Atlanta, Where Half-assed is the Norm!
“Atlanta, Where Everyday is Opening Day“. From the thinkers that brought you that acclaimed mascot ‘Whatizzit’ comes the newest fiasco from the city too busy to do it right! It’s the new city slogan, and quite frankly, we’ve been duped! Hornswaggled! Lied Too! Cheated! and other big words than end in ‘ed! I like the three ‘O’s better.
Why didn’t they use the tried and true method? Rather than paying thousands of dollars to a corporate communications firm, just have school kids think up slogans and put them to a vote! At least then you’d know you had creative people working on the project and via election you’d have had a public buy in. Heck! You might have seen more than 7% of the residents turn out for the election!
Oh well, it’s heartening to know that we’ll spend $1,000,000.00 for another new slogan in three years.
November 11th, 2005 at 8:15 am
Leave it to Atlanta to turn sprawl into a slogan.
It’s kind of like making smoky-flavored lemonade from lemons.
November 11th, 2005 at 9:47 am
Gah! I read about that this morning. Why even bother? They’re better off without a slogan if that’s all they’re going to come up with.
November 11th, 2005 at 10:06 am
I understand the desire to have a new slogan, but whatever company was paid to do this did a poor job. I refuse to believe that this was the best they came up with. Everyone I have told the slogan to has responded with “what?”
November 11th, 2005 at 2:29 pm
Slogans are rarely all that great by themselves; it’s the way they’re used in TV spots, magazine ads, etc. that matters. Think about it: “I love New York” was utterly banal as a slogan, but the overall campaign was well done.
Also, when you look around, this does seem to be a place where something good is opening every week: the High Museum’s expansion, Glenwood Park, Atlantic Station, the aquarium, new galleries in Castleberry Hill, and new restaurants everywhere. There are few cities anywhere in which people are as likely to open a business, a theater company, a new museum, a new charitable foundation………..and with a full complement of sports teams, there usually IS an opening day around the corner!
November 11th, 2005 at 2:57 pm
Maybe,it’s not as much as what is being said(or sung) as who is doing the saying.And to whom.According to an article in next week’s Atlanta Business Chronicle,the 18-34 demographic is the prime target for marketing of the City.maybe ,older, suburban and “tradional music types” are feeling a little left out.
That being said;it appears that there was creative tension during the process of developing the slogan and good sense lost.
November 15th, 2005 at 8:33 pm
I like my slogan idea, Atlanta - Strip City. Glenwood Park and Atlantic station are both hopelessly lame. They’re nothing but crappy suburban big box retailers disguised as “new urbanism.” Maybe the slogan Atlanta, Where Half-Assed is the Norm does fit the city well.
November 15th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
Smoove, have you been to Glenwood Park? It’s a heck of a lot different from Atlantic Station in a lot of ways. Not to defend Brewer’s development, but as long as you’re going to criticize it, do so for the right reasons.
I spent a brief visit there where I took a few photos that about summed up my impressions. The scale is much smaller than Atlantic Station, the people living there right now have way too much money (I’m making this judgment based on the cars they drive), the businesses it attracts are not your typical “mall stores” that you can find in Atlantic Station, but so far they’re not open at what should be peak hours for their businesses.
They are both true-blue New Urbanist developments in their own rights, though. There are a few problems with New Urbanism, even if it is generally a much better alternative to sprawl. New Urbanism is not the “traditional” urbanism that Andres Duany claims it is in his book, “Suburban Nation.” It’s much closer in style to traditional neighborhoods than sprawl, but the buildout of huge neighborhoods at a time is more a way to lure in the suburban developers to bring their money back to the cities.
November 24th, 2005 at 3:03 pm
“TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS” sure has a nice ring to it.
Chad
November 25th, 2005 at 4:16 pm
In the final analysis, letting Atlanta school kids write the slogan would at least exercise their brains cells to some degree, in classrooms that are not particularly acclaimed for exercising their brain cells.
Atlanta is a great, great, great, great, great, great city, but let’s be forthright and honest here:
Atlanta educational test scores are generally at the bottom rung of the latter.
Let’s just not drop our jaws, and be toooo surprised if:
“DESE DEM AND DOSE” becomes the kid’s slogan.
On the other hand, “DESE DEM AND DOSE” has brilliant overtones and implications.
1. “DESE”– Too many Atlanta school kids are receiving D’s on their report cards.
2. “DEM” –Atlanta is city of DEM’S ( Democrats ) and proudly so. Dem’s are progressive. Is the image of a Republican progressive? No!
Atlanta is Democrat territory, and to all you “W” Republicans: “GET OUT.” Cobb County may welcome you with open arms, but don’t be surprised if Atlantan’s are less than welcoming to you.
3. “DOSE”–DOSE refers to “DOSE” Republicans. Yes, “DOSE” Republicans that gave us Sonny and Dubya. Wasn’t that soooooooooooo nice of them.
That’s it.
“DESE DEM AND DOSE.”
Chad