What's in a slogan?

The Atlantic recently ran an interesting feature about the science and history of advertising slogans. In addition to their gallery of timeless (and not so timeless) corporate mottos, the feature includes a brief article that illustrates the challenge and reward of crafting the perfect slogan.

Ideally a [brand] positioning taps into our underlying human motivations. The desire to be a good parent. The need to demonstrate status. The urge to have a good time. This is harder than it seems. Let's say you're Johnnie Walker whisky. Do you stand for casual hedonism? Well, you make rare, expensive liquor. So do you stand for luxury? Well, bar tenders serve you at dives. It took two years and extensive market research to identify the positioning of history, optimism, and personal progress captured by the slogan "Keep on Walking."

(And without a slogan that, you couldn't get an ad like this.)

Consumerism is a value that is highly regarded in the American majority culture—our lives are so saturated with slogans that it's easy to forget how deeply certain advertising is woven into the fabric of our collective experience. I think it's safe to say that the most enduring slogans say as much about us as a culture as they do about the products they promote: Just do it. Have it your way. The Breakfast of Champions. 

For more, read The Science of Slogans: The Best and Worst Ad Campaigns of All Time.