Advertising A.D.D.: Majority of Tag Lines Go Unnoticed.

Three in four Americans are turned off by commercials, but even more are tuning them out. According to the second annual Emergence Slogan Survey, which tested consumers’ recall for some of the most familiar product tag lines, an overwhelming number of Americans were unable to identify even the most familiar slogans, despite the fact that corporations spend millions and millions of dollars to create and communicate these prominent brand identifiers.

From a list of tag lines from 25 of America’s most well-known companies – including Wendy’s, Coca-Cola, Kmart and Sears – fewer than half were known by more than 5 percent of the roughly 1,000 respondents, and a fifth were recognized by 1 percent or less. Only Wal-Mart (67%), which boasts “Always low prices. Always.”, was recognized by at least half of those surveyed, while the tags for Staples and Wendy’s failed to register even 1 percent.

And if that news wasn’t bad enough, nearly 75 percent said they are bothered by TV commercials, whether they are a mild nuisance, irritating or something they try not to pay attention to.

“It’s only a matter of time before Corporate America wakes up and realizes that what it’s doing simply isn’t working,” said Kelly O’Keefe, chairman and CEO of Emergence Inc., an Atlanta-based brand consulting firm that commissioned the survey.

“Companies continue to shell out big bucks for catchy slogans, yet for the second year in a row, this survey shows that consumers aren’t getting the message.

“Companies today have no conviction to their brands. Instead of building their brands from within and using slogans and advertising to reinforce them over time, corporate marketers – and the buck stops with the CEOs – constantly are churning out new tag lines and ad campaigns that consumers don’t believe in or value. When will they learn?”

To underscore the point, O’Keefe cited last year’s survey: Six of the 22 tag lines tested in 2003 already have been replaced. Among those suffering this advertising A.D.D. is Kmart, which introduced “Right here, right now” in the past year and was recognized by 1 percent in this year’s survey. The company already has announced plans to scrap the campaign and start anew.

“Brand managers continue to come up with the ‘latest and greatest’ ideas for their brands, yet this constant churn of tag lines, campaigns and even ad agencies is doing nothing for their overall brand,” O’Keefe said. “Brands need to be consistent and predictable in behavior, not the schizophrenic beast they’ve become.”

This year’s survey also included a comparison group (not included among the batch of 25) that featured some tried and true tag lines. Allstate (“You’re in good hands”) was recognized by 87 percent of those surveyed, and State Farm (“Like a good neighbor”) checked in at 70 percent. GE’s “We bring good things to life” also was pitted against its replacement, “Imagination at work”, with the old tag squashing the new one 39 percent to 5 percent.

“It may confound the ad industry, but people love Mr. Whipple and the Maytag repair man,” O’Keefe said.

Other findings from this year’s survey:

• Staples tied for last for the second year in a row as only two people found it easy to identify “That was easy”.

• Among the “winners” this year were Wal-Mart, which O’Keefe credits for using a slogan that truly captures the Wal-Mart experience, Sprite’s “Obey your thirst” (35 percent) and Taco Bell’s “Think outside the bun” (34 percent) – two companies that have stuck to their guns.

• McDonald’s scored well with “I’m lovin’ it” (33 percent) despite the fact that it is only a year old. “McDonald’s is a prime example of a company that is doing it right, ” O’Keefe said. “It has branded the slogan across gender and race with creative and diverse jingles, and the slogan’s everywhere.”

• In addition to Staples, Wendy’s and Kmart, others that failed to crack 5 percent recognition rates included: Buick, Miller, Arby’s, Corona, Chrysler, Sears, Michelob Ultra, Heineken, Dr. Pepper and Coca-Cola. (GE, from the comparison group, scored 5 percent.)

• Eight companies made encore appearances from last year’s survey. Aside from J.C. Penney’s “It’s all inside”, which jumped from 3 percent to 15 percent, the others saw an incremental bump in year-to-year comparisons. Chrysler introduced a new tag line between surveys (the new one registered 3 percent compared to 4 percent for the old one). “This only furthers our belief that an effective tag line takes many years in most cases,” O’Keefe said.

• Sierra Mist, with off-beat and crazy commercials, actually ranked better than Coke. “The execs at Coke have to be shaking their heads that Sierra Mist has a better recognition. Unreal,” O’Keefe said.

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http://www.slogansurvey.com/SloganSurveyData.pdf