Utah brand doesn't elevate all readers

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."

"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."

"As far as $20 million for marketing and advertising, that will definitely have a positive effect that could only be detrimental if the advertising were absolutely botched, which would almost be difficult to do," Steimle wrote.

"Play a word game and fill in the blank after 'Elevated,' " suggested David Nicol of West Jordan. "Possible answers: taxes, blood pressure, fuel bills, stress, credit card debt, ego. Is this the word we want on our license plates?"

Other criticism was point-blank harsh.