If You Don’t Succeed at First…

When was the last time you wrote something great without deleting anything?

If you’re a human, probably never. And that’s totally fine. In fact, it’s better than fine. It’s recommended. Especially when writing taglines.

Most writers spend much more time rewriting than writing. As novelist James Michener said, “I’m a lousy writer, but I’m a terrific rewriter.”

When it comes to copywriting, your first idea isn’t the right one. Nor is the second, the third, the fourth or even the 28th. Sure, it might sound really good. And your team might all agree it’s perfect. But how will your audience feel?

If you’re writing taglines, your aim is to craft something memorable – a ‘sticky’ slogan that means something to your target audience. However, while taglines can take a brand from anonymity to household status, they also have the potential to confuse would-be customers.

What happens when brands don’t get it right?

Research, writing, rewriting, ruminating, revisiting: it’s a painstaking process, but every step is necessary. If you cut corners, you can’t be too surprised when your copy doesn’t get cut through.

When brands run with a slogan that doesn’t hit the spot, one of two things can happen:

1. Their message gets forgotten

In this case, it simply wasn’t memorable enough. Sayonara, slogan. Ta-ta, tagline. Bye bye, brand. (I think we’ve taken this as far as it will go.)

In 1988, Nike introduced their iconic tagline, “Just Do It,” – a tagline that would go on to become one of the most memorable phrases in the history of advertising. But then, eager to move with the times, the sports brand launched a new tagline in the 1990s: “I Can.”

…

Unsurprisingly, it flopped. Majorly. It wasn’t long before Nike quickly abandoned the tagline and pivoted back to their three-word slogan that still stands the test of time today. The key takeaway? If it doesn’t have the impact you imagined, don’t hesitate to scrap it and start again.

2. Your audience will adjust it to be more memorable

Even if you’ve never seen Casablanca, you’ll know the famous line that Humphrey Bogart’s character supposedly says to the bar’s resident pianist:

“Play it again, Sam.”

It sounds right, but it isn’t: you see, this is one of the most misquoted moments of Hollywood cinema. The actual line in the film is ‘Play it, Sam’.

Something approaching ‘Play it again, Sam’ is first said in the film by Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) in an exchange with the piano player. She says: ‘Play it once, Sam. For old times’ sake?’

A similar thing happened with Star Wars, whereby fans mis-remembered the line used in Darth Vader’s big reveal to Luke Skywalker: ‘Luke, I am your father.’ It seems fitting. The use of his name in the line adds weight to the revelation. But the actual line is simply ‘No, I am your father.’

The point we’re illustrating here isn’t that people have poor memories, nor that George Lucas should revisit the film and have James Earl Jones re-record the line.

It’s that words matter, and if the words you choose don’t quite connect with your audience, there’s a good chance they’ll end up misquoting it – and ultimately, adjusting it to be better.

Delta Airlines are a great example. In the ‘80s, the brand launched a few lacklustre tag-lines – one of them being “Delta is Ready When You Are.”

Audiences didn’t click with it, and the company found that people were – by and large – misquoting their tagline. So, in 1992, the airline took decisive action: they shortened the tagline to what people thought it was: “Ready When You Are.” It was short, catchy and effective. The simple act of removing two words suddenly made the tagline memorable and meaningful to audiences.

How do you know when you’ve found ‘the one’?

Unlike the world of love and relationships, it’s rarely a ‘gut feeling’. The tagline you come up with should hit the sweet spot between what your brand stands for and the feeling you want to create in your audience.

Let’s look back at Nike’s “I Can”. Yes, it ticked the second box, but it didn’t really have the signature Nike tone running through it. So it didn’t do the trick. “Just Do It” on the other hand, ticks both boxes: it’s inspirational, motivational and packs that punch that you expect from the brand.

The bottom line? If you don’t succeed at first, try and try again. Take advantage of the delete key. Or, in the words of Orange Juice, Rip it Up and Start Again. Because the right tagline could be just a few drafts away.