{"id":2215,"date":"2011-02-28T12:25:58","date_gmt":"2011-02-28T12:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.planetofsuccess.com\/blog\/?p=2215"},"modified":"2020-02-07T13:01:52","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T13:01:52","slug":"excellent-corporate-slogans-and-mottos-analyzed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetofsuccess.com\/blog\/excellent-corporate-slogans-and-mottos-analyzed\/","title":{"rendered":"Excellent Corporate Slogans and Mottos Analyzed"},"content":{"rendered":"

In September I wrote an article that included some really interesting and famous corporate mottos of huge companies<\/a>, such as Microsoft, IBM, Intel, McDonald’s, LG and many more. But, it was rather a compilation of really interesting company slogans, without going into further detail or evaluation. This time, I have picked just a couple of the most intriguing and thought-provoking corporate slogans (or advertising slogans) and analyzed these company sayings a bit more in-depth. <\/span>First off, what exactly makes a good corporate slogan? What differentiates an effective and successful corporate motto from a meaningless slogan?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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To answer this question I have to speak a bit verbosely here, about the intentions behind a company motto. The purpose of advertising slogans and corporate mottos is to draw attention to a company (or on one of its products) and to emphasize the outstandingly positive characteristics of the corporation – the unique selling proposition of the company<\/a> as a whole if you so want. The intention behind every one of these short phrases is to make it so catchy that it is easy to remember and nearly unforgettable so that people will start to associate the communicated characteristics in the slogan with the corporation that stands behind the slogan. Furthermore, the goal of an advertising slogan is to elicit a desire within the customer or to draw the customers attention on a specific (important) aspect of the product.<\/span><\/p>\n

An excellent corporate motto<\/strong> is easy to remember and communicates the uniqueness of its company in a pretty straightforward, focused and clear manner. The most successful corporate mottos are based on the specialty of the corporation (means that they are not unrelated\/unspecific)<\/em> and communicate its visions and objectives in order to elicit sympathy with the public and to give its customer a pretty good reason to identify themselves with the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Advertisement\"<\/a>
Analysis of famous corporate slogans and mottos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An example for a meaningless or even misleading corporate slogan can be found in Cingular\u2019s \u201cnow the new AT&T\u201d<\/em> or in LG\u2019s \u201cLife\u2019s Good\u201d<\/em>, whereas a very successful and catchy slogan can be found in Disneyland\u2019s \u201cthe happiest place on earth\u201d<\/em>, just to give you an impression of both of the sides. Another very misleading slogan was Microsoft\u2019s \u201cwhere do you want to go today?\u201d <\/em>that would have been (in my opinion) the perfect motto for an airline that flies you around the globe – wherever you want to go and whenever you want to – at low cost, but not for a computer software company. I\u2019m sure that Microsoft\u2019s marketing specialists had their well-thought through reasons when creating this slogan, but the concept of the motto didn\u2019t make any sense for a regular customer who had to sit at home on his personal computer, whenever he used the software of the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Excellent Corporate Mottos Analyzed<\/span><\/h2>\n

Adidas – \u201cImpossible is nothing\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n
\"Slogan\"Adidas – “Impossible is Nothing”, Photo by onion83<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Adidas introduced its mainstream marketing slogan \u201cImpossible is nothing\u201d in the year 2004 with the intention to capture the essence of the Adidas brand in one catchy short phrase. The slogan became the concept behind their brand positioning \u201cforever sport\u201d and aimed to communicate Adidas\u2019 passion for sport emotionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs an athlete you always strive to go further, break new grounds, surpass your limits. So do we as a brand, to achieve our mission to be the leading sports brand in the world.\u201d<\/em><\/span>
\n~ Erich Stamminger, President of adidas America<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The advertising slogan subverts the well-known phrase \u201cNothing is impossible\u201d – a motivational clich\u00e9<\/a> – and substitutes the word order of \u201cnothing\u201d and \u201cimpossible\u201d to create a grammatically puzzling phrase.<\/span><\/p>\n

When analyzing Adidas\u2019 advertising slogan superficially it obviously implies that the impossible is to be considered nothing, just like saying that accomplishing the impossible is not a big deal, or even considered to be easy, when wearing shoes and clothes of the German sportswear manufacturer. The slogan is clearly not intended to communicate the same message as, \u201cNothing is impossible\u201d, which can be reversed to \u201ceverything is possible\u201d. Instead, when using the phrase, \u201cit\u2019s nothing\u201d we mean that something is very easy for us to accomplish, so to say that reaching the impossible is not just possible, but also extremely easy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adidas\u2019 advertising slogan was a cleverly chosen phrase that basically says, \u201cOf course I can do the impossible. That\u2019s nothing for me!\u201d <\/em>The slogan does not only encourage athletes participating in championships like the Olympics to break records that were considered to be impossible to break, but also communicates Adidas\u2019 belief that professionals and hobby sportsmen can go beyond the impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nokia – \u201cConnecting People\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n
\"Nokia<\/a><\/span>Nokia – “Connecting People”, Photo by Micky.!<\/span><\/h6>\n

The Nokia Corporation – that has been active in the telecommunication business since the 1960s – introduced its company motto \u201cConnecting People\u201d<\/em> in 1992 and hasn\u2019t changed the successful slogan for nearly two decades. Although the slogan consists only of two words it clearly communicates the company\u2019s vision – to connect people with each other, no matter how far the distance in between them<\/strong> – in a straightforward manner that is easy to remember.<\/span><\/p>\n

When people started to re-analyze Nokia\u2019s slogan in recent years, I\u2019ve noticed that there were the basic tenor and criticism that a company couldn\u2019t connect people, as they would have to connect with each other for themselves. A statement that is surely correct, but in order to fully grasp and understand the intentions behind Nokia\u2019s corporate slogan we have to go back in time to the year of the market introduction. The catchy motto was being introduced in 1992 when Nokia started to exit from the cable business to direct the company\u2019s focus on telecommunications – specifically via mobile devices. I find it utterly important to stress out that back in the beginning of the 1990s; there simply was no device available to easily connect people with each other, besides (cable!) telephones and letters. So, the vast majority of humans was dependent on fixed phone lines (or letters) in order to communicate with others over big distances. It was a stroke of genius of the Nokia Corporation to position itself with the slogan, \u201cConnecting People\u201d<\/em> in a clever way as the corporation that provided facilities for people to stay in touch with each other and to close huge distances in between each other – without being dependent on letters and telephone connections.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nokia\u2019s subtly chosen corporate slogan communicates the vision of its corporation in an elegant and remarkable manner, with the use of only two words. But, something that is even more remarkable is that Nokia adhered to its slogan and had a huge proportion in the development of the 1990s and 2000s in the mobile device industry and allowed many people to connect with each other in an easy way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Apple – \u201cThink Different\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n
\"Apple\"<\/span>Apple – “Think Different”, Photo by nilson<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

Apple\u2019s advertising slogan, \u201cThink Different\u201d was being created by the advertising agency TBWA<\/a>\\Chiat\\Day that also coined Adidas\u2019 slogan \u201cImpossible is Nothing\u201d, hence the similarity of the two phrases that look both grammatically incorrect, at first sight. The \u201cThink Different\u201d advertising campaign included a TV-commercial that featured the footage of icons of the 20th century, such as Albert Einstein, Buckminster Fuller<\/a>, John Lennon and Martin Luther King, amongst many others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They\u2019re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can\u2019t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a9 Apple Inc, \u201cThink Different\u201d ad campaign<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The \u201cThink Different\u201d ad campaign debuted in 1997, nearly one year after Steve Jobs had returned to the company, and it was highly successful in rejuvenating Apple\u2019s image in the public and earned numerous awards. One reason that the slogan was so memorable lies in the slightly irritating and grammatically puzzling formulation of the phrase, \u201cThink Different\u201d, which was being criticized as grammatically incorrect by the \u201cgrammar police\u201d, soon after its publication. The critics argued that, due to the fact that \u201cthink\u201d is a verb, the usage of the adjective \u201cdifferent\u201d was incorrect, as \u201cThink Differently\u201d would have been the grammatically correct formulation. Nevertheless, the criticism couldn\u2019t stop the positive development of the slogan and the outstandingly positive receptions it received.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe ads are for people who don\u2019t care what the computer does, but care about what they can do with the computer.\u201d<\/em><\/span>
\n~ Allen Olivo, Apple\u2019s senior director for worldwide marketing communications<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Apple\u2019s \u201cThink Different\u201d advertising slogan was a turning point for the company as a whole and it became a cult – or even a lifestyle if you so want – to think differently than the vast majority<\/a> that was using Microsoft\u2019s products. Steve Jobs established with its slogan a \u201ccounter-culture\u201d image of Apple and with it came the re-emergence of the company as an important player in the computer and \u201ctech-lifestyle\u201d industry within the following decade. I believe, one of the reasons that the slogan was such an excellent choice lies in the fact that it encouraged potential apple customers to \u201cThink Different\u201d, as in: \u201cThink (about buying a computer that is somehow) Different (than the rest and it offers you possibilities none of the others has thought of, because we think different and so can you!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kentucky Fried Chicken – \u201cFinger Lickin\u2019 Good\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n
\"KFC\"<\/span>KFC – “Finger Lickin’ Good”, Photo by Marufish<\/a><\/span><\/h6>\n

The genesis of KFC\u2019s corporate motto \u201cFinger Lickin\u2019 Good\u201d<\/em> is remarkable, especially when considering that the slogan originated coincidentally from a spontaneous real-life situation and not from the labs of an advertising agency. The story tells, that the Founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Harland David Sanders (Colonel Sanders) noticed, back in the 1930s, how people were licking their fingers after finishing their dinner, as they couldn\u2019t get enough of Colonel Sanders\u2019 secret flavor recipe that included 11 herbs and spices, hence the \u201cfinger lickin\u2019 good.\u201d Nevertheless, it took nearly two decades until the corporate slogan was being introduced in the 1950s, after KFC\u2019s manager Ken Harbough explained, \u201cWell it\u2019s finger lickin\u2019 good\u201d, as the sole reason why KFC showed a man eating his chicken and licking his fingers in a TV commercial that was broadcasted in the USA. From this point onwards, the slogan became one of the most recognized slogans in the world and was one of the most successful advertising mottos in the 20th century.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1950s, Kentucky Fried Chicken was mainly targeting with their advertising efforts the American South, hence the dropped \u201cg\u201d in \u201clickin\u2019,\u201d which is colloquial in the Southern dialect and reflected the way the founder, Colonel Sanders, was speaking. One of the reasons that made the slogan so successful that KFC kept it for more than half a century as an ad slogan lies in the fact that nearly everyone ate chicken without the aid of cutlery but with his hands and automatically licked his greasy fingers afterward.<\/span><\/p>\n

KFC\u2019s \u201cFinger Lickin\u2019 Good\u201d is widely accepted as one of the most successful ad slogans in the 20th century and became one of the most recognized slogans in the world. As of February, 20th 2011, KFC announced that it would abandon its successful slogan and replace it with \u201cso good,\u201d as an effort to establish a healthier image in the public.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wheaties – \u201cBreakfast for Champions\u201d<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Wheaties – “Breakfast of the Champions” by tape<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wheaties – the genuine cereal producer – has become an American icon throughout the 80+ years of its existence and is nowadays well-known for the orange box that features the most celebrated athletes from all kinds of sports, such as basketball, golf, baseball, wrestling and ice hockey on the front of the cereal packages. The advertising slogan, \u201cBreakfast for Champions\u201d, isn\u2019t just a tagline, it has become the link that connects the ambitions of kids to become athletes one day as well with the desire for a \u201csecret ingredient\u201d to achieve sports greatness, like their famous role models.<\/span><\/p>\n

The companies association with sports commenced in the late 1920s when Wheaties started an advertising campaign for Minneapolis\u2019 minor league baseball team that included the sponsorship of radio broadcasts and the southern billboard in the stadium. The corporation\u2019s famous tagline, \u201cBreakfast for Champions,\u201d that hasn\u2019t been changed ever since, was invented by Knox Reeves, an executive of the advertising agency based in Minneapolis that created Wheaties\u2019 ads.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wheaties tagline \u201cBreakfast for Champions\u201d has proven to be tremendously successful, especially when famous athletes, such as Babe Ruth, Bob Feller, and Johnny Weissmuller testified that Wheaties\u2019 cereal was truly the breakfast of the champions.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is your favorite corporate slogan? Let us know in the comment section below. We’re excited to hear from you.<\/p>\n

Photo credit:<\/p>\n