…is clearly a legitimate question, and is one asked by many of our clients. The answer lies in a simple test: show your logo to 3-5 people you don’t know, then ask them what they think the company does. If they are correct, you don’t need a tagline, otherwise you do.

A tagline is a means to add your unique value statement to your logo, and should be taken directly from your positioning documents. What you do, for whom you do it, or why you do it better. Clearly, you will need to choose the most compelling value, as the best and most memorable taglines are short. Even if your test proved you don’t technically need one, you may still choose to add a tagline, as it represents a marketing opportunity: every time your logo appears, your key value statement does as well. Your tagline should have longevity; give the market time to make the associations you intend. Brands change taglines infrequently – and many not at all – and usually only due to changing conditions which make the old one outdated or invalid. Slogans, used in advertising and marketing campaigns, have a more limited shelf life.

The most frequent question we’re asked about taglines is whether or not they should be clever. Yes, but it should only be funny or “cute” if humor is a key value of your brand.

Check out the list below for examples of good taglines, connoting value in a memorable way:

 

  • 3M:    Innovation
  • 7-Up:    The uncola
  • Acura:  The road will never be the same
  • Alka-Seltzer:    I can’t believe I ate the whole thing
  • Allstate Insurance:    You’re in good hands with Allstate
  • American Airlines:   Something special in the air
  • American Express :   Don’t leave home without it
  • Apple:     Think different
  • AT&T:    Reach out and touch someone
  • Audi:    Never follow
  • Avis:    We try harder
  • Bank of America:    Higher standards
  • Barack Obama:    Change we need
  • BMW:    The ultimate driving machine
  • Bounty:    The quicker picker-upper
  • British Airways:    The way to fly
  • Budweiser:    The king of beers
  • Burger King:   Have it your way
  • Cadillac:    Break through
  • California Milk Processor Board:    Got milk?
  • Calvin Klein Jeans:    Nothing comes between me and my Calvins
  • Capital One:    What’s in your wallet?
  • Charmin:    Please don’t squeeze the Charmin
  • Cheez-It:    Get your own box
  • Chevy Trucks:    Like a rock
  • Chevy’s:    Fresh Mex
  • Chrysle:r    Inspiration comes standard
  • Cisco Systems:    Empowering the Internet generation
  • Citi :   Live richly
  • Citgo :   There at every turn
  • Clairol :   Does she or doesn’t she?
  • CNN:    The most trusted name in news
  • Coca-Cola:    Coca-Cola refreshes you best
  • Coors:    The silver bullet
  • Cotton Incorporated:    Cotton The fabric of our lives
  • Covergirl makeup:    Easy, breezy, beautiful Covergirl
  • Crest:    Healthy, beautiful smiles for life
  • Delta Airlines:    You’ll love the way we fly
  • Denny’s:    We’re cooking now
  • Dial Soap:    Aren’t you glad you use Dial? Don’t you wish everybody did?
  • Disneyland:    The happiest place on earth
  • Dunkin Donuts:    Time to make the doughnuts
  • eBay:    The world’s online marketplace
  • El Pollo Loco:    When you’re crazy for chicken
  • Energizer Batteries:    It keeps going, and going, and going
  • Ernst & Young:    Quality in everything we do
  • Expedia.com:    Don’t just travel Travel right
  • Fancy Feast:    Good taste is easy to recognize
  • FannieMae:    Our business is the American dream
  • Fedex:    Absolutely, positively overnight
  • Fisher-Price:    Play. Laugh. Grow
  • Ford:    Built for the road ahead
  • FTD:    Say it with flowers
  • General Electric:    Imagination at work
  • Gerber:    Shouldn’t your baby be a Gerber baby?
  • Gillette:    Look sharp, feel sharp
  • GLAD:    Don’t get mad, Get GLAD
  • Goodyear:    The best tires in the world have Goodyear written all over them
  • Greyhound:    Leave the driving to us
  • Hallmark:    When you care enough to send the very best
  • Hebrew National:    We answer to a higher authority
  • Hertz:    Hertz puts you in the driver’s seat
  • Hewlett Packard:    Invent
  • HJ Heinz:     57 varieties
  • Hostess Cakes:    Where’s the cream filling?
  • Huggies:    We’re behind you every step of the way
  • IBM:    Solutions for a small planet
  • Intel:    Intel Inside
  • Ivory Soap:    Pure clean, pure Ivory
  • Jack in the Box:    Jack’s back!
  • Jaguar:    Don’t dream it. Drive it
  • Jell-O:    America’s most famous dessert
  • John Deere:    Nothing runs like a Deere
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank:    The right relationship is everything
  • Juicy Juice   100 % juice for 100% kids
  • Kaiser Permanente:    Thrive
  • Kay Jewelers:    Every kiss begins with Kay
  • Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes:    They’re g-r-r-r-eat!
  • Kellogg’s Smart Start:    Start aging smart
  • Kellogg’s Rice Krispies:   Snap, Crackle, Pop
  • Kentucky Fried Chicken:    Finger-lickin’ good!
  • KFC:    Nobody does chicken like KFC
  • Kix Cereal :   Kid tested Mother approved
  • Kodak:    Share moments Share life
  • KPMG:    It’s time for clarity
  • L’Oréal:    Because I’m worth it
  • Lay’s Potato Chips:    Betcha can’t eat just one
  • Life Cereal :   Hey, Mikey he likes it!
  • Listerine:    Always a bridesmaid, but never a bride
  • Lucky Charms:    Magically delicious
  • Lucky Strike:    Lucky Strike means fine tobacco
  • M&Ms:    Melts in your mouth, not in your hands
  • Marlboro:    Come to Marlboro Country
  • MasterCard:    There are some things that money can’t buy. For everything else there’s MasterCard.
  • Maxwell House:    Good to the last drop
  • Mazda:    Passion for the road
  • McDonald’s:    I’m lovin’ it
  • Meow Mix:    Tastes so good cats ask for it by name
  • Metropolitan Home:    Mode for your abode
  • MGM:    MGM means great movies
  • Michelin:    Because so much is riding on your tires
  • Microsoft:    Where do you want to go today?
  • Miller Beer:    It’s Miller time!
  • Miller Lite:   Tastes great, less filling
  • Mitsubishi Motors:    Wake up and drive
  • Morton Salt:    When it rains, it pours
  • Motrin:    Medicine with muscle
  • Mountain Dew:    Do the Dew
  • NBC:    Must see TV
  • Nestles Butterfinger:    Break out of the ordinary
  • Nike:    Just do it
  • Nikon:    At the heart of the image
  • Nintendo Wii:    Wii would like to play
  • Nissan:    Enjoy the ride
  • NyQuil :   The nighttime sniffling sneezing coughing aching stuffy head fever so you can rest medicine
  • Office Depot:    Taking care of business
  • Old Spice:    The mark of a man
  • Pace Picante Sauce:    Grab the Southwest by the bottle
  • Pacific Southwest Airlines:    Catch our smile
  • Packard:    Ask the man who owns one
  • Panasonic:    Slightly ahead of its time
  • Pepperidge Farm:    Pepperidge Farm remembers
  • Petco:    Where the pets go
  • Planter’s Peanuts:    Famously fresh
  • Polaroid:    The fun develops instantly
  • Prudential :   Get a piece of the rock
  • Quaker Oatmeal:    Something to smile about
  • Quiznos:    M’m, m’m, m’m, m’m, m’mtoasty!
  • Qwest:    Spirit of service
  • Qwest:   Ride the light
  • Radio Shack:    You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers
  • RAID:    RAID kills bugs dead
  • Redbull:    It gives you wings
  • Safeway:    Ingredients for life
  • Saturn:     A different kind of car company
  • Secret Deodorant:    Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman
  • Smucker’s :   With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good
  • Snapple:    Made from the best stuff on Earth
  • Southwest Airlines:    You are now free to move about the country
  • Sprite:    Obey your thirst
  • Staples:    That was easy
  • Subway:    Eat fresh
  • Taco Bell:    Think outside the bun, You quiero Taco Bell
  • Target:    Expect more. Pay less
  • Tide:    If it’s gotta be clean, it’s gotta be Tide
  • Toyota:    Get the feeling
  • Trix Cereal:    Silly rabbit, trix are for kids
  • Tylenol :   It’s hospital recommended
  • United Airlines:   Fly the friendly skies
  • Unocal:   The spirit of 76’
  • UPS:    What can Brown do for you?
  • Verizon Wireless:    We never stop working for you
  • VISA:    It’s everywhere you want to be
  • Visine:    Visine gets the red out
  • Volkswagen:    Drivers wanted
  • Walmart:    Save money. Live better
  • Wells Fargo:    The next stage
  • Wheaties:    The breakfast of champions