Posted on 11/14/2005 5:50:52 PM PST by Cagey
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Make us a slogan we can't refuse, the state of New Jersey said. We got your slogan right here, the people replied.
A push to come up with a new slogan for the Garden State has become an excuse to crack New Jersey jokes. Among the not-so-serious entries:
"New Jersey: You Got a Problem With That?"
"NJ: How You Doin'?!"
"Most of Our Elected Officials Have Not Been Indicted."
The search yielded more than 4,000 possibilities in all, many of them attempts to sum up the land of Bruce Springsteen, "The Sopranos" and smelly interstates in one pithy phrase. The deadline for submissions was Monday.
The program began last month after acting Gov. Richard J. Codey rejected a consultant's recommendation -- "New Jersey: We'll Win You Over" -- as too negative. That slogan, developed as part of a $260,000 contract by global image consultants Lippincott Mercer, was shelved a day before it was to be unveiled.
Instead, the state opened the process to the public, establishing a Web site and telephone hot line to receive suggestions, which included the lyrical ("The Ocean, The Motion, The Magic") along with the satirical.
New Jersey, which once used "New Jersey and You: Perfect Together," has not had a new marketing slogan in four years. "Get Away, Without Going Far Away" has been used in the interim, but tourism officials say it does not resonate with out-of-staters.
"We have the opportunity to craft a new message for our tourist literature to reflect the pride we have in our many parks, open spaces, farmlands, quaint villages, boardwalks and beaches and our exciting cities," Codey implored would-be slogan writers on the Web site.
The governor and the state Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission will "pare down the suggestions and go from there," said Karen Wolfe, a commission spokeswoman.
The state's musical legacy -- Frank Sinatra called New Jersey home, Springsteen still does -- led one person to suggest "From Ol' Blue Eyes to the Boss: Jersey Is Singing Your Song." Another entry: "Born to Fun."
Others found New Jersey's reputation for mobsters, toxic waste sites and lowbrow taste fair game. "Bada Bing! Choose New Jersey" was one suggestion.
The campaign was run by the state, but newspaper columnists, talk radio and "Saturday Night Live" got into the spirit, too. "New Jersey: It Always Smells Like This," one Philadelphia Inquirer reader suggested. "New Jersey: Come Glow With Us," another said.
I don't subscribe to HBO. That whole channel is targeted to morons. Life is too short. But hey, it's probably right up your alley!
New Jersey, we suck like New York, just not as much.
New Jersey, You'll LOVE the corruption! New Jersey, At least we ain't Detroit!
"Where DemoCraps Lies
Are piled as high as the sky"
"Sure it sucks, but at least it ain't Philly!"
New Jersey; Home of worse stench in the country.
"If it smells like Bayonne, leave it alone..."
One characteristic of NJerians. They deny an aphorism right in front of them. Again: First in corruption, last in transparency, home to Tony. Says it all, Fact and Fiction.
That's your upper lip. Or else you're in Gary, Indiana.
Well, you're sure showing us the real face of Jersey. LOL
You are correct. New Jersey has lots of beautiful spots. We have beautiful autumns here. People need to explore it a little more. And there's lots of beauty in the Pine Barrens. But we do have an annoying habit of voting like idiots.
LOL You're taking this WAY too serious, Huck.
It's only a state of mind.
Another characteristic of NJerians is "reasoned discourse" that ends up sounding like sociability at BadaBing.
New Jersey: SCREW YOU!
I've yet to hear anyone describe Camden, NJ as "paradise".
NJ: You don't need a passport -- yet.
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