Birth of a tagline - Mitsubishi brings the confusion
Drive@earth. Sounds an awful lot like shorthand for "run this bizatch into the ground," but Mitsubishi has an official explanation for its new tagline. Launching this summer in Japan, "Drive@earth" will be used by Mitsubishi in all markets. The tagline, which looks like an intern tacked it below the logo in Microsoft Word ten minutes ago, is meant to carry dual meanings. The first thing Mitsubishi wants to convey is the idea that its automobiles, and their four-wheeling legacy, allow people to visit virtually any point on the earth. Secondly, and possibly in diametric opposition to the first point, the slogan signals a commitment by the automaker to environmental responsibility. It's a fine line to walk between traipsing across the globe and not destroying sand dunes or clubbing baby seals while excreting vast amounts of greenhouse gasses, but Mitsubishi is committing to continued development of its environmentally friendly technologies, like the iMiEV that would be an ideal commuter vehicle for those poor slobs stuck in gridlock. No word on whether the new tagline signals the end of Mitsubishi's run of TV spots using music cuts that get stuck in your head and portray people having more fun than a flume ride. Press release after the jump
[Source: Mitsubishi]
TOKYO, June 18, 2008 - Today Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) announced a new global tagline in order to clarify across all markets its direction for the future. The tagline, "Drive@earth," will be launched first in Japan during the summer of 2008, and is intended to convey two major themes:
First, Drive@earth means that automobiles connect us to the world. Mitsubishi's 4WD legacy has catapulted a generation of drivers to every corner of the earth, from desert dunes to city streets. Rally-tested toughness, performance and reliability make Mitsubishi Motors a trusted name on five continents. Through this trust, Mitsubishi vehicles forge a connection to customers, to communities, and ultimately to the natural world around us.
Second, Drive@earth means a new emphasis on environmental issues. It is the simple recognition that no enterprise - automotive or otherwise - makes sense without the context of a healthy planet. With climate change and dwindling oil reserves on the minds of drivers around the world, automakers have a special responsibility. MMC sets as its ideal the synergy between dynamic and environmental performance, and will continue to develop technologies - such as the zero-emissions i MiEV electric vehicle - that show as much care for the environment outside as for the occupants within.
The new tagline acts as a bridge between the company's heritage and its future. Launched in this, the first year of MMC's post-revitalization business plan, Drive@earth is an announcement of the company's renewed focus, and a symbol of its intention to build a new era of sustainable partnership.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
NT 6:07PM (6/19/2008)
Drive The Earth
Sounds better, and has better meanings behind it.
Can I has money now?
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Adam 6:12PM (6/19/2008)
Trademarks, man. Can't always use whatever you want.
Drive @ Earth does suck though.
Disgruntled Goat 8:49AM (6/20/2008)
1. If you have to explain it, it sucks.
2. If, after you explain it, it still doesn't make sense, it sucks.
Jarett 6:07PM (6/19/2008)
I remember when Hyundai used to build Mitis'"o" engines.
LOL! THis is stupid, what a dumb tagline, the @ is stupid, and this wont last long. hahaha.
Reminds me of somthing from the matrix or somthing, or an msn chat room.
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Hank 6:08PM (6/19/2008)
Zoom-Zoom > Drive@earth
the end.
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Torrent 6:14PM (6/19/2008)
Mitsubishi- Drive @ Earth
Ford- Drive one.
What's weirder?
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MastrCake 6:19PM (6/19/2008)
Well, Ford's old slogan, Bold Moves, for one.
Seriously! How bold is/was ford anyways? Their first "bold" car would probably have to be the Flex. And it's the first ford that I think is out there that I think I really like.
Bring out more Flexual Eruptions Ford!!! :)
Derek 10:58PM (6/19/2008)
How is "Drive One" weird? It is simple and direct. It echoes the theme of both Ford and GM of recent: get out and give us a test drive, we've changed.
"Drive @ Earth"? Where else would I drive? Mars?
Torrent 4:26AM (6/20/2008)
"Drive one" is Commanding someone to drive one unless you use it in a sentence:
You'll like the Fusion once you get in and "drive one."
Compared to:
Ford. Drive one.
tim 6:16PM (6/19/2008)
PC load letter
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Bungle 7:14PM (6/19/2008)
Ha! Nice one.
LloydChiro 8:40PM (6/19/2008)
What the F*** does that mean?!
Derek 10:59PM (6/19/2008)
Yeaaaah, didja get the memo? LOL.
The Luigiian 6:23PM (6/19/2008)
Nope. Drive@Earth sounds like "Run this mother into the ground."
Also: LOL@22mpg out of a four-banger Eclipse. I could buy a six-cylinder car with that fuel economy.
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Zane 6:26PM (6/19/2008)
Wow, that's a crap tag line. It conveys a sense of heaviness that doesn't bode well for performance or sporty cars like the Evo and Eclipse.
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Chaz 6:32PM (6/19/2008)
In the interest of efficiency, buzzwords have been replaced with buzzsymbols. Soon we will have such buzzsymbols breeding and we will be surrounded by iAmpersands and eSchwas, or eSchwaeə if you will.
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sunnycyclist 7:18PM (6/19/2008)
Nice! Glad to see someone who knows his linguistics jargon.
porschedevotee 2:13PM (6/20/2008)
Or the interrobang. ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrobang
porschedevotee 2:17PM (6/20/2008)
Or the interrobang. ;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrobang
Jeff 6:40PM (6/19/2008)
Ha! Mitsu's parent company is one of the worse environmental track records for a corporation:
The Mitsubishi Corporation (best known for its cars and electronics) is involved in importing large quantities of tropical rainforest timber into Japan. A Mitsubishi Group subsidiary has, for the last 15 years, been clear-cutting huge areas of tropical rainforest in Sarawk to supply the Japanese market. Its logging activities there continue 24 hours a day, with the aid of flood lights. Mitsubishi has further logging interests in nine other countries. Another subsidiary is opening a mine in the last large area of Ecuadorian coastal rainforest. The area is home of the Awa Indian nation as well as the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve, identified as Ecuador's highest are of priority for biodiversity conservation by the US Agency for International Development.
Goodluck with that marketing campaign...
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