« The Flag Stands For All! | Main | SPAMMED!!!! 2 For 1 Friday »
November 30, 2007
Slogans Run
 |
| Photo: Scotland's new $250,000 slogan "Welcome
to Scotland" A friend of mine pointed out a news story about Scotland's new slogan. It's one of those things that will travel the beavernet rapidly (see last post for beavernet reference). In fact, many of you have probably already heard about Scotland's marketing prowess. Here's one portion of a story in case you're not aware of it. GLASGOW, Scotland, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Scotland has replaced its airport signs proclaiming the country to be "the best small country in the world" with a new slogan: "Welcome to Scotland." The new slogan, which was revealed Tuesday after six months of development and $250,000 spent on the project, is also printed on the posters in Gaelic as "Failte gu Alba," The Times of London reported Wednesday. The posters also include a series of images depicting life in Scotland, including a boy looking at an exhibit at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, a man in a raincoat walking in Edinburgh and a picture taken from a high altitude of Inverness. Some have criticized the campaign for lacking emotion. I tell myself that something like this couldn't happen in Chico. But then I think of $170,000 parking charrettes with no result and $68,000 chess tables that are mostly used for lunch breaks and rolling cigarettes. So I guess it could happen here, and in some sense already has. But I think we could strive, as a community, to prevent this exact same thing from happening in Chico. We could do that by providing a list of excellent slogans for future use. That way we won't have to bring in expensive consultants when a new town slogan is required. Here are some ideas... Chico, A Land of Endless Benefits Chico, We Love Our Beaver Come Visit Chico, Just Not On Halloween or Saint Paddy's Day You'll Love Chico's Compact Urban Form Shop Chico, We Need Sales Tax Income Chico, Close Enough To Paradise, But Not Far Enough From Oroville Come To Chico, Home Of The World's Most Expensive Park Plan You Can't Spell Chico Without Hic Chico, So Sustainable We Never Printed This Slogan Come See Our Vomit Stains Chico, Where Economic Development Begins and Ends With Interns I think there are a couple of gems in that list. But I'd like to hear your ideas. Alternatively we could rely on Slogan4U's free online slogan generator (see slogan generating web site here). It gave me... Chico Knows All, Sees All Chico Keeps Them Coming Back Got Chico? For A Fresh Change Try Chico |
| Astrophotography Exhibit: please see invitation below for a great opportunity to support science and art locally. The event is this Saturday, December 1st. 4PM-8PM. |
 |
 |
CI Challenge: Can you guess what it is? Winner: Gregg Payne, see comments below for the answer. |
Posted by Lon at November 30, 2007 04:39 AM
Comments
Chico, at least it's not Chino.
Chico, obviously anyone is welcome
Chico, where my nuts are from
Chico, it's where I drive to for work
Chico, Duffy's opens at 6am
Posted by: Jason Bougie at November 30, 2007 06:19 AM
It's 3M's slogan, and also the new name for the GoodYear Blimp.
Posted by: Gregg Payne at November 30, 2007 07:49 AM
Chico, Progress Sustained through Liberal Spending.
Posted by: rainman at November 30, 2007 08:06 AM
There you go, we just need to come up with a couple Bidwell Park slogans and our Master Management Plan will be a deal.
How about "Bidwell Park:
Leave It to Mr. Beaver!
Not In My 3000 Acre Back Yard!
The Dustiest Dragstrip in the West!
Love It and Leave It... Alone.
No New Development! (except the Nature Center, new parking lots, an observatory, par course, handicapped picnic areas, bridges across creek, trails, freeway overpass expansion, kiddie playground, mountain bike races, dam at One Mile..... well, just no frisbees!)
Posted by: Gregg Payne at November 30, 2007 08:35 AM
It's also an award they hand out in England to "innovators" to basically keep up the good work.
Posted by: TrevHastings at November 30, 2007 08:46 AM
Isn't the "Spirit of Innovation" a single engine plane that flew to Scotland across the Atlantic?
Or is it a better brand of Scotch Whiskey?
;-)
Posted by: Anthony at November 30, 2007 10:17 AM
Anthony,
I'm not sure but the "Spirit of Inhalation" took off from Humboldt County flew to a Taco Bell, then flew back to Humboldt County to watch movies.
Is that what you were thinking of?
Lon
Posted by: Lon at November 30, 2007 10:24 AM
lol i see what you did there.
i broke open my bottle of johnny walker last night... very smoky scotch. mmmm....
Posted by: TrevHastings at November 30, 2007 10:34 AM
Welcome to Scotland? You've gotta admire those wild, wacky Scots...
Am I the only person who continually puzzles over how human beings made it to the top of the food chain?
Posted by: Schatzi at November 30, 2007 10:36 AM
Schatzi, your not alone there. I wonder it constantly. Always have this itching feeling that I am originally from a different planet than all these... humans.
Posted by: TrevHastings at November 30, 2007 10:41 AM
I was thinking of a slogan just now about Chico's political process.
Chico: The Unresolved Argument Capital of California.
Maybe you can do a series called "great arguments in Chico"
BTW I went to Taco Bell for lunch Wednesday, and I inhaled it pretty darn quick.
Posted by: Anthony at November 30, 2007 11:07 AM
[sign geek mode on]
I'd just like to point out that the sign shown is using the extremely readable ClearviewHwy font. More information on this sign font of the future can be found here:
http://clearviewhwy.com/ResearchAndDesign/_articles/RoadToClarity.pdf
[sign geek mode off]
Posted by: Greg Redeker at November 30, 2007 12:07 PM
Trev,
For something really smooth try Bushmills Irish Whiskey...I can't even drink Johnny Walker anymore after trying this.
Posted by: Anthony at November 30, 2007 12:11 PM
Greg,
I believe that roughly $248,000 of the $250,000 spent on the "Welcome To Scotland" slogan was used in determining the most readable font. It looks like it was money well spent.
The other $2,000 was spent primarily in spellchecking the final design.
Also, since the signs are so large they had rent time on a very large computer screen to verify that the slogan had the desired appearance.
Lon
Posted by: Lon at November 30, 2007 12:29 PM
Hey I like typography geeks.
Everyone into art and design should have taken my typography class out at Butte last year. If nothing else, it helps to figure out how your brain works, looking for pattern and rhythms everywhere.
Anyway, the endless quest for the most readable font continues...
Just remember Futura, Avant Garde and Modern all thought they had found it almost a hundred years ago. Pretty soon they'll run out of new sounding names if they haven't already.
I know, how about "Sustaina"
Posted by: Gregg Payne at November 30, 2007 01:43 PM
Gregg,
I %*&!ing hate you typography people. Everything should be times roman 14 bold. The angriest font alive. It fits my fuming and riotous emotional state.
But since the font displayed in the comments is so very calming, I'll just mellow out and let you know that you won the challenge.
The Spirit of Innovation is 3M's slogan.
Lon
Posted by: Lon at November 30, 2007 04:52 PM