U.S States Use Slogans to Enhance their Image（在线收听）

By Ted Landphair

Big corporations use memorable slogans or symbols -- like the "swoosh" logo on Nike shoes or McDonald's "golden arches" -- to establish positive identities and attract new customers. It's called "branding." And now some of the fifty U-S states are searching for catchy new identities so that they, too, can increase their appeal to tourists, retirees, and new businesses.

Two states' snappy slogans and stylish visual looks set the standard: "I Love New York" and "Virginia is for Lovers."

Now Oregon -- the West Coast state known for . . . well, not much of anything, but now searching for an identity . . . has introduced a new theme: "We love dreamers." And the mid-South state of Kentucky has come up with a creative way to choose its new persona. 

“Most of people around the world, if they think of Kentucky, they think of the horse.”

That's Joe Lilly, senior vice president of the New West advertising agency in Louisville, Kentucky. His company is running the search for an image that goes beyond the famous Kentucky Derby horserace and the beautiful bluegrass on which the thoroughbred horses feed.

Actually, LOTS of images come to mind at the mention of Kentucky. When we asked ten people here in the VOA offices, three said Kentucky meant "horses" or "bluegrass." Four instantly thought of the Kentucky Fried Chicken brand. One remembered the state's famous bourbon whiskey. Another, the Kentucky long rifle. The tenth said nothing at all came to mind about the state.

Kentucky's deputy travel commissioner, Terry Johnson, recognizes the problem.

"We were putting out very disjointed messages as to what the state of Kentucky is all about, what we stand for. We're a little bit defensive. There's a little bit of a self-esteem issue. And the governor agreed that we need to have a common message, and we really need to brand ourselves so that we're all moving in the same direction -- much as a corporation will do to build equity in its image."

To seek that image, Kentucky is borrowing the techniques of the survival reality TV shows. The New West agency came up with slogan possibilities, tried them out on travel writers and citizens meeting in small focus groups, and narrowed the candidates to four. Once a week since then, says New West's Joe Lilly, people by the tens of thousands -- inside and outside Kentucky -- have been voting on their favorite slogans. The one getting the fewest each time is eliminated.

"We've had people do postcards and letters. We've had classes of students who have gotten involved. It's really that level of participation that has showcased to us the passion that Kentuckians have for their state and why they want to be a part of the process."

The first slogan to go was "Kentucky: Limitless." Then, out went "Kentucky -- Make History."

Here are two finalists, from which a winner will be announced this Sunday: "Kentucky, Where Legends Are Born."

One Kentucky visitor, Carol King, of Goderich, Ontario, Canada, likes that one:
"I think this is really where most legends WERE born for all of the United States, to be truthful. So that's a good reason to have it on your logo. It really presents what I feel everybody thinks of Kentucky."

The second finalist: "Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit."
That one pleases Kentuckian John Ryan. "It's turn us loose, and we'll go do it! That's what I feel like."

Nobody is saying that picking a slick new slogan and logo alone will inspire someone to rush to Kentucky or move a business there. But officials say "Kentucky: Unbridled Spirit" or "Kentucky: Where Legends Are Born" can create warm feelings both inside and outside the state. Then it's up to this diverse state of Appalachian hills and hollows, horse country and river towns, Old South remnants and big - city sprawl, to deliver that unbridled spirit and legendary experience.

注释：
slogan 口号，标语
branding 品牌
retiree 歇业者
snappy 活泼的，有力的
persona 角色
Kentucky Derby horserace 肯塔基大赛马
thoroughbred 纯种的，良种的
disjointed 杂乱的
showcase 显示优点
hollow 山谷