How to Write a Memorable Slogan

When you only have about ten words to explain your entire business, it's worth figuring out how to do it right.

Principle #1: Positive, Not Negative

• Good example: “1,000 songs in your pocket,” Apple iPod.

• Bad example: “Throw your Walkman away.”

Explanation: Research highlighted in “The Sage Book of Persuasion” finds positive language more persuasive. For example, if you say “Research has proven X,” you’re more likely to make your point than if you were to launch a subtle campaign about the unprovability of certain ideas with “Research has not yet demonstrated Y.”

Simplest solution: don’t think about what your product or service beats. Don’t think about what it eliminates, even if it eliminates annoyances.

Think about what it does.

Remember the rule of the pink elephant: if you tell people not to think about a pink elephant, what do they immediately think about?

Principle #2: Cut Fat Verbiage

• Good example: “Kills bugs fast,” Porsche.

• Bad example: “This car is really, really fast.”

Explanation: You can’t get much more economical with language than “Kills bugs fast.” Every word is necessary. And the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: Porsche is promising a really fast, exciting experience with just three words. The image they chose—bugs splattered on your windshield—conjures up all sorts of sights and sounds, and they all relate to Porsche’s selling points: speed and adventure.

The bad example here wastes too much time.

Principle #3: Talk Customer Benefits

• Good example: “Have a Coke and a smile,” Coca-Cola.

• Bad example: “The world’s top-selling beverage.”

Explanation: Social proof is all well and good, but explicitly stating it in the slogan isn’t necessary. Coca-Cola’s famous “Coke and a smile” campaign talks immediate benefits. You drink Coke, you' get happy.

There’s no customer benefit to buying the top-selling beverage in the world—however true that might be—other than feeling like you fit in. But “Coke and a smile” immediately tells a basic story with active, positive verbs.

Think about them first. Why does the customer want it? How does their life improve?

Principle #4: Distill, Distill, Distill

• Good example: “Drink an orange,” Sunkist.

• Bad example: “We squeeze fresh oranges into our premium juice.”

Explanation: How do you say that your oranges are fresh, connecting your customers more directly with nature? You could use the latter example and talk about fresh-squeezing this and organic that.

Or you can try to see if you can fit your tagline into three words. Do it as a thought experiment if nothing else. And see if your slogans don’t improve as a result.

Notice that every good example on this list fits this principle. iPod distills its message to a simple sentence. Coke tells you all about your impending, cola-fueled happiness. McDonalds (below) associates itself with your favorite part of the day, in just one sentence. Sunkist tells you how fresh and whole it is using just three words. Find the analogies, metaphors, and simple phrases that distill your message to as few words as possible.

Principle #5: Give It Music

• Good example: “Have you had your break today?” McDonalds.

• Bad example: “McDonalds offers refreshment and calorie-dense enjoyment.”

Explanation: Jingles work because giving us a musical hook is something we can latch onto and repeat. McDonald’s did this with “Have you had your break today?”

But even without the music, notice that the sentence itself would fit neatly into a Trochee-based poem. Every other syllable is emphasized:

HAVE you HAD your BREAK to-DAY?

In fact, it’s in your head right now, isn’t it?