What Is a Tag Line?

A tag line (also known as a “strapline”) is a punchy slogan that follows a logo or company name. For example, Jaguar’s tag line is “Don’t dream it. Drive it.” Or IBM’s “I think, therefore IBM.”

The tag line evokes an image of the product or service whenever a person reads or hears it. It helps to establish a brand in a person’s mind.

10 Tips for Writing Tag Lines

Keep your tagline

1. Simple – 5 short, one-syllable words are easier to remember than 25. Nike’s “Just do it” is more powerful than Iberia Airlines’ “The best connections in the world mean nothing if an airline forgets the human one.”

2. Positive – negative statements don’t sell.

3. Original – like “Beanz meanz Heinz.”

Not like Dixons’ “The future ... for less” or Hyundai’s “A car first. A badge second,” which could apply to a hundred different companies!

4. Benefit-laden – try to include a main benefit in your tagline, something that will appeal to a reader’s “What’s in it for me?” mindset: e.g. Backlife’s “Your personal back pain therapist.” The reader/hearer shouldn’t say, “So what?”

5. Memorable – if it sticks in the mind, a potential customer will think of your product or service before that of a competitor: e.g. on the side of TESCO superstore trucks, “You shop, we drop.” Or DFS’s “Think sofas, think DFS.” Or the Automobile Association’s “Just AAsk.”

6. Meaningful – if it doesn’t make sense, no one will remember it: e.g. Abbot Ale’s “When you’re ready, you’ll find it” or Foster’s “Tickle it you wrigglers!” What do these mean?

And make sure someone whose first language isn’t English will understand your tag line. An Australian might know what “Tickle it you wrigglers!” means, but would someone from Japan?

7. With the brand name included, if possible – the Automobile Association’s “Just AAsk” is more powerful than the anonymous Malaysia Airlines’ “Going beyond expectations” or WH Smith’s “More of what you really want.”

8. With a sense of the brand’s personality in it – WeightWatchers’ “The weight is over.”

9. Interesting – does WH Smith’s “More of what you really want” grab you?

10. Free from the possibility of prompting a negative remark – Mobil’s “We want you to live” could give rise to “That’s obvious!”

© 2006 Eldo Barkhuizen BA, HDE