Got Suggestions?

A couple of blogs ago, as I was explaining how our new logo design originated, I also commented on the tagline, “Be Inspired.” I reminded readers that only the Holy Spirit can truly “inspire.” Like our mission statement which describes us as a community of faith inviting all to find real life in Jesus, the tagline was meant to beckon a searching world to seek after real inspiration through a relationship with God’s son.

Taglines or slogans are short, often memorable phrases used in advertising campaigns and are considered to be the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of a product. Some slogans are created just for specific campaigns for a limited time; some are intended as corporate slogans, to be used for an extended period. The purpose of taglines is to emphasize a phrase that the company wishes to be remembered by, particularly for marketing a specific corporate image or connection to a product or consumer base.

As an example, the car rental company Avis has memorably advertised itself this way: “we’re No. 2. We Try Harder.” The Allstate insurance company reminds everyone that “you’re in good hands” if you have their coverage. De Beers hangs all its promotions on the declaration that “a diamond is forever.” John Deere tractors affirm that “nothing runs like a Deere” while Disneyland asserts that it is “the happiest place on earth.”

Food companies have produced some notable taglines. Wheaties announces themselves as being the “breakfast of Champions” while Tony the Tiger says about Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes that “They’re gr-r-reat!” Kentucky Fried Chicken is “finger-lickin’ good!” Maxwell House coffee is “good to the last drop.” M&M’s pride themselves that their product “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” while Skittles invites you to “taste the rainbow.”

Personally, I believe that the most effective taglines are those which tease our imagination and invite us to remember happy or hopeful experiences and make an emotional association between those memories or meanings and the product. Great taglines are often less declarative (such as Cadbury chocolates assertion that there is “a glass and a half [of milk] in every half pound” as they are meant to prod our imagination and spark a range of images and ideas (as in Nike’s “just do it” or Xbox 360’s slogan that “life is short. Play more.”

“Be Inspired” was meant to be that sort of teasing, evocative tagline. But as our marketing team worked on the logo and slogan, we also envisioned the option of a whole range of taglines, particularly for our newspaper advertising, which would change every week. For instance, one week we might use the phrase “Blessing Awaits;” another time the ad might read “Come Home” or “Find Hope” or something more familiar as “Amazing Grace.”

So here is an invitation for you to do some prayerful reflection about how you see the grace and the Holy Spirit of God at work in the life of St. Andrew’s, and to let your creative juices flow. If you were designing a tagline, or series of taglines for St. Andrew’s, what would your suggestions be? Please reply to this post, and in a week’s time I will post all the suggestions that have come in, as well as refer them to our marketing team.

Two restrictions however:  first, they need to be short (a maximum of four or five words). Secondly, in a sentence or two, explain what the tagline especially means to you, or what you hope it would communicate about the Lord, faith or about  St. Andrew’s.

Though they didn’t realize it at the time, someone offered me a wonderful tagline for us the other day as they were leaving church. Shaking my hand at the door, the individual simply said, “You know, I am forever amazed. God keeps showing up here.” Isn’t that our best hope and the source of our deep thanksgiving, that “God shows up” to bless his people? What other wonderful gifts can we affirm about our Lord?