It’s Slogan Season: Re-wording Wal-Mart, Washington DC & NASA

By Andrea Goulet

Slogans, slogans everywhere….

As we mentioned in a previous post — a slogan or tagline isn't a band-aid for organizational inefficiencies. But here's how a company, city, and government agency are trying:

Wal-Mart
Since their switch to the Martin Agency, a Richmond, VA based ad agency who brought us GEICO cavemen and UPS whiteboards, we've seen little change in the Wal-Mart image — until now. The retail giant has changed their slogan from the well-recognized "Always Low Prices. Always." to "Save Money. Live Better." According to the Washington Business Journal, "The new slogan kicks off an advertising campaign that focuses on the company's claim that it saves each American family an average of $2,500 per year according to an analysis by Global Insight of Wal-Mart's national and local impacts in terms of jobs, wages, prices, consumer buying power and gross domestic product."

The new slogan sounds suspiciously familiar to Target's "Expect More. Pay Less." and leaves us wondering — will the new slogan and subsequent ads convince consumers that Wal-Mart offers the same warm and fuzzies as Target? It's a tough task. As blogger Patrick Davis points out,

"Wal-Mart's new slogan suggests a higher standard of living. If you save money here, you can live better out there. We get trickle down economics, thanks very much. What makes no sense, however, is the glaring conflict with Wal Mart's own policies and practices. The facts are compelling, if hotly political. The arguments aren't new: Wal-Mart drives small companies out of business, pays wages that equal less than the poverty level, refuses to adopt reasonable health insurance policies, and treats employees inhumanely (no meal breaks as required by law; locking workers inside of stores, to name but two examples). The company does not stand for a better quality of life. It actively creates lower standards of living for individuals and communities. Wal-Mart's own internal operations are not in line with its new public voice. It's not enough to make promises; companies have to be machines that keep and deliver promises every day to all constituencies."

Only time will tell if consumers catch on to the new campaign.

Washington, DC
According to the Washington Business Journal, our Nation's capital is on the prowl for a new city slogan. Here are the results of a recent poll for the most popular among its readers.

• 33% DC: A Capital Idea
• 17% The Most Self-Important City in the World
• 13% Southern efficiency, Northern charm
• 8% DC: Center of the World

Some of the creative and overwhelmingly self-deprecating slogans contributed by readers include:

• No, this is normal traffic
• Home to past, present and future idiots
• If it wasn't for crime, we would be a great place to live!
• DC: Home of waste and scandal
• We are safer than Iraq
• Land of the bland
• The most un-American city in America
• More taxes, less representation
• The place where you can always blame someone else
• DC – an island surrounded by reality

Even the more positive suggestions seemed to focus on the city's past achievements instead of future aspirations.

• Discover DC
• DC: A world-class city
• The pulse of the nation
• DC: Democracy's Capital
• Rome of the free world
• History at your fingertips
• A monumental experience

It's interesting the negative response from so many residents. Proof that perhaps there is more to change in DC than just the slogan?
NASA
Rounding out the mix we look at NASA. According to Wired (and several bloggers – read their posts here, here and here) this monstrous government agency desperately needs a new slogan to replace their current "Explore, Discover, Understand."

So far the marketing communications department at NASA has come up with:

"NASA explores for answers that power our future"

and

"Inspiration + Innovation + Discovery = Future"

Blogger Lorretta Hildago Whitesides put out the call for ideas, which has generated some interesting results. As of today, the slogans with the highest votes were:

• All your space are belong to U.S.
• NASA: Billions of Dollars Spent and Still No Death Star
• NASA: Because one does not simply walk into space
• See the Moon? Yeah, we hit that.
• NASA: Our janitor is smarter than your President
• NASA: Actually, this *is* rocket science

To vote or submit your suggestion for the NASA slogan, click here.