Blue, blue, blue

Words: they’re everywhere. They’re blaring from TVs, pouring out of radios, glowing on computer screens, and even sitting as ink on an ancient medium known as “paper.” I’ve read accounts that claimed that Americans were, on average, consuming over 13 hours a day of media.

Is that an accurate number? No idea. But it’s still a reminder that it’s hard to craft a message that punches through all the clutter. Saipan isn’t aloof from that reality.

Anyway, this isn’t really a new situation. It’s as old as mass media itself.

I like to reflect on some of the old-school efforts that punched through the clutter and into the memories of the public. There are nuggets of wisdom to mine from this stuff.

I’m going from pure memory on this because these examples are, indeed, so very memorable. Here’s what I recall:

– ‘Βlue, blue, blue’

This isn’t really old school, but it’s hometown so it gets special bonus points.

I first encountered this in 1997, so it must have been pretty fresh at the time. It came from a CNMI tourism TV ad that was crafted for the Japanese market. The ad showcased Saipan’s beautiful scenery.

The ad’s slogan was: “Blue, blue, blue.” It must have been memorable to tourists, since I sometimes heard them saying those words when I’d fly helicopter air tours around Saipan.

As I recall, the ad was created by the I&S advertising agency in Tokyo. I had a copy of it on tape. I’ve since lost it. If anyone can scare up a copy to give me, I’d sure like to have it.

And now we move to the truly old school days, and most, if not all, of the following comes from the ’70s:

– ‘You deserve a break today.’

The TV jingle went like this: “You deserve a break today, so get up and get away to McDonald’s.” That ditty must be four decades old and it still has hooks in my brain.

– ‘Have it your way!’

In the burger industry, McDonald’s had an arch rival in Burger King.

Burger King came on strong with TV spots that featured a friendly, happy lady as a Burger King worker. The ads open with a slice-of-life angle: the worker is taking orders from customers who have special requests for how their burgers are made. Oh, did I mention that the worker is friendly and happy?

In fact, mere speech can’t contain her enthusiasm. She soon breaks into song: “Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us, all we ask is that you let us serve it your way.”

The concept worked its way into common speech. Your boss might growl at you, “This ain’t Burger King, pal. You can’t have it your way.”

– ‘Everybody doesn’t like something, but nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.’

This jingle, for the Sarah Lee brand of frozen desserts, is one of the most elegant sentences in the English language. It’s clever. It’s fun. It’s memorable.

I’ve forgotten a lot of things, but I never have not remembered this phrase.

– ‘The few. The proud. The Marines.’

This recruiting slogan is just six words, but there is a dignity to this phrase that stands tall.

– ‘Datsun Saves.’

I’ve written about this before because this example is so impressive. These two little words, “Datsun Saves,” were featured on TV and in print ads. They served as the tip of a spear that punched through the auto industry’s weighty pile of blah-blah-blah.

You’re familiar with Nissan, the Japanese car maker. Back in the day their U.S. badge was “Datsun.” In the early- to mid-’70s, as Japanese cars were trying to get established in the U.S. market, high gas prices and other economic problems were putting the squeeze on the nation’s drivers.

Datsun made the right pitch at the right time to the right people for the right cars.

I have more entries on my list, but I’m out of space. Maybe we’ll pick up the trail some other time.

In the meantime, you’ve got 13 more hours of media to consume today, so I’d better let you get going. Me, I’m going to grab a burger. Something tells me I deserve it.

Visit Ed Stephens Jr. at EdStephensJr.com. His column runs every Friday.