Out of the Box: Slogans' Heroes, Zeroes

Call it "adnesia." According to a recent survey by strategist Emergence, brand slogans aren't as effervescent as they used to be in the minds of consumers. In fact, they're Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizzing their way into anonymity.

When posed with the taglines of 25 advertisers, only 5% of people surveyed could correctly identify half of the associated brands.

Staples tied for last place for the second year in a row; only two of 500 people associated it with its "That was easy" tagline. The slogans of Wendy's, Kmart, Buick, Miller, Arby's, Corona, Chrysler, Sears, Michelob Ultra, Heineken, Dr Pepper and Coca-Cola failed to crack a remedial 5% recognition rate. Even Pepsi's Sierra Mist ranked better than the "Real" thing. (For more, go to www.slogansurvey.com.)

Kelly O'Keefe, chairman/CEO of Atlanta-based Emergence, attributed our rampant adnesia to churn: Marketers are shoving their brands through a revolving door of slogans and, frankly, this is making consumers dizzy. "New CEOs come in, and hire and fire agencies, they change taglines and consumers don't have time to catch up," he said. In fact, since the firm did its first survey on the subject last year, six of 22 brands have ditched their slogans.

Also, there's the issue of media fragmentation. When Madge the Manicurist graced the small screen 30 years ago, Palmolive was soaking in the rapt attention of a substantial viewing audience. Today, people are tuning in to tune out, and brand proliferation—both through traditional advertising and more novel media—is causing brains and brands to blur.

Among the casualties: Kmart, which recently debuted its "Right here, right now" refrain. Alas, it was not "right here" in people's hearts and minds. A scant 1% recognized it; the retailer is scrapping the campaign.

The survey also tested some classics, such as Allstate's "You're in good hands" (87%), and State Farm's "Like a good neighbor" (70%). They topped the list. GE's "We bring good things to life" (39%) was pitted against its replacement, "Imagination at work"—which, apparently, hardly anyone knew (5%). Eight brands made encores from last year's survey, but only J.C. Penney's "It's all inside," moved the needle (from 3% to 15%).

Wal-Mart's "Always low prices. Always" (67%) was the only new line recognized by half. Sizzling? No, but it scored in the truth in advertising department, O'Keefe said: "Wal-Mart has a consistent message [read: cheap prices], and even if you didn't know the slogan, you'd probably guess the correct brand."