Posted on 10/17/2002 1:21:55 PM PDT by InvisibleChurch
No good words for state's new slogan
by Joe Battenfeld Thursday, October 17, 2002
Spurning hundreds of free public suggestions for a new state slogan, tourism officials have settled on an idea created by their $300,000 advertising firm - but it's already getting panned.
The new slogan - ``Massachusetts . . . Make it Yours'' - was unveiled this week to a group of less-than-impressed tourism leaders, who say they were hoping for an exciting new catchphrase to help revitalize the state's slumping hospitality industry.
``I was a little disappointed we couldn't have picked one that came from the (public),'' said Sheila Martines Pina, chair of the Regional Tourism Councils. ``I was surprised it came from the state advertising agency.''
The state's Office of Travel and Tourism held a heavily hyped contest this summer, asking the public to submit ideas for a ``concise and memorable'' slogan to help draw tourists to the Bay State.
Lured by a promised reward of a free weekend vacation to the winning contestants, more than 400 people sent e-mail responses to a special Web site set up to handle the contest.
Among the ideas were a number with patriotic themes, including ``Massachusetts: Where Freedom Begins,'' and others, such as, ``Mass. Is Magic'' and ``Come Share the Common Wealth.''
But officials apparently were not satisfied with any of them.
Swift administration sources say Paul J. Sacco, the new director of Travel and Tourism, decided to go with the ``Make it Yours'' slogan created by the agency's ad firm, CGN Marketing and Creative Services.
The Travel and Tourism office unveiled the slogan to local tourism officials this week, but the reaction was lukewarm, sources said.
Tourism leaders said the new slogan is especially important because of the devastating impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
``There's general disappointment. The consensus is that with the industry in crisis, you had to be a little more creative,'' an administration source said. ``A lot of people were looking forward to a new campaign to ramp up business.''
Sacco is on vacation and could not be reached for comment. His spokesperson also could not be reached.
A few months ago, Sacco touted the slogan contest as a huge success.
``We're getting tons of ideas,'' Socco told the Herald at the time, ``And it's nice to see people are into it.''
Officials are describing the new slogan as a ``composite'' of ideas submitted by the public, but Pina said state tourism officials acknowledged that CGN came up with the phrase ``Make it Yours.'' CGN is paid a $300,000 retainer by the Travel and Tourism office.
``They did tell us it was suggested by the advertising agency,'' she said.
A spokesman for acting Gov. Jane M. Swift said yesterday she is not aware of the new slogan. Sacco told tourism leaders this week that Swift was expected to unveil the phrase in the next few weeks.
Massachusetts has gone through a series of slogans over the past several decades, and ``this one doesn't have any bite either,'' an administration source said.
The last slogan, ``The Spirit of Massachusetts is the Spirit of America,'' was used in ads, T-shirts and brochures in the 1990s, and was generally popular with the tourism industry. But state officials rejected it as too wordy.
Pina said hotel, restaurant and travel owners were looking for a slogan that can catch fire with the public, similar to the ``I Love New York'' and ``Virginia is for Lovers'' themes used in ad campaigns for those states.
She said she's also concerned that the state may be wasting money on the new ``Make it Yours'' slogan, considering that there will be a new governor in January. It's even unclear whether Swift will approve of the new catchphrase.
``I would hate to see us sink money in a slogan that either Shannon O'Brien or Mitt Romney wouldn't sign onto,'' Pina said.
Massachusetts...Get Banned in Boston
by Howie Carr Friday, October 18, 2002
Budget crisis? What state budget crisis?
Now the commonwealth spends $300,000 on an advertising firm that comes up with a state slogan which isn't half as good as any of the joke slogans that we all came up with two months ago, and on top of that, it's half-plagiarized from an old slogan.
The new slogan: ``Massachusetts . . . Make It Yours.''
The old slogan: ``Make It in Massachusetts.''
I'm telling you, Doris Kearns Goodwin and the late Stephen Ambrose got into trouble for much less obvious lifting of other people's work than that.
When the ``Make It Yours'' slogan came in, the chairman of the Regional Tourism Councils, Sheila Martines Pina, should have thrown it into a car trunk, locked it up and forgotten about it, if you know what I mean.
If you're going to go with a slogan as lame as ``Make It Yours,'' at least someone at the agency could have added a distinctive Bay State flavor, a tip o' the hat, you might say, to our larcenous past, not to mention present.
Massachusetts . . . Make It Yours. Nobody's Looking.
Massachusetts . . . Make It Yours. The Surveillance Camera's Broken.
Ted Kennedy's suggestion: Massachusetts - Make It a Double.
Shannon O'Brien offered a couple of new mottos too, the first of which was Lobbyists Make Better Lovers.
Two other O'Brien favorites: Massachusetts - Land of the Missing Scratch Tickets; Massachusetts - The Adam and Steve State.
As for our outgoing governor, Jane Swift, she too wanted a personal slogan for the state license plate: Ask Me About Our Pardons.
Befitting Swifty's status, how about The Lame Duck State? A few more slogans to commemorate Jane Swift's very ethical administration:
Massachusetts - The Cash 'n' Carry State.
Massachusetts - Lost Our Lease. Everything Must Go. We Will Not Be Undersold.
Have chopper, will travel.
If the commonwealth really feels obligated to retain ``Make It'' in the slogan, how about using it in a bow to our famously rude population, always willing to lend a helping hand.
Massachusetts - Make It Quick.
Massachusetts - Make Like a Tree and Leave.
Really, though, this proposed new slogan is embarrassingly feeble. It's so easy to come up with something that's, well, less bad.
Massachusetts - Sodom and Begorrah. Death Pits 'R' Us. The Welfare State. Land o' Geoghan and Shanley.
Massachusetts - One Million Illegal Aliens Can't Be Wrong.
Just a couple of months ago, we came up with dozens of better suggestions. Here are just a few that I remember from the summer, mixed in with some new ones:
Minnesota used to call itself the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Massachusetts - Land of 10,000 Tolls, or Land of Enchanted Tollbooths.
If You Have a Friend in Pennsylvania, then You Have a Comrade in Massachusetts.
Virginia is for Lovers, Massachusetts is for Tax Lovers. California is the Golden State, we are the Goldbrick State. Louisiana is Sportsman's Paradise, we are Pervert Priests' Paradise.
So many topics to pack into a handful of syllables. The highest cigarette tax in the nation. The Big Dig boondoggle. Corrupt FBI agents. Day-care centers at high schools. Ted Kennedy. Joe Kennedy. Joan Kennedy. Max Kennedy . . . where do you begin?
Massachusetts - Press 2 for English.
Massachusetts - If You Lived Here, You'd be Homeless.
Massachusetts - Your Buck Stops Here.
The Bay State - Come Pay with Us.
Best to stick with very current events, so how about a commemoration of last week's vote by our congressional delegation on the Iraqi resolution?
Massachusetts - The Surrender State.
Logan Airport. If It's Good Enough for Mohammed Atta, It's Good Enough for You.
What a place. Massachusetts - Go Ahead, Make My Day.
Kennedy, Kerry, Frank, Olver and the rest are elected year after year... WHY!!?
My take is that the state has millions of people who benifit from state/union contracts and millions more on the dole.
Throw in the gub'ment hacks, gays and “alts” and the dems win all the time. Pure lunacy.
"IT" is, of course, other peoples' STUFF!
That's exactly what I did...
"Massachusetts: 178,569 state emplyees; 15 last names."
That is true, i should think about living in NH, and get away from Ma!
not everyone waits 3 years to respond to a post ... good job
At least I'm not the no-life who signed up to revive it.
Massachusetts, A blond in every pond.
And not everyone posts to their own thread three years after they start it. This thread is so old that when you started it, we didn't have taglines.
Which means, in the grander scheme of things .. not much, I guess. :)
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