John Moore of Brand Autopsy penned a piece for Brandweek about the needlessness of taglines.
Here’s a segment:
The formula for advertising is a lot like stand-up comedy. A brand’s advertising consists of a setup and then closes with a tag line. Doesn’t matter if it’s print, OOH, TV, whatever … most advertising has a setup that leads to a tagline, which is designed to coax a Pavlovian sale from a customer.
What if there were no taglines in advertising? What if we didn’t feel the need to sum up all of a brand’s reason for existing in a soundbite? What if we allowed the customer to decide whether they wanted to choose the brand (or not) without the heavy-handed brand messaging? What if brands were to do advertising without taglines?
Moore concludes that taglines are a weak device for motivating one to purchase. He favors “interesting customer experiences.” I have no argument there. But it’s not an either or world. Strong copy statements like “Just Do It” help create brand identity and work with the brand experience at retail or an event. Of course, there are very few brands with a tagline that captures the brand essence like Nike’s.