A slogan by any other name...

I was driving to work today and found myself at a stop light behind a service van for “Trane”, the HVAC company.  I got to thinking about their slogan “Nothing stops a Trane”.  If nothing stops a Trane… why do they need service repairmen?  Maybe their slogan should be “Nothing stops a Trane… permanently”?  Does that mean that they don’t offer warranties because they claim their products never stop working?

All of this got me thinking about product slogans and I did a little research.  There are some odd ones out there that really don’t make a lot of sense.

Nike:  “Just Do It” 

Do what?  Should we assume they mean “Just buy the Nike shoes”?  Or are they implying that “it” means running, or walking, or playing sports… which is what most people do when they purchase $145 sneakers.

State Farm:  “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there” 

I am a loyal State Farm customer, but I don’t get this.  I only personally know one of our neighbors.  They are nice, but I wouldn’t expect them to show up if I was in an accident.  I’ve never even borrowed a cup of sugar from them.  Maybe they should change it to “Like a nosy coworker every time you turn around, State Farm is there”.

Lay’s:  “Betcha can’t eat just one” 

Well duh!  If the serving size were one potato chip, I would consider that they were challenging us to stick to our nutritional guns.  And they used a word in their slogan that isn’t even a word, “betcha”… although I’m sure that Webster’s will get right on that if they haven’t already.  I believe my previously used “duh” is already in there.

Camel:  “I’d walk a mile for a Camel” 

I doubt it.  If you smoke Camel cigarettes, you probably can’t even walk from your car to the gas station clerk to buy another pack of smokes without getting out of breath. 

Taco Bell:  “Head for the Border”

First of all, Taco Bell is a disgrace to Mexican food… and this slogan is racist.  Am I to assume we can only eat Mexican food in Mexico?  Should we assume that fried chicken is only made in the south where African Americans used to live as slaves?  By this logic, the slogan for KFC should be “Head for Alabama”.  I find this slogan offensive… ‘nuff said.

Frosted Flakes:  "There G-G-Great!"

That took a lot of thinking.  I mean A LOT!  Was their marketing team sitting around one day in the conference room, just munching on frosted flakes, when one pimply faced intern blurts out "Gosh these are great!".  And it just stuck?

Maybe I should have gone into marketing...?  I just don't understand where some of these companies come up with these slogans.