion topic (e.g. [[Psychological stress|stress]], [[food]], [[traffic]]), consumers will recall the slogan more often and associate the corporation with their personal experiences.<ref name=":2" />

If a slogan is adopted by the public, it can have a notable influence on everyday social interaction. Slogans can serve as connection points between community members as individuals share pithy taglines in conversation.<ref name=":2" /> In contrast, if an individual is unaware of a popular slogan or tagline, they can be socially excluded from conversation and disengage from the discussion.<ref name=":2" />

===Social control===
Advertising slogans as a system of social control include devices similar to [[watchword]]s, catchwords, and [[motto]]es.<ref name="SaaMoSC">"Slogans As A Means Of Social Control". By Frederick E. Lumley. ''Papers and Proceedings of the American Sociological Society'', Volume 16, 1921. [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435006251276&seq=3 p. 121–134].</ref> The use of slogans may be examined insofar as the slogans elicit unconscious and unintentional responses.<ref name="SaaMoSC" />

==The ongoing argument==
Quantifying the effects of an effective, or ineffective, ad campaign can prove challenging to scholars. Critics argue taglines are a self-gratifying, unnecessary form of corporate branding that is neither memorable nor pithy.<ref name=":1" />  However, proponents argue if taglines enter everyday public discourse, the company's market influence could exponentially increase.<ref name=":1" />

==Functional slogans==
{{further|Marketing}}

A marketing slogan can play a part in the interplay between rival companies.<ref>"Trade Marking Of Canned Products". By Waldon Fawcett. ''Canning Age'', Volume 1. National Trade Journals, Incorporated, 1920. [https://books.google.com/books?id=iq3mAAAAMAAJ&pg=PR32 p.32].</ref> A functional slogan usually:<ref>The Effectiveness of a Slogan in Advertising. ''Engineering and Contracting'', Volume 29. Myron C. Clark Publishing Company, 1908. [https://books.google.com/books?id=0aPmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA315 p.315].</ref><ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=uAo9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA62 Trade-Marks, Trade Names, Slogans and Distinctive Package Designs]." Making Advertising Pay. By Harold Francis Eldridge. [https://books.google.com/books?id=uAo9AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA62 p.62].</ref><ref>''Building Supply News'', Volume 12. Cahners Publishing Company, 1922. [https://books.google.com/books?id=OCFbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA104 p.104].</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3yQKAAAAIAAJ The Mind of the Buyer: A Psychology of Selling]. By Harry Dexter Kitson. Macmillan, New York, 1921, {{OCLC|2483371}}.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cxLct1TdIMoC Effective extension circular letters: how to prepare and use them]. By Henry Walter Gilbertson. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1941.</ref>
* states [[Good (economics)|product benefit]]s (or [[brand]] benefits) for users (or [[Buyer|potential buyers]])<ref>''Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned From Google''. By Aaron Goldman. McGraw Hill Professional, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-07-174289-4}}.</ref>
* implies a distinction between it and other firms' products<ref>"Making Better Box, Not Cheaper Boxes" Ought to be Slogan ''of'' the Day — Much Valuable Data Available.  ''Packages'', Volume 22, December Issue, 1919, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Dec1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA230 p.21].</ref>—with constraints
* makes a [[Simple aspect|simple]], concise,<ref group="note">Including all important information.</ref> [[Well-defined|clearly defined]], and appropriate [[Press statement|statement]]
* is either [[wit]]ty, or has a distinct "personality"<ref group="note">Or, an externally evident aspect.</ref>
* gives a [[credible]] impression of a brand or product<ref group="note">See also: [[Brand recognition]].</ref>
* makes the consumer experience an emotion; or, creates a [[need]] or [[desire]]<ref group="note">See also: [[Aspirational brand]].</ref> 
* is hard to forget—it adheres to one's memory<ref group="note">Whether one likes it or not; especially if accompanied by [[mnemonic]] devices (such as [[jingle]]s, ditties, [[picture]]s or [[film]]).</ref>

The business [[sloganeering]] process communicates the value of a product or service to customers, to sell the product or service. It is a business function for attracting customers.

==See also==
*[[Advertising]] ([[Consumerism]])
*[[Consumer confusion]]
*[[Impulse buying]] ([[Impulse (psychology)|Impulse]])
*[[Lists of slogans|List of slogans]]
*[[Media manipulation]]
*[[Political slogan]]
*[[Promotion (marketing)]]
*[[Tagline]]
*[[Visual marketing]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |editor-last=Knowles |editor-first=Elizabeth |title=Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations |date=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-920-8951 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary0000unse_f8b0/page/3 3-4] |edition=3rd |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rjLTsncFKCgC&q=%22advertising+slogans%22 |chapter=Advertising slogans |url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary0000unse_f8b0/page/3 }}

==External articles==
* {{wikiquote-inline}}
* [http://www.adslogans.co.uk/hof/ The Advertising Slogan Hall of Fame], www.adslogans.co.uk 
* [http://agencyinc.co.uk/ Advertising Industry Guidelines 2014]
* [http://sloganshub.com/advertising-slogans/ Advertising Slogans] 
{{Media manipulation}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Advertising Slogan}}
[[Category:Advertising slogans| ]]
[[Category:Promotion and marketing communications]]
[[Category:Advertising techniques]]
[[Category:Advertising campaigns]]
[[Category:Marketing techniques]]