‘Honest Slogans’ project dares brands to face some difficult truths

Published October 23, 2013 at 12:46 pm

Can you imagine a world in which brands had truly honest slogans? Clif Dickens, a freelance graphic designer from Nashville, Tennessee, can. In fact, he has embarked on a project to do just that.

Aptly titled “Honest Slogans,” Clif’s Tumblr features images of recognizable brands whose true values and services aren’t all accurately represented by traditional and web based marketing efforts. For example, his revamped Best Buy tagline is “Try it out before buying it on Amazon,” and he appears to have uncovered a pain point among FedEx consumers with the slogan “It’s probably broken.”

Clif has been applying his snarky treatment to popular brands since December 2011, but he recently received a lot of attention when his project was picked up by influential marketing industry websites like AdWeek and Branding Magazine.

Although his blog is admittedly a bit harsh at times, he does bring up an important point about honesty and integrity, reminding brands that if they wish to be perceived well by consumers, their products and services have to live up to people’s expectations. You could have the best marketing campaign in the world, but none of that will matter if consumers are unsatisfied with what you’re selling.

“The hard truth is that the way we want to be seen is often incongruent with how we’re actually seen,” states Upstart Business Journal, an online resource for entrepreneurs. “It’s the same with companies. Sometimes we have an internal understanding of who we are that doesn’t match how our customers see us.”

Can you see your brand ending up on Clif’s Tumblr? If so, it may be time to make some changes.