taglines: the veritas stops here!
When it comes to Truth-In-Tagline issues, it’s the news media that’s gotten all the attention this year.
[mostly them, from guys like him, but also from myself] However, a little column in this month’s Harvard
Magazine has suggested that another segment of snappy sloganneers may need closer scrutiny: institutions
of higher learning. Muckrakers are urged to head over to The Great Stamats Tagline Repository, which
currently has 550 taglines in its searchable database and is seeking more.
Stamats is a “higher education integrated marketing solutions company.” It’s
tagline, promises kept, is explained here.
The column includes the following sample taglines (”World’s Greatest Taglines?,” The College Pump,
Harvard Magazine, Nov-Dec 2004):
The directional. Seton Hill University, Pennsylvania: “This Way Up.”
The hortatory. University of Houston, Downtown: “Get a Life!”
The pecuniary. Amarillo College, Texas: “Give yourself a raise…Education Pays!”
The ominous. Boyce College, Kentucky: “The harvest is ready. Are you?”
The sassy. University of Alaska, Fairbanks: “Latitude with Attitude.”
Here are the thirteen law school taglines in the Stamats Collection. You can judge for
yourselves the efficacy and veracity of the slogans. And, wonder along with your Editor just what
some of these folks are hoping to accomplish — and, whether a misleading tagline can be the basis
of a lawsuit. [And, where should the querist apply who did this Google search today?]
Tagline | School Name | State/Province |
New Frontiers in the Law | Illinois | |
Law Is Universal | Florida | |
Lawyers of the Future | Indiana | |
Educating a different kind of lawyer | Indiana | |
Law is More Than a Profession. It’s a Calling. | Virginia | |
Real World. Real Law. | Pennsylvania | |
Preparing the Lawyer of the 21st Century | Ohio | |
Law Lives Here. | Colorado | |
Faithful Stewards of the Law | Oklahoma | |
What kind of lawyer will you be? | California | |
The law is the true embodiment of everything that’s excellent. | Ohio | |
This is real. This is Valpo Law | Indiana | |
Noble ideas, ethics, and love of the law. | New York |
The University of Toledo should acknowledge that its tagline comes from a well-known theatrical source, albeit one that is now in the public domain, so that no infringement is involved. It derives from the opening stanza of the song of the Lord Chancellor in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, to wit:
The character and costume of the Lord Chancellor is, as you are probably aware, the inspiration for the intriguingly decorated judicial robes favored by the [unfortunately ailing] Chief Justice of the United States, William Rehnquist.
Click this link for the full lyrics, and a MIDI version of this most equitable tune.
Comment by George Wallace — November 4, 2004 @ 6:14 pm
The University of Toledo should acknowledge that its tagline comes from a well-known theatrical source, albeit one that is now in the public domain, so that no infringement is involved. It derives from the opening stanza of the song of the Lord Chancellor in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, to wit:
The character and costume of the Lord Chancellor is, as you are probably aware, the inspiration for the intriguingly decorated judicial robes favored by the [unfortunately ailing] Chief Justice of the United States, William Rehnquist.
Click this link for the full lyrics, and a MIDI version of this most equitable tune.
Comment by George Wallace — November 4, 2004 @ 6:14 pm