I enjoy a good slogan. Come to think of it, I also enjoy a really bad one. I have just read an article prompted by Woodville's new town slogan and it has inspired me to share my own thoughts on this important matter.
So what did Woodville come up with?I'll let you know all in good time.
Slogans that work well (think "Absolutely Positively Wellington") stick around for yonks whereas bad ones (think Ashburton's "Whatever it Takes") just seem to fade away.
Another success story was "Right up my Hutt Valley" and another doomed to failure was Timaru's "Feel, Touch, Taste" which people felt compelled to deface with a selection of other carefully chosen, vivid verbs.
So, Woodville clearly tried not to fall into the fade-away trap.
Some other town-branding catchphrases, both past and present, also warrant a mention. Woodville obviously had to avoid the possible interpretations in a slogan of their neighbouring town, Dannevirke. Fortunately "Take a Liking to a Viking" does not appear to have lasted the distance.
Ohakune's "Where Adventures Begin" was a reasonable effort but the region felt it still needed a giant root vegetable monument to add weight to it.
Hamilton's "More Than You'd Expect" surely inspired a sister sign, "One Would Hope So".
Nelson's "Live the Day" suffers from blandness and Amberley's "Take Your Time" possibly requires too much analysis to pop instantly. Were we supposed to be attracted by the alliteration or was it the possible pun on amble/Amberley which … oh, never mind!
So, more lessons there for Woodville.
As you would expect, I had to have a crack at coming up with a few for selected New Zealand towns.
Woodville locals appear to be mostly happy with their new catchphrase so they probably won't need to contact me.
A look at the wider world might also provide some inspiration (or warnings). One definitely not to copy is Slovakia's. "Travel in Slovakia – Good Idea" fails to deliver and that's probably because it has avoided the costly use of an advertising agency and its associated boardroom lunch expenses.
I have a feeling that Jordan might also have avoided the expense of an advertising agency. "Yes, it's Jordan" definitely fails to attract.
"Uzbekistan. Naturally Irresistible!" might need to have its veracity checked but it won't be by me. Same goes for "Syria – Always Beautiful".
USA states offer some warnings too.
Georgia – The Peach State
Louisiana – The Pelican State
Nebraska – The Cornhusker State
Oregon – The Beaver State
Wisconsin – The Badger State
See what I mean! I find it quite disappointing that the poor old otter didn't make it into a slogan.
Anyway, I don't think Woodville has a distinctively regional animal or fruit so they weren't able to go down that track. So, how did they do it?
The authorities of the small town of 1620 people probably lack the funds to go down the advertising agency path so they went the community way and ran a slogan competition.
Teresa de Vries was named the winner after her fellow townsfolk chose her slogan from 11 finalists. She won $500 which is peanuts compared with what the advertising supremos would have charged. $500 would possibly not even have covered their coffees.
Some of the other 11 finalists were "Funky Junction", "Town of Treasures", "Heart of the Tararua", "Wonderfully Woodville".
But in the end, small town community spirit came up with "It's all good in the Wood."
Let's hope it serves them well.
Wyn Drabble is a teacher of English, a writer, musician and public speaker.
