A slogan guru assesses our
local tourism mantras
By RICK ALM
The Kansas City Star
Ever wonder where “OK” came from? Or “booze”?
Those everyday words and plenty of others were spun from the rich lexicon of American political speech and advertising. At least it used to be rich and delicious to the ear.
Author Steve Cone, inPowerlines (Bloomberg Press), laments the death of the clever spoken marketing word or phrase that oozes emotional appeal and commands consumer allegiance. And he does it in a breezy style that makes for the rare nonfiction work you can take to the beach for fun reading this summer.
Advertising sloganeers, says Cone, “have been mesmerized by the siren song of the Internet and e-mail,” where “any old combination of words will do the job.”
The author contends our brains were built for sound and — in some manifestation of the human survival instinct — store memorable words, jingles and slogans for a lifetime of use.
Slogans that truly work, said Cone, make it into the brain’s permanent storage locker at fundamental emotional or intellectual levels.
The book is filled with examples of slogans that don’t work. And Cone has particular disdain for bad tourism slogans.
Iowa’s “Life/Changing” is his nominee for “perhaps the worst state tourism slogan of all time.” Other turkeys include Massachusetts’ “Make It Yours,” Illinois’ “Right Here, Right Now” and Connecticut’s “How Will You Connect?”
Among the best, he said: “Virginia Is For Lovers” and Arizona’s “The Grand Canyon State.” (“When you’ve got it, flaunt it,” he explains.)
Kansas (“As Big As You Think”) and Kansas City (“New Discoveries Daily”) escaped Cone’s literary disparagement.
I was curious, so I called him and asked what he thought of those lame linguistics.
“Big?” said Cone. “Meaning what?” The author and New York City-based marketing guru was equally impressed with Kansas City’s redundant “Discoveries” tagline. Cone said the problem with each and others like them is that “there’s nothing head-nodding about them that makes people say, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly right.’
“Overreaching is the cardinal sin,” said Cone, with “pompous pronouncements” of generic nothingness. New Discoveries Daily would work just as well (or not) for Paris, France, or Peculiar, Mo.
Cone’s advice to slogan writers is simple. Identify the product’s unique and genuine touchpoints. “You are different … distinctive,” he said. “Say so.”
A few years ago, readers of this column came up with Kansas City slogans of their own, and they found touchpoints of the sort that Cone demands in a good slogan.
Among the best: “Kansas City, Here We Come” and “Kansas City, And All That Jazz.”
Sticking with a great slogan is vital, adds Cone.
States and cities that change a slogan every few years, he suggests, probably don’t believe in it or the product and keep searching for something better.
“If it’s a good line, never, ever change it,” he said.
That brings us to the “Land of Ah’s,” the Dorothy- and Toto-inspired state slogan of some years back that was clever beyond measure and uniquely Kansas. It was short and sweet, and warm and fuzzy.
Naturally, state tourism bureaucrats tired of it and tossed it on the slogan ash heap in favor of such forgettable and short-lived generic ditties as “Linger Longer,” “Simply Wonderful,” and today’s hopefully short-lived “As Big As You Think.”
“They probably should have kept it,” said Cone of the Ah’s line. “Oz will always be associated with Kansas. When you get a great line, it’s intriguing. People won’t get tired of it.”
The coming of casino gambling to Kansas offers a rare opportunity to repackage the state’s tourism image in ways that emphasize the traditional and the new — from Oz and cowboys, to slot machines and NASCAR racing.
Kansas sloganeers should take us on a high-octane journey to jackpots along the Yellow Brick Road in the Land of Ah’s, and then stay put, pardner.
To reach Rick Alm, call 816-234-4785 or send e-mail toralm@kcstar.com.
