I was mildly shocked to read today that Burger King’s perfectly serviceable 40-year-old Have It Your Way tagline has been chucked in favor of Be Your Way. Turns out the old tagline actually has been retired for some time, apparently leaving the home of the Whopper taglineless for a while, which in the world of high powered fast food marketing is like arriving at the office half naked. Although, in the interest of full disclosure, I was reminded in re-reading the source article that there had, indeed, been an interim tagline: Taste is King.
Oh no! Shades of the creepy burger king!
The company (or whoever it is they hire to come up with these creative gems) claims the new tagline is more “hip” and will remind would-be customers how “they can and should live how they want anytime. It’s ok to not be perfect,” they note. “Self-expression is most important and it’s our differences that make us individuals instead of robots.”
Ick. Sounds like a forced paean to individualism, as if we have any trouble acting out our personal dramas here in the US of A anyway (and broadcasting them to the rest of the world on TV). So maybe they should get one of those vacuous young blonde baubles like Paris Hilton to be their on-camera spokes-star. The new tagline is not very memorable, either, whereas Have it Your Way rolls easily through the mind. I had to keep looking back at the article to recall what the new one was.
Be Your Way. Oh, yeah!
“We want to evolve from just being the functional side of things to having a much stronger emotional appeal,” says Fernando Machado, Burger King’s senior vice president of brand management. Since he’s relatively new on the job, I can imagine this guy driving by the local Burger King every day on the way to his old job with steam venting from his ears.
“I absolutely abhor that Burger King tagline!” he fumes to himself. “And one day I’m going to do something about it! Besides, that tagline may be older than I am …”
I forever wonder why some marketers change their taglines at all – G.E. for example. We Bring Good Things to Life is one of the best taglines ever invented. So is When It Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There Overnight – I think FedEx’s current tagline is Relax. It’s FedEx. Ugh.
Oh no! Shades of the creepy burger king!
The company (or whoever it is they hire to come up with these creative gems) claims the new tagline is more “hip” and will remind would-be customers how “they can and should live how they want anytime. It’s ok to not be perfect,” they note. “Self-expression is most important and it’s our differences that make us individuals instead of robots.”
Ick. Sounds like a forced paean to individualism, as if we have any trouble acting out our personal dramas here in the US of A anyway (and broadcasting them to the rest of the world on TV). So maybe they should get one of those vacuous young blonde baubles like Paris Hilton to be their on-camera spokes-star. The new tagline is not very memorable, either, whereas Have it Your Way rolls easily through the mind. I had to keep looking back at the article to recall what the new one was.
Be Your Way. Oh, yeah!
“We want to evolve from just being the functional side of things to having a much stronger emotional appeal,” says Fernando Machado, Burger King’s senior vice president of brand management. Since he’s relatively new on the job, I can imagine this guy driving by the local Burger King every day on the way to his old job with steam venting from his ears.
“I absolutely abhor that Burger King tagline!” he fumes to himself. “And one day I’m going to do something about it! Besides, that tagline may be older than I am …”
I forever wonder why some marketers change their taglines at all – G.E. for example. We Bring Good Things to Life is one of the best taglines ever invented. So is When It Absolutely, Positively Has to Be There Overnight – I think FedEx’s current tagline is Relax. It’s FedEx. Ugh.
So Why Bother With a New Tagline AT ALL?
Have It Your Way still works. It refers directly to the food you can buy, particularly the choices of toppings at your disposal (a product benefit) – as opposed, one would guess, to the Have It MY WAY offerings of Burger King’s competitors. The new tagline just goes off in space somewhere and is only a pale shadow of the slogan it replaces.
I think what bothers me most about the new Burger King tagline, however, is its artificial cool, its slithery attempt to fit into today’s social schema. Did the execs that finally signed off on the thing dance down the hallway in creative bliss when the Aha! moment hit them? Or did they slump in their chairs and sigh in collective relief that some decision -- any decision -- finally had been reached?
You decide.
TakeAway: If it ain’t broke, don’t bust a gut trying to fix it. And puleeze! Don’t try to be cool if you’re not.
Tags: tagline, taglines, Burger King, Have It Your Way, Be Your Way, G.E., FedEx
Content © by Brian Faulkner
I think what bothers me most about the new Burger King tagline, however, is its artificial cool, its slithery attempt to fit into today’s social schema. Did the execs that finally signed off on the thing dance down the hallway in creative bliss when the Aha! moment hit them? Or did they slump in their chairs and sigh in collective relief that some decision -- any decision -- finally had been reached?
You decide.
TakeAway: If it ain’t broke, don’t bust a gut trying to fix it. And puleeze! Don’t try to be cool if you’re not.
Tags: tagline, taglines, Burger King, Have It Your Way, Be Your Way, G.E., FedEx
Content © by Brian Faulkner
About Brian Faulkner:
Brian Faulkner is a Key Message expert. He helps clients come up with words to set their businesses, brands and products apart and attract the customers they want most. His strategic insights, and the words that go with them, have made a significant, often immediate difference for clients over many years. He thrives on strategic communication problem solving, complex subjects, new ideas, concepts-as-products, challenging marketing situations and demanding deadlines. His "sweet spot" is smaller to moderate sized consumer products, retail, service and manufacturing companies that may have struggled to find just the right words to position their business, brands or products to competitive advantage.
Brian also is a three-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer and narrator of UNC-TV’s popular Our State magazine series, on the air since 2003.
Brian also is a three-time Emmy award winning Public Television writer and narrator of UNC-TV’s popular Our State magazine series, on the air since 2003.
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