The Handbook of Slogans Paperback – September 7, 2012

I was really looking forward to discovering what brought about the famous (and in some cases infamous) company slogans, but I was left disappointed.The title of the book says "the world's most popular slogans" - this, however, is misleading as some of the slogans are hardly what I would have called the "most popular". In fact I sat there thinking "but what about ..."This book was produced by a "Harvard Visiting Professor" and I have to question whether Harvard accept the sort of see "internet page www dot whatever dot com" in their essays instead of demonstrating an understanding of the subject matter. I know in the institutions that I lecture at such laziness would be returned to the student with a fail.I remember doing marketing/advertising ploys and tag lines as part of my social psychology units and never once did the lecturer say "look it up" because I can't be bothered to explain it to you.To be perfectly honest I can't see me using this as anything more than an index, if that. It is one of the poorest, if not the poorest, examples of this type of text and there are so many better ones out there were the author hasn't just looked at the website and cited it but has actually done the research, perform the necessary understanding of the subject and then explained to the reader what they have found. I am sorry to say that this is one of those books that will go to the bottom of the box and will be very rarely brought out again.This was such a missed opportunity.

Why would anyone compile a book of advertising slogans, rating them as two star (the top 1% of the bunch) one star (the next 6%) and listing all in alphabetical order of company?Still more, why would anyone buy such a book? Well, I can only say that as a "dipper" it's irresistable. There are so many reminders of the advertisments of the past, those punchy one liners that fix a brand in your head and sometimes can recall a time, a place, an era as strongly as an aroma (or a dipped madeleine biscuit?)Of the slogans here, there do seem to be a preponderance of Stateside slogans (my opinion) and it's notable (given the modern attitude towards cigarettes) that although there are some tobacco slogans there there are nothing like as many as one might expect. I recall the one that sparked off a Country song "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed"... ah me, "Craven A - for your throats sake" "Lucky Strike - it's toasted"... likewise beer slogans like "Trophy bitter - The Pint That Thinks Its A Quart" and some from the past like "This is carpet you can afford from Cyril Lord" "Rael-Brook Poplin, the Shirt You Don't Iron" "SR toothpaste cool like a mountain stream" (opened ITV, that one)Have we forgotten the "Too Good To Hurry Mints"? Still, they are from the past - as is "The Pause That Refreshes" albeit that come from the big US firm that urges us these days to "Open Happiness"Darn, I could go on and on and on and that is why this book will appeal to those who like to be able to look up slogans by Subject (alphabetical order, subdivided by company in alphabetical order) and then look up companies in alphabetical order (even the Automobile Association) to see the stories behind the slogans.....Incidentally the AA slogan is "For The Road Ahead" - but do you recall when they called themselves "The Fourth Emergency Service"? (Fire..Police..Ambulance all by dialling 999, then the AA) this caused a number of wrong answers to the exam question "What is the Fourth Emergency Service?" - it's the Coastguard, by the way!I like this book and if you are as weird as me, sorry, as I, you will too.

There are all manner of lessons in advertising and stories that are interesting even for the lay reader. Hamlet ran a successful campaign, 'Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet' in which the individual lights the cigar and it dispels their woes. However, years previously Strand cigarettes ran a not dissimilar campaign 'You are never alone with a Strand' which was a disaster because, it is thought, people associated the cigarette with loneliness and the brand folded. Such subtleties underlie a lot of buying habits.I thought this 'Handbook' might have more such lessons but it appears to be no more than a series of lists of slogans set out by product and based on the author's ratings. There is also a section (Slogan Stories) that provides a brief description of various companies' campaigns and some facts. I gather that the music to the AA's recent campaign is 'Flight of the Bumble Bee' to emphasise their speed of response (really? and not also because their colours are black and yellow?). The Hamlet and Strand stories are not there and there seem to be few other parables, just mostly facts and star ratings (which seem to be a matter of the author's own preference).I will file this book along with the 'Handbook of Web Addresses' I bought when the Internet first started and I am likely to refer to it just as frequently. I was not content with this compilation and struggled to understand the benefit it is meant to deliver.

"The Handbook of Slogans" is split into two parts and has proved useful on more than one level.The first part are the Slogans themselves, set out by types of manufacturing and products all listed alphabetically, 60 types are listed including:Antiques, cars and bikes, clothing, computing, electronics, entertainment, financial services, family, food and drink, furniture, gardening, healthcare, hotels, jewellery and watches, pets, photography, software, sports, toys and games, to name but a few. The extensive selection of slogans listed are often well known and always catchy.The second part actually tells the story behind many of the slogans used by larger well known companies such as: AA, Amazon, AXA, Baileys, Barclays, BBC, Boots, BP, Cadbury, Coca Cola, Guiness, Heinz, Ikea, LloydsTSB, Nike, Rolex, Sony, Tesco, Vodafone and many more.I enjoy entering Slogan Competitions and I have found that not only is "The Handbook of Slogans" very interesting to read, but it is also proving invaluable in giving me some really good ideas for Slogans (no copying of course!)So to sum up ... great book and useful too.

I was perturbed and disappointed when on opening the book, I was confronted with several pages of lists of slogans (the author's favourites no less) and then several tables of companies organised by field of operations and their slogans. However on taking the time to read through them, you can appreciate the wit if you have some knowledge of the company.It all became much more palatable in part 2 where the stories behind 61 of the slogans are portrayed very thoroughly. (Professor Lionel Salem is a quantum chemist at University of Paris-Sud, but the blurb disingenuously ignores the French connection and true occupation. Prof Salem does provide a hint in the L'Oreal passage). There are passages which belie the likelihood that the author loves his advertisements as well- where he summarises various ads with salient details relating to the slogan. There are lovely vignettes about actual people who have interacted with the company one way or another. This was highly readable.Its a great little book to peruse at your leisure.