From Deseret News archives:

Utah brand doesn't elevate all readers

Published: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 9:24 a.m. MDT
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
Tourism officials have touted Utah's new "Life Elevated" tourism brand as aspirational and inspirational. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. even said there is "no better way to describe the experience that is Utah."

Related content
Deseret Morning News

Reactions to 'Utah: Life Elevated'

But some Deseret Morning News readers, responding to a call for a critique of the brand, used other words to describe "Life Elevated."

They include "stinks," "drivel," "vacuous" and "stupid."

In an unscientific poll, their e-mailed assessments were not all negative. They ranged from "the perfect tag line" to "lame-brained," from "average" to "ambiguous," from "a great ad campaign" to "virtually meaningless."

Story continues below
"A pretty, great slogan; full of inspiration and aspiration — as long as it is understood that we in Utah look down on no one," wrote Kirk Strickland of Layton.

"The slogan sounds to me like they are saying Utah and Utahns are better than people who don't live here," wrote Mike Brooks of Magna. "So if you want to be better, come to Utah."

But other respondents wondered if the new brand would actually result in tourists flocking to the state.

"My reaction is: 'elevated' to what?" asked William O. Shaw Jr. of Centerville. "It's ambiguous with no meaning. It may be too 'deep' for me, and it could be too 'deep' for people outside of the state."

Phil Brueck of Saratoga Springs found nothing in the new slogan "that would make me want to visit if I didn't already have some reason for doing so" and found it difficult to believe that "our tourism 'experts' couldn't have come up with something better."

"The real test, I think, is that if Alabama or another state far away had come up with that slogan, would it entice us to want to visit there?" he wrote. "It doesn't ring my bell!"

Joshua J. Steimle of Draper wrote that he was neither disappointed nor thrilled with the new brand. He also believes it will not, by itself, affect tourism, "even if it were an amazingly good brand."

Comments

You can be the first to comment on this story.

Image
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News

Comments on the new state slogan range from "average" to "ambiguous."

previousnext

Latest comments

Mitchell called intelligent, controlling

If I'm not mistaken, the issue of Mitchell's sanity is separate from the...

1L in VA, Sanity and mental competence to stand trial aren't the same thing...

Let he who is perfect be the first to judge another. We need to remember it...

In California. the public as an easement on all beaches. You can's own the...

the main difference between atheism and religions is that, atheism does not...

Hall reprimanded by MWC

Maybe we should hold the BYU-Utah game on a neutral field out of state and...

Where in all of this is Utah's apology for the behaviour of their fans for...

Max Hall issues apology

Max Hall was just caught up in the moment. Give him a dang break. You should...

Hall reprimanded by MWC

What Max said is true and the Utes say the same things about BYU every day. I...

innocuous...thanks online dictionary

Advertisements