Time's Up

With enough repetition, an old advertising slogan can become a source of comfort. Campbell Soup? Why, it's mmm, mmm, good. Oops. Did you accidentally spill that soup and need to catch the drip before it hits the floor. No problem. Reach for that Bounty paper towel, since it's the quicker picker upper. And don't forget to finish that cup of Maxwell House Coffee, since, of course, it's good to the last drop.

For twenty years, we could take comfort that if we reached into our wallet and produced a Visa card, we knew it would be accepted, since it's everywhere you want to be. But when the Olympics start in the next few days, this old tagline will be permanently retired, uncermoniously replaced with a new slogan, "Life takes Visa."

The folks from Visa say the old tagline no longer reflects the broad spectrum of credit cards services they now offer, such as commercial credit cards and high tech cards that carry radio frequencies. The real reason might lie closer to the fact that Visa recently dumped its old ad agency, BBDO, and replaced it with TBWA\Chiat\Day, which of course wishes to establish its own identify for its new client.

The old tag line carries a lot of brand equity. You would think that Visa and TBWA spent a lot of time studying the ramifications of their decision, and conducted hours and hours of research to make sure they came up with the right substitute.

Adweek must have had the same thought in mind. It asked Visa Chief Marketing Officer Susanne Lyons to describe the decision making process. Here's what she said, according to the magazine:

"The 'Life takes Visa' tag was chosen by TBWA\C\D creative chief Lee Clow," Lyons said. "He walked into a room in his sandals and shorts where we had hundreds of taglines posted all over. He pointed to 'Life takes Visa' and said, 'That's a good one.'"

I can only wish Visa and TBWA\C\D a lot of luck. Ingrained messages can be difficult to dislodge. When the good people of Boston finally tore down the Boston Garden, and replaced it with a new arena, Fleet Bank bought the naming rights, and called the building the Fleet Center. Folks in Boston still kept calling it the GAHDEN anyway, which may be why when Fleet merged with Bank of America, and the naming rights became available to the highest bidder, TD Banknorth showed the good sense of calling the place the TD Banknorth Garden.

All things must pass eventually. For instance, last month, Western Union finally retired the telegram, a communications fixture for more than 150 years, after sending out only 20,000 of these hand delivered messages last year. It will focus its attention on the more lucrative money transfer business instead.

Western Union will retain its old tagline, though. It's still the fastest way to send money. If Visa's new slogan works, customers will continue to rely on the card as the fastest way to spend money.