The Rhythm of a Winning Tag Line or Slogan
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Marcia Yudkin
Apr 23, 2013, 12:30:38 PM4/23/13
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
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Article Title: The Rhythm of a Winning Tag Line or Slogan
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 568
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=957994&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=957994
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=957994
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
If you�re planning on using your company slogan as a musical jingle, you know it needs catchy rhythm. However, if you have no plans to advertise on radio or TV, you should still infuse it with rhythm. Your tag line (strapline, catchphrase, endline or slogan) stands out when it has the heightened word craft of a line of poetry. With a recognizable rhythm, your line feels harmonious, and it�s easier to remember and repeat correctly. It has elegance. It flows. It dances with life.
Say these two lines out loud, for instance:
Your gas tank should have a tiger in it.
Put a tiger in your tank.
Did you hear how much more powerful the second version is? That�s due to its rhythm.
English majors call the rhythm of a line of words �meter.� They have raftloads of technical terms for different types of meters � iambic pentameter, anapestic tetrameter and so on. Fortunately you don�t have to learn any of that to use meter as a marketing tool. All you need is to be able to recognize � and manipulate � the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line. In what follows, a capitalized word indicates emphasis and a non-capitalized word does not receive emphasis.
For example, you�d analyze the New York Times�s slogan like this:
ALL the NEWS that�s FIT to PRINT
Barnum & Bailey�s tag line:
the GREAT est SHOW on EARTH
And in general:
(DUM) de DUM de DUM de DUM (de DUM de DUM�)
According to renowned director John Barton, founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, this pattern of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables is the poetic meter that most resembles ordinary English speech. It feels both natural and special. Without using any tricks or artifice, it takes on greater intensity than a sequence of words that has no recognizable pattern of emphasis.
Almost as common as the DUM de DUM de DUM meter illustrated above is one using triples, as in Clairol�s tag line:
DOES she or DOES n't she?
How natural this too sounds you can see in Crest�s slogan, where the same rhythm is attributed to a kid:
LOOK ma, no CA vi ties!
This meter was definitely intentional. Fiddle with the message and express the thought without rhythm, and you�ll notice it loses its catchiness:
Hey ma, no cavities today!
A triple meter normally either starts with a downbeat, followed by two unstressed syllables, and repeats, or it starts with two unstressed syllables, then a stressed one, and so on:
DUM de de DUM de de (DUM de de�) or
de de DUM de de DUM (de de DUM�)
Consciously or instinctively, copywriters put a lot of effort into arranging words so they have rhythm, and you should too. You don�t need fancy hundred-dollar words, just patience in trying lots of different combinations, moving words to different positions and substituting synonyms with a different number of syllables until you arrive at million-dollar gems like:
Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.
The Ultimate Driving Experience
Don't just book it. Thomas Cook it.
About The Author: Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, which brainstorms catchy tag lines, company names and product names according to the client�s criteria. Download a free copy of �19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name, Product Name or Tag Line� at http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm .
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=957994
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=957994
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=957994
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: The Rhythm of a Winning Tag Line or Slogan
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 568
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=957994&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=957994
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=957994
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
If you�re planning on using your company slogan as a musical jingle, you know it needs catchy rhythm. However, if you have no plans to advertise on radio or TV, you should still infuse it with rhythm. Your tag line (strapline, catchphrase, endline or slogan) stands out when it has the heightened word craft of a line of poetry. With a recognizable rhythm, your line feels harmonious, and it�s easier to remember and repeat correctly. It has elegance. It flows. It dances with life.
Say these two lines out loud, for instance:
Your gas tank should have a tiger in it.
Put a tiger in your tank.
Did you hear how much more powerful the second version is? That�s due to its rhythm.
English majors call the rhythm of a line of words �meter.� They have raftloads of technical terms for different types of meters � iambic pentameter, anapestic tetrameter and so on. Fortunately you don�t have to learn any of that to use meter as a marketing tool. All you need is to be able to recognize � and manipulate � the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line. In what follows, a capitalized word indicates emphasis and a non-capitalized word does not receive emphasis.
For example, you�d analyze the New York Times�s slogan like this:
ALL the NEWS that�s FIT to PRINT
Barnum & Bailey�s tag line:
the GREAT est SHOW on EARTH
And in general:
(DUM) de DUM de DUM de DUM (de DUM de DUM�)
According to renowned director John Barton, founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company, this pattern of alternating stressed and unstressed syllables is the poetic meter that most resembles ordinary English speech. It feels both natural and special. Without using any tricks or artifice, it takes on greater intensity than a sequence of words that has no recognizable pattern of emphasis.
Almost as common as the DUM de DUM de DUM meter illustrated above is one using triples, as in Clairol�s tag line:
DOES she or DOES n't she?
How natural this too sounds you can see in Crest�s slogan, where the same rhythm is attributed to a kid:
LOOK ma, no CA vi ties!
This meter was definitely intentional. Fiddle with the message and express the thought without rhythm, and you�ll notice it loses its catchiness:
Hey ma, no cavities today!
A triple meter normally either starts with a downbeat, followed by two unstressed syllables, and repeats, or it starts with two unstressed syllables, then a stressed one, and so on:
DUM de de DUM de de (DUM de de�) or
de de DUM de de DUM (de de DUM�)
Consciously or instinctively, copywriters put a lot of effort into arranging words so they have rhythm, and you should too. You don�t need fancy hundred-dollar words, just patience in trying lots of different combinations, moving words to different positions and substituting synonyms with a different number of syllables until you arrive at million-dollar gems like:
Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.
The Ultimate Driving Experience
Don't just book it. Thomas Cook it.
About The Author: Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, which brainstorms catchy tag lines, company names and product names according to the client�s criteria. Download a free copy of �19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name, Product Name or Tag Line� at http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm .
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=957994
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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