[IrishElk] Heh Heh Heh, This Part Rocks

[irishelk]

A certain food brand changed their slogan phrase to something that meant the opposite of their previous one. They did this without changing a single word.

I believe this is a North America-only brand, so Googling is very much allowed.

[biograd]

Did they add a punctuation mark? remove one? add a space? remove one? change capitalization in such a manner that an ordinary word became an acronym (or vice versa)? change a character that is not technically part of a "word" (e.g. a digit in a number to a different digit)?

Alternatively, did they not change the slogan *itself* at all, but rather something else (like the name of the company, or adding a new product) that would make people interpret the slogan with their minds assuming a different context?

Were both of the two opposite meanings made entirely from ordinary English words? or was one in (or derived from) another language (I'm thinking of something like "lame" becoing "lamé")?

[irishelk]

biograd

Did they add a punctuation mark? remove one? add a space? remove one? change capitalization in such a manner that an ordinary word became an acronym (or vice versa)? change a character that is not technically part of a "word" (e.g. a digit in a number to a different digit)? No to all, in fact!

Alternatively, did they not change the slogan *itself* at all, but rather something else (like the name of the company, or adding a new product) that would make people interpret the slogan with their minds assuming a different context? Yesish, but not quite like your examples.

Were both of the two opposite meanings made entirely from ordinary English words? Yes, excepting the company name, which I think is just made up. or was one in (or derived from) another language (I'm thinking of something like "lame" becoing "lamé")? No.

[Mimino]

Did they change the sequence of the words?

[CoffeeBean]

This reminds me of a puzzle that I did years ago, so of course I need to participate...

Was a photo or image added to the logo?
Was the misinterpreted slogan spoken or written in the relevant context? Both?
Was the slogan unique to this company? Was it similar to that of another company?
In its original form, was the slogan misleading? Threatening? Confusing? Not "catchy"?

It doesn't look like the pieces are there but this reminds of when Pepsi had to change its slogan "Come alive with Pepsi!" in Germany because the phrase they used for "come alive" in that country means to literally come out of a grave...

[irishelk]

Mimino

Did they change the sequence of the words? No.


CoffeeBean

This reminds me of a puzzle that I did years ago, so of course I need to participate... Ooh, do you remember the name?

Was a photo or image added to the logo? No.
Was the misinterpreted slogan spoken or written in the relevant context? Both? FA, but spoken.
Was the slogan unique to this company? Yes. Was it similar to that of another company? Irr.
In its original form, was the slogan misleading? Threatening? Confusing? Not "catchy"? No to all.

It doesn't look like the pieces are there but this reminds of when Pepsi had to change its slogan "Come alive with Pepsi!" in Germany because the phrase they used for "come alive" in that country means to literally come out of a grave... That's just false advertising.

[biograd]

It doesn't look like the pieces are there but this reminds of when Pepsi had to change its slogan "Come alive with Pepsi!" in Germany because the phrase they used for "come alive" in that country means to literally come out of a grave...

My favorite slogan fail is "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux!". I bet to someone who didn't know slang, it probably sounded like a great idea.

So the slogan was spoken--was it spoken with a different intonation? Was there a visual presented along with the spoken slogan, and the visual was changed?

[wunderland]

Was it spoken by a different person? If so, did something about the new speaker change the meaning of the slogan? such as their gender? age? ethnicity? whether they are real or fictional?
Did they introduce the slogan to a new market where some existing word had a different meaning already established?
Homophones relevant?
Was the change in meaning intended by the company?
Relevant when this happened? If so, LTPF list of decades? During the pandemic?

[JenBurdoo]

Was the spacing changed? (Example: "NOSMO KING" to "NO SMOKING.")

Or the tense of the statement? First-person to second-person?

The context in which it was spoken? For example, in time or place?

[Bardificer]

Despite appearances, I am IrishElk. Happy to see folks returning to the new forum!

biograd

My favorite slogan fail is "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux!". I bet to someone who didn't know slang, it probably sounded like a great idea. Oof. You can't focus solely on rhyme!

So the slogan was spoken--was it spoken with a different intonation? Yes, very much so. Was there a visual presented along with the spoken slogan, and the visual was changed? In a vague sense.


wunderland

Was it spoken by a different person? Probably, not super relevant. If so, did something about the new speaker change the meaning of the slogan? Not in the way you mean. such as their gender? age? ethnicity? whether they are real or fictional? No to all.
Did they introduce the slogan to a new market where some existing word had a different meaning already established? No.
Homophones relevant? No.
Was the change in meaning intended by the company? Almost certainly.
Relevant when this happened? Somewhat. If so, LTPF list of decades? 1990s-2000s. During the pandemic? No.*


JenBurdoo

Was the spacing changed? (Example: "NOSMO KING" to "NO SMOKING.") No.

Or the tense of the statement? No. First-person to second-person? No.

The context in which it was spoken? Yes. For example, in time or place? I'd say time in terms of years is relevant. The immediate environment in which it is spoken would look much the same.

[Sundowner64]

Welcome back, IrishElk, ehm, Gourami. Nice to have you back on the forum.

Was the change in meaning intended by the company?
Did the words of the slogan remain exactly the same, just the intonation changed?
Is the slogan printed? spoken? shown in a video clip? radio commercials relevant?
Is the slogan usually printed on the products of this company? on billboards? at or around places where products of this company are sold?
Would someone who does not know this company and their products and just reads the slogan on a neutral white sheet of paper get its meaning?
Is the slogan ambiguous by nature? if so: is the ambiguity obvious to everyone (who understands the language)? or is some special local-color knowledge necessary?
Is the slogan a play on words? does it contain a pun?

Does the company produce fresh food? processed food? drinks? vegetables? meat products? dairy products? sweets? bread? wine? beer? liquor?
Would one usually buy the products of this company in a grocery store? in a delicatessen store? in a restaurant?

[Bardificer]

Sundowner64

Welcome back, IrishElk, ehm, Gourami. Nice to have you back on the forum. Why thank you! It's true, I am unable to settle on a handle for very long. Let's call it endearing.

Was the change in meaning intended by the company? Yes (I don't know the inside story, but I have to imagine it was).
Did the words of the slogan remain exactly the same, just the intonation changed? Correct.
Is the slogan printed? Possibly, irr.spoken? Yes. shown in a video clip? Yes. radio commercials relevant?Could be these too.
Is the slogan usually printed on the products of this company? on billboards? at or around places where products of this company are sold? Irr, it is printed also, but the way it is spoken is central.
Would someone who does not know this company and their products and just reads the slogan on a neutral white sheet of paper get its meaning? Possibly not.
Is the slogan ambiguous by nature? Yesish. if so: is the ambiguity obvious to everyone (who understands the language)? No, I don't think it was originally intended to be ambiguous. or is some special local-color knowledge necessary? Not really.
Is the slogan a play on words? No. does it contain a pun? No.

Does the company produce fresh food? processed food? Yes. drinks? vegetables? meat products? dairy products? sweets? bread? wine? beer? liquor? Contains meat, vegetables, bread and dairy, but belongs to another particular category.
Would one usually buy the products of this company in a grocery store? Yes. in a delicatessen store? Unlikely. in a restaurant? Relevantly no.

[GalFisk]

Does the slogan say anything about the taste of the food? Color? Texture? Origins? Preparation methods? Is the food bought ready to eat? If not, must it be: heated? Roasted? Boiled? Fried? Toasted? Microwaved? Cooked in some other way? Chopped? Crumbled? Sliced? Mashed? Prepared in someother way? Could this slogan work for some other food? For some other brand of the same food?

[Sundowner64]

Is it frozen pizza? (not Tombstone, by any chance, I hope)

[Bardificer]

GalFisk
Does the slogan say anything about the taste of the food? Color? Texture? Origins? In a vague sense... Preparation methods? This, no to rest.
Is the food bought ready to eat? No. If not, must it be: heated? Yes. Roasted? Boiled? Fried? Toasted? Microwaved? Cooked in some other way? Usually baked briefly... Chopped? Crumbled? Sliced? Mashed? Prepared in someother way?
Could this slogan work for some other food? With a change to the brand name, yes. For some other brand of the same food? Ditto.


Sundowner64

Is it frozen pizza? Yes it is! (not Tombstone, by any chance, I hope) Nope!

[WiZ]

Is it DiGiorno's (sp?)

I.e. they kept the slogan 'Its not delivery, it's DiGiorno's', but it went from meaning 'this is supermarket frozen pizza that is good enough to be confused for delivery' to 'this isnt the garbage you get from delivery outlets, it's much better'?

[Bardificer]

WiZ


Is it DiGiorno's (sp?) Yup!

I.e. they kept the slogan 'Its not delivery, it's DiGiorno's', but it went from meaning 'this is supermarket frozen pizza that is good enough to be confused for delivery' to 'this isnt the garbage you get from delivery outlets, it's much better'? Precisely.


******************************SPOILER

DiGiorno's ads and slogan have remained basically the same for decades: a host serves guests pizza, they seem surprised because they didn't see a delivery person, and she reveals the shocking twist that she, in fact, just heated it in the oven! Amazing! In the 90s the inflection of the slogan was, "It's NOT delivery--it's DiGiorno!" Meaning, as WiZ says, "I had you fooled into thinking this was delicious delivery pizza, but yes, even frozen pizza can taste this good!"

However, as gourmet frozen meals became more standard fare in the 2000's, delivery pizza also became less glamorous for a multitude of reasons, from corrupt CEOs to companies literally admitting their recipe was always terrible. In more recent ads, when the lady says "It's not delivery, it's DiGiorno," her tone is clearly belittling the idea of something so gauche as getting your pizza delivered, when everyone knows you can get a perfectly good pizza from the freezer section.