What Happens in Vegas, Ends Up on Trademarks and Brands

A recent New York Times article regarding the adversity Columbus, Ohio is facing to promote tourism got us thinking about trademarked city slogans.

Here’s Columbus—a young, intelligent, open-minded city known for having the largest county fair and the largest gay pride parade—looking for a slogan that will “define the city” without the help of an advertising agency. Several earlier attempts, including “Discover Columbus” and “Surprise, It’s Columbus,” have failed.

The current slogan, “There is no better” (registered with the USPTO in classes 16 and 25) doesn’t seem to be working, perhaps because the city name isn’t mentioned. Now, “Columbus: We are So not Ohio,” is rumored to be in the works.

So what does it take to successfully brand a city? Here are some trademarked examples mentioned in the New York Times article:

Las Vegas, NV: “What Happens Here, Stays Here”
New York, NY: “I Love NY”
Atlantic City, NJ: “Always Turned On”
Baltimore, MD: “Get In on It”
St. Louis, MO: “St. Lou Is All Within Reach”
Dallas, TX: “Live Large. Think Big.”
Hershey, PA:  “The Sweetest Place on Earth”

Here are some other city slogans that have been used in the past, simply for the fun of it:
“Where the Odds Are With You” – Peculiar, MO
“The Town Without a Frown” – Happy, TX
“Where History Never Gets Old” – Fredericksburg, VA
“Experience Our Sense of Yuma” – Yuma, AZ

Do you have a favorite city slogan? Add it to our Comments section.