Advertising slogan

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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.

Contents

Etymology and nomenclature

According to the 1913 Webster's Dictionary , a slogan (/ˈsloʊɡən/) derives from the Scottish Gaelic "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. Taglines, or tags, are American terms describing brief public communications to promote certain products and services. In the UK, they are called end lines or straplines. [1] In Japan, advertising slogans are called catch copy (キャッチコピー, kyatchi kopī) or catchphrase (キャッチフレーズ, kyatchi furēzu).

Format

Most corporate advertisements are short, memorable phrases, often between three and five words. [2] Slogans adopt different tones to convey different meanings. For example, funny slogans can enliven conversation and increase memorability. [3] Slogans often unify diverse corporate advertising pieces across different mediums. [2] Slogans may be accompanied by logos, brand names, or musical jingles. [4]

History

"Beechams Pills: Worth a guinea a box" slogan from August 1859 Beechams Pills. Worth a guinea a Box from August 1859.jpg
"Beechams Pills: Worth a guinea a box" slogan from August 1859

In August 1859, Thomas Beecham, founder of the British firm Beechams, created a slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Beechams Pills: Worth a guinea a box", which is considered to be the world's first advertising slogan, helping the company become a global brand. [5] 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, Lancashire, the founder's home town. [6] [7]

Use

Some slogans are created for long term corporate identity processes, while others are interested in specific limited-time campaigns. However, since some ideas 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, [8] 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. [8] Additionally, by linking a slogan to a commonplace discussion topic (e.g. stress, food, traffic), consumers will recall the slogan more often and associate the corporation with their personal experiences. [8]

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. [8] 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. [8]

Social control

Advertising slogans as a system of social control include devices similar to watchwords, catchwords, and mottoes. [9] The use of slogans may be examined insofar as the slogans elicit unconscious and unintentional responses. [9]

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. [2] However, proponents argue if taglines enter everyday public discourse, the company's market influence could exponentially increase. [2]

Functional slogans

A marketing slogan can play a part in the interplay between rival companies. [10] A functional slogan usually: [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

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

Notes

  1. Including all important information.
  2. Or, an externally evident aspect.
  3. See also: Brand recognition.
  4. See also: Aspirational brand.
  5. Whether one likes it or not; especially if accompanied by mnemonic devices (such as jingles, ditties, pictures or film).

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slogan</span> Memorable motto or phrase used in social movements & advertisements

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television advertisement</span> Paid commercial segment on television

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In entertainment, a tagline is a short text which serves to clarify a thought for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with an individual, social group, or product. As a variant of a branding slogan, taglines can be used in marketing materials and advertising.

In marketing, promotion refers to any type of marketing communication used to inform target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or issue, persuasively. It helps marketers to create a distinctive place in customers' mind, it can be either a cognitive or emotional route. The aim of promotion is to increase brand awareness, create interest, generate sales or create brand loyalty. It is one of the basic elements of the market mix, which includes the four Ps, i.e., product, price, place, and promotion.

Music in advertising refers to music integrated into mass electronic media advertisements to enhance its success. Music in advertising affects the way viewers perceive the brand by different means and on different levels, and "can significantly affect the emotional response to television commercials." It also affects the musicians whose music is featured in advertisements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beecham's Pills</span>

Beecham's Pills were a laxative first marketed about 1842 in Wigan, Lancashire. They were invented by Thomas Beecham (1820–1907), grandfather of the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham (1879–1961). The British pharmaceutical firm, established in 1859 as Beechams, became a global brand, and in the year it was founded produced the first advertising slogan.

Sustainability advertising is communications geared towards promoting social, economic and environmental benefits (sustainability) of products, services or actions through paid advertising in media in order to encourage responsible behavior of consumers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beecham Group</span> Former British pharmaceutical company (1859–1989)

The Beecham Group plc was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Founded by Thomas Beecham who opened the first factory in St Helens, Lancashire in 1859, Beecham focused on marketing the business by advertising in newspapers and using a network of wholesale agents in northern England and in London, rapidly building up the business. In August 1859 he created the slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Worth a guinea a box", considered to be the world's first advertising slogan, which helped the business become a global brand.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand</span> Identification for a good or service

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Thomas Beecham was a British businessman who founded Beechams, a large pharmaceutical business. In 1859, he focused on marketing the business by advertising in newspapers and using a network of wholesale agents in northern England and in London, rapidly building up the business. In August 1859, he created the slogan for Beecham's Pills: "Worth a guinea a box", which is considered to be the world's first advertising slogan, helping the company become a global brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand language</span> Words and phrases used when marketing a product

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An annoyance factor, in advertising and brand management, is a variable used to measure consumers' perception level of annoyance in an ad, then analyzed to help evaluate the ad's effectiveness. The variable can be observed or inferred and is a type that might be used in factor analyses. An annoyance effect is a reference to the impact or result of an annoying stimulus, which can be a strategic aspect of an advertisement intended to help a message stick in the minds of consumers. References to annoyance effects have been referred to as annoyancedynamics. While the words "factor" and "effect", as used in the behavioral sciences, have different meanings, in casual vernacular, they have been used interchangeably as synonymous. A more general or umbrella term would simply be advertising annoyance.

References

  1. "The Art and Science of the Advertising Slogan". Adslogans.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Dowling, Grahame R.; Kabanoff, Boris (1996-01-01). "Computer-aided content analysis: What do 240 advertising slogans have in common?". Marketing Letters. 7 (1): 63–75. doi:10.1007/BF00557312. ISSN   0923-0645.
  3. "Creating and Using Taglines as Marketing Tools". The Balance. Retrieved 2018-03-03.
  4. Yalch, R. F (1991). "Memory in a jingle-jungle: music as a mnemonic device in communicating advertising slogans". Journal of Applied Psychology. 76 (2): 268–275. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.76.2.268.
  5. "Anniversary of the first ad slogan". The Herald. 5 August 2019.
  6. "When Beecham put St Helens on the map". St Helen's Star. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  7. Ratcliffe, Susan (2011). Oxford Treasury of Sayings and Quotations. Oxford University Press. p. 478.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Mitchell, Vince (2007). "Social Uses of Advertising". International Journal of Advertising. 26 (2): 199–222. doi:10.1080/10803548.2007.11073007.
  9. 1 2 "Slogans As A Means Of Social Control". By Frederick E. Lumley. Papers and Proceedings of the American Sociological Society, Volume 16, 1921. p. 121–134.
  10. "Trade Marking Of Canned Products". By Waldon Fawcett. Canning Age, Volume 1. National Trade Journals, Incorporated, 1920. p.32.
  11. The Effectiveness of a Slogan in Advertising. Engineering and Contracting, Volume 29. Myron C. Clark Publishing Company, 1908. p.315.
  12. "Trade-Marks, Trade Names, Slogans and Distinctive Package Designs." Making Advertising Pay. By Harold Francis Eldridge. p.62.
  13. Building Supply News, Volume 12. Cahners Publishing Company, 1922. p.104.
  14. The Mind of the Buyer: A Psychology of Selling. By Harry Dexter Kitson. Macmillan, New York, 1921, OCLC   2483371.
  15. Effective extension circular letters: how to prepare and use them. By Henry Walter Gilbertson. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1941.
  16. Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned From Google. By Aaron Goldman. McGraw Hill Professional, 2010, ISBN   978-0-07-174289-4.
  17. "Making Better Box, Not Cheaper Boxes" Ought to be Slogan of the Day — Much Valuable Data Available. Packages, Volume 22, December Issue, 1919, p.21.

Further reading

External articles