27 Jan 2012 - American Army's Successful Slogan

I was reading my book today, "The men who stare at goats", having finished "Fall of Giants", and I read an interesting fact. The American army's slogan, "Be All You Can Be", was once voted by Advertising Age magazine the second most successful advertising slogan in America. The most successful slogan was from McDonalds, "You deserve a break today", which was used in the early 70's and again in the early 80's. Reading this got me to thinking about how much advertising slogans are a part of our lives. I still remember slogans for Cottee's Cordial (My Dad, picks the fruit, that goes to Cottee's. To make the cordial, that I like best), Vegemite (Happy little Vegemites, as bright as bright can be) and of course Aeroplane Jelly (I like Aeroplane Jelly, Aeroplane Jelly for me). If an advertising slogan or song is done well, it will remind you of the product when you think about any related topic, not just think of the slogan when you think of the product.

A great example is the Blue Ribbon Ice Cream ad. This ad was aired a number of years ago and I loved it. I tried to find the YouTube clip, but couldn't locate it, so I will have to describe it to you. A family is sitting around the table, and the son says, "Hey Dad, can you please pass me the ice cream." The grandmother, who seems a little senile, pipes up, "He's not your dad, we never knew who your Dad was!" Then the scene cuts to tub of Blue Ribbon ice cream, with the words "Some things are just not meant to be shared." Then it cuts back to the mother leading the grandmother out, and the grandmother bangs on the table. It was a great ad and to this day I still laugh when I think about it and even feel the need to share it with others when it comes to mind. It usually comes to mind when I think of a secret, or when someone mentions something they shouldn't have and obvisouly when I see Blue Ribbon Ice Cream. I think this ad, and many others like it, are examples of great slogans, because you think of the ad not only when you look at the product, but also when you think of things associated with the slogan.

I have no references for this blog, as I was unable to find the YouTube clip for the Blue Ribbon ad!