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| Q. |
Why
is it difficult to interest a company in my slogan
idea? |
| A. |
1. Brands
typically have long-term marketing communications
strategies in place. They don't want to rock the
boat by introducing a new slogan out of the blue.
2. There have been cases where a
member of the public complains that they sent in
an idea which was not accepted and some time later
found it forming the basis of a campaign, with lawsuits
and all that sort of thing following. For this reason
many companies refuse to even look at unsolicited
submissions. |
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| Q. |
How
can I turn unsolicited into solicited? |
| A. |
Write
to the Advertising Director (at the advertiser)
or the Creative Director (at the agency) asking
what you need to do to submit an idea for their
consideration.
Expect to be rejected. There's a
lot of NIH around (Not Invented Here). |
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|
| Q. |
When
is the most likely time for a new slogan to be required? |
| A. |
During
the new business phase -- typically when a new agency
is pitching for the account, or has just won it,
or the existing agency is being reviewed.
To understand the logic of slogan
development, read the section 'The
Evolution of an Advertising Slogan' |
|
 |
More Information: 'The
Evolution of an Advertising Slogan' |
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| Q. |
How
can I find out about which agencies are pitching
for new business? |
| A. |
Read Campaign
(UK), Adweek
(USA) or Advertising
Age (USA) (weekly magazines and websites) or Arrange
to get free daily industry newsletters. |
|
|
More Information: Subscribe
to Advertising
News. Send a blank e-mail to: on-index_advertising_d@e.moreover.com |
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| Q. |
How
can I find out which agencies are handling which
brands? |
| A. |
Refer to The
Advertisers' Annual (UK). |
|
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More Information: Advertisers'
Annual. |
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| Q. |
How
can I make my slogan better? |
| A. |
To understand how slogans
work, read our article 'The
Art & Science of the Advertising Slogan'. |
|
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More Information: Article. |
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|
| Q. |
Can
I copyright my slogan idea? |
| A. |
Slogans cannot be 'copyrighted'.
Neither can ideas. |
|
|
More Information: Copyright
(UK). |
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|
|
More Information: Copyright
(USA). |
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| Q. |
What
about registering it as a trademark? |
| A. |
The trademark registration
process is lengthy and expensive. To understand about
UK trademark registration, see our Wise Words article
No 6 'Registering Slogans
As Trade Marks', or read the government Patent
Office notes:
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|
|
More Information: Wise
Words Article. |
|
|
| Q. |
What
sorts of lines can and cannot be registered as a
trademark? |
| A. |
A line incorporating a
brand name that is in itself a registered trademark
is likely to be registrable, eg 'Heineken refreshes
the parts other beers cannot reach', or 'Beanz Meanz
Heinz', or 'Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it'.
You won't be able to obtain any exclusivity
to a line that could work just as well for another
brand, eg: 'The natural choice', 'Simply the best',
'Our people make the difference', 'Excellence through
total quality'.
Usually TM registrations of these
lines refer more to the depiction of the words (eg,
layout, typography, colouring) rather than the actual
words themselves. In fact there is usually a statement
on the registration document asserting 'no exclusive
rights' to the use of the words 'Simply the best',
or whatever.
For proper legal advice please talk
to an intellectual property lawyer. |
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|
| Q. |
Isn't
there some way I can protect myself from being ripped
off? |
| A. |
A good way to protect
a line is to send yourself a sealed registered letter
giving the details. Do not open this until you need
to demonstrate your date of origination. |
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| Q. |
But
I like writing slogans. What else can I do? |
| A. |
If you're really into
creating slogans, get a job at an ad agency as a copywriter.
See the text of Getting
Into Advertising, which is available online from
the UK Advertising
Association.
Or become a comper and enter contests.
Some people make a living that way. See loquax.co.uk. |
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More Information: Getting
Into Advertising. |
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