Advertising slogans or taglines are short slogans that add a description of a brand or product or create an association with the brand.  They are one of four types (see types of slogans) and seem to be most effective if they describe one key attribute of the brand or product.

So if you want to create an effective advertising slogan, the first step is to identify the key attribute of the product – what to people think of or what do you want them to think of when they hear the advertising slogan.

Then think of how that key one thing can be expressed in the four different ways that slogans are used:

-          describe the product (descriptive slogan) “The pause that refreshes”

-          exaggerate the products characteristics to make a point (superlative slogan) “Like a rock”

-          command the audience to some action (imperative slogan) “Just do it” or “Don’t leave home without it”

-          make a statement or ask a question that gets people thinking (provocative slogan) “Greatness is the prize”

Try out all four ways of describing or drawing attention to the one key aspect of your brand.  After a few (or maybe more than a few) tries, one will stick and you will have a catchy advertising slogan.

Also keep in mind there are four basic personality types and slogans can be created that communicate to each type.

People who are primarily interested in other people love stories. They are pushovers for emotional stories of people overcoming difficulties, families united against obstacles, people who triumph in the face of adversity and so on. If you are in their office, you will notice pictures of kids and pets. They will be more motivated by a single emotional testimonial than by charts, graphs and statistics.  So when you are writing a slogan, consider an emotional testimonial from someone who loves your product or organization.

People who care more about information than other people, love as much information as you can provide. They are poor decision makers and will keep you busy with information requests to postpone a decision. They love charts, graphs and statistics. Their office will likely have charts on the wall instead of artwork. So if you know there are some of these types in your audience, make them happy by including slogans with numbers and statistics.

People who care about all types of information, stories and data, tend to be very busy people because they are constantly soaking in everything around them. People with this type of personality often rise to positions of authority because they are good with both knowledge and interpersonal skills. So they will often be the decision maker. So if you are writing a slogan to address this audience, make it literal and to the point.

People who care about themselves to the extreme are narcissists. This personality type will evaluate all communication based on what the concept or offer will do for them. Slogans that make them feel good about themselves will win them over.