The Garden State has exposed itself to some merciless ridicule by soliciting a new tagline slogan from the creative general public. Apparently their earlier approach to contract with a consultant for a suitable tagline did not yield acceptable results. The suggested “New Jersey – We’ll Win You Over” was deemed too negative. So the search was broadened to accept voluntary contributions.
As John Curran reported in his AP article, the state officials cautioned participants to take the high road in their submissions:
We have the opportunity to craft a new message for our tourist literature to reflect the pride we have in our many parks, open spaces, farmlands, quaint villages, boardwalks and beaches and our exciting cities,” Mr. Codey implored would-be slogan writers on the Web site.
But the bait is just too tempting to resist for those of us who enjoy poking fun at an inviting target. After culling through a number of the articles on the internet listing some of the choices and after employing my own creative juices in this worthy pursuit, I decided to share with you my Top Ten choices:
10) New Jersey — Come and Lose It All (Gambling Theme)
9) New Jersey — Politicians You Can Be Proud Of?
8) New Jersey — You Talkin’ to Me? (Mafia Theme)
7) New Jersey — We’ll Suck You Dry (Princeton University theme)
6) New Jersey — New York’s Landfill
5) New Jersey — Home of NYC Professional Sports
4) New Jersey — You Can Check In But You Can Never Leave (takeoff on the song, “Hotel California” by the Eagles)
3) New Jersey — Don’t Let the Smell Discourage You
2) New Jersey — Not All of Our Aliens Are Illegal (“War of the Worlds” theme)
1) New Jersey — If We Can’t Fix It, It’s Not An Election