Wednesday, March 02, 2011

The Warsaw Slogan Challenge

As a teacher I am very lucky. I get the chance to interact with many varied and different people. I get to learn about them, to teach them, to challenge them and to let them challenge me. I have recently tried many varied questions across my audience. Such as Warsaw's Top places for out of towner visitors, you can see them here #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10. I also have tried a little less successfully a campaign (which I will renew this year), about what Polish people eat.

So, from the many topics of recent times, we have discussed holidays and the relative attraction and means of attraction of cities. Locations such as London, Paris, Barcelona don't actually need as much advertising as many smaller cities, as in most cases these big cities are advertised through TV shows and big Hollywood movies, even if, unfortunately, some of these movies are Woody Allen's. Warsaw itself has also been the star of a big Hollywood movie, alas, the movie wasn't about the new modern Warsaw, but the old one destroyed after WWII. The Pianist was the movie, it was very interesting and quite cinematic.

With this all as a topic we, meaning me, decided to talk about slogans and so I set the students a challenge about coming up with a slogan for Warsaw. At present, it is the relatively bland and uninspiring "Fall in Love With Warsaw", don't get me wrong, Warsaw isn't alone in bad tourism campaigns. Australia recently had a tragic "Where the Bloody Hell Are You?" slogan which was so poorly thought out, that it was actually banned in a number of countries.
I was hoping for us to come up with a great new slogan and that it will catch on.

Some other examples of bad slogans are:
Panama: It will never leave you
Colombia: The Only Risk Is Wanting to Stay.
Albania: A New Mediterranean to Love.

But some good ones were:
"I love New York" later "I ♥NY"
Montenegro: Wild Beauty
New Zealand: 100% Pure
Switzerland: Get Natural
Belize: Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret
Costa Rica: No Artificial Ingredients

So I have set the challenge and now the team will display their huge creative, but not collective, genius.

3 comments:

Pan Steeva said...

Almost impossible, although for an international audience I do like your "The Warsaw I saw was not an eyesore".

However: "The Phoenix has Arisen: Warsaw"; "I came, I saw, Warsaw"; or "Warsaw offers more than Freedom".

Gee Em said...

Steve I think I should get a direct link from you to Hania with these ones. I really like the I came, I saw, Warsaw. That is brilliant. I was going to put the students offerings up this weekend but I am in the "far east" Podlaskie, and forgot to pick up all their brilliant work. So students if you read this. Sorry. :(

Gee Em said...
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