THE NAME GAME

Call It What You Want

By Randy Harward, 2-15-06

How would you describe Utah's "emotional core?" That is to say, given the opportunity, what would you suggest as a new state slogan--er, "tourism brand?" This Deseret Morning News piece says it should be pithy, three to five words, and really encapsulate Utah's "emotional core." This, because it has to somehow convince a lotta people to spend a lotta money here (according to the piece, the Utah Office of Tourism and Film is thinking in the tens of millions of dollars). It was the UOTF and local ad agency W Communications that came up with the emotional core garbage. Supposedly, Utah's emo-core would be composed of the "look..., soul..., and sound of Utah."

Our current slogan is "Utah! Where Ideas Connect." We have Smilin' Mikey Leavitt to thank for that one. But frankly, although our state has its share of thinkers and innovators, it's more known for laws and beliefs that lead people to wonder about the connections in our brains. As well, the famously corny "A Pretty, Great State" was simple (in both the good and bad way). While it accurately and plainly referenced the scenic grandeur of our state, it also captured the aw-shucks, golly-gee, wholesome aspect of Utah. And by wholesome, I mean Mormon. Everybody, even the LDS Church (especially during the Olympics--remember that ridiculous PR tome What Is Mormonism All About?"), is trying to shake the reputation as the western United States' token tightass. D-News piece ">UOTF director Leigh von der Esch even made the silly assertion that "Utah is more about attitude..." in a recent D-News piece about the delayed new slogan launch. (Whatever it was, and they haven't said, it was deemed too similar to the Colorado Ski Association's "Enter a Higher State." Too bad. That would've been a good one.)

So back to the emotional core, whatever that is. Defining such a thing is next to impossible (obviously). Just like neither of the last two slogans really encapsulated the spirit of Utah, neither did crap like "The Greatest Snow on Earth," "Ski Utah," "Utah, the Friendly State," and "Utah, Land of Color." The only one that even got close was "Utah, the Unique." And that probably opened up a helluva can of worms; explaining exactly what makes Utah unique must've been an ad exec's nightmare.

Really, it's only advertising. Ad agencies don't really care about accurately conveying anyone's emotional core. For a price, they create one--even for the most one-dimensional clients. Which is funny--Utah is both one-dimensional and wildly multi-faceted; it can't be easy to sum us up in three to five words. So it's another ad exec's nightmare. Except, again, it's just advertising. They'll come up with something as asinine and general (or narrow in focus) and empty as anything we've already used. And since it's advertising, it doesn't mean shit.

Unless, of course, you take the Crazy People approach of brutal truth. Volvos are boxy. The Freak will "fuck you up for life." Utah Is Weird.

Hey, that might just be crazy enough to work. And it kinda sums up all of the below.

- Live Clean or Die (I call merchandising rights on this one!)
- This Be the Place (Urban is, I mean be, hot right now.)
- Join Us!
- Diversity?
- Home (of the) Mo's
- Church and State
- How the Fetch Are Ya?
- The Mo-Me State
- No Gay Chicks
- The Big Snapple
- It's All True
- We Built This City
- Freakshow on the Dance Floor
- We're Here, We're Weird
- Brought To You By A Generous Grant From the Eccles Foundation (Or IHC. Or O.C. Tanner.)
- 2 Tacos $1
- Big Mac Monday and Family Home Evening: Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together
- Locale With Cheese
- Enjoy Utah's Mildlife
- Saving You From Yourselves (and Ourselves from You) Since 1869
- Mormon Commons
- You Want Nevada. It's 114 Miles West.
- Home Of Carmen Rasmusen
- City of Motherly Love
- Quixtar Country
- Stepford Ain't Shit
- Seriously--You Can Drink Here
- Not Alabama
- Not As Bad As We Look
- Come On--We Have A Castle Downtown
- Insulated!
- Stockton-to-Malone Utah
- Mountains! Meadows! Massacres!
- We're Not Pills, We Take Them
- Fireworks Stand-,Gambling-, High-Point Beer-, and Adult Bookstore-Adjacent!
- Mo' Mo' than Motown

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