Hot news on the communications wire this morning says that Toyota has introduced a new tagline, "Let's Go Places". According to the report, "Toyota worked with advertising partners Saatchi & Saatchi, Dentsu America, Conill, Burrell, Intertrend and Grieco Research to create the tagline."
Which begs the question: how did that work? Did Saatchi come up with "Let Us", then Dentsu pitched in with 'hey we can shorten this let's make it "let's"'? Did Conill and Burrell then spend hours contemplating words like 'drive', 'jumpstart' (nope, not so good for a car brand) before settling on 'go'? And was it up to Intertrend and Grieco Research to figure out that "Let's Go" by itself is better suited to a laxative brand, and therefore needed the eponymous "Places" to round out the message?
It's interesting how this approach to giving the whole communication agency team credit for what will assuredly be a long term tagline is a radical change from earlier times when single mainline ad agencies claimed taglines and slogans as being their creative property. The benefit of the team approach? Everyone can claim they developed it. Not just those in the creative departments, but countless freelance creatives who worked at any of those shops can probably put it on their reel or resume. Of course, if the tagline bombs or is perverted due to some mechanical issues - as in "Let's Go Places as Long as They have the Parts in Stock" - then watch everyone run a million miles from the program.
Such has it always been in the communications game - success means everyone jumping on the bandwagon and claiming credit; failure means no one did it. Sort of like asking who voted for Nixon in 1972. Incidentally, his 1972 campaign slogans were "President Nixon - now more than ever" and "Four More Years". I heard the latter once or twice at the DNC recently - do you think they were honoring Nixon? But maybe Nixon's 1968 slogan was better: "Nixon's the One". Yep, that's probably what the Watergate prosecutors thought too.
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