Humor is great when the situation calls, but power is compelling. I love a commercial so powerful it doesn’t need words. Nike is great at this and here’s another excellent example. Plus, Adrian Peterson is an absolute monster. Hats off to Nike for another epic TV spot.

As of late, the necessity of a good tagline seems to be up for debate. It’s true, taglines are a dime a dozen, however, a GREAT tagline is rare, refreshing, and powerful.

As stated by Jim Morris in a guest post on The Marketing Spot, even the advertising industry’s brightest minds are denouncing the tagline as an irrelevant part of a marketing campaign or brand image. It saddens me to see that Luke Sullivan, the man who literally wrote the book on copywriting, is expressing his own disinterest in the once powerful tagline. While I look up to Mr. Sullivan, twice purchased his book Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, and refer back to it often, I disagree with him on this issue.

A tagline that captures the essence of your brand in a few words or less is both powerful and invaluable. Value is sometimes attributed to availability. If something is common, it’s not highly priced, but being rare increases its value. This is true with taglines. You probably see taglines on t-shirts, commercials, and products that use the same tired clichés you’ve become immune to and I completely understand. I see taglines all the time that just don’t do it. I understand that some taglines are simply there. They aren’t special, they don’t create any kind of interest, and they’re just bland. But every so often, you come across a rare tagline that grabs you. One that sums up the brand it represents and wraps it up into a sentence or less. Those are the GOOD taglines. Some are GREAT taglines.

An advocate of the tagline is author Steve Cone, chief marketing officer at Epsilon. Cone has written two popular marketing books: Steal These Ideas and Powerlines. In Powerlines, Cone urges us to bring back the tagline and help return it to its glory days. Personally, I’m all for it and I bought the book.

Andy Beaupre believes taglines are more important than ever, and my thinking is in line with his. Taglines need a resurgence. I believe in a good, creative tagline. It’s amazing how the right tagline can represent a brand precisely and stand out amongst the crowd and clutter. They are strong, intriguing, and memorable. So, what say you? Do you see it as a thing of the past or do you respect the role a powerful tagline can play? What are some of your favorite taglines?