Could UPS Have the Worst Tagline Ever?
By Dave Wieneke on Jul 7, 2009 in Advertising, Featured
Funny, I thought the United Parcel Service delivered parcels.
- Vague: Sounds like it was written by a marketing committee.
- Self centered: No suggestion of a benefit to their clients.
- Immodest: “we are the sun in the solar system of commerce”
- Hard to read: Long words + moving vehicle = missed opportunity.
Al Ries said good branding requires two elements: a visual hammer and a verbal nail. The brain stores ideas as words, so brands need to be distilled to their essence, a verbal nail. I’d suggest the entire brand experience, not just the visual branding, should drive this message home.


On Jul 7, 2009, UPSer said:
UPS does a lot more than deliver parcels. You would be surprised.
On Jul 7, 2009, Will said:
Sounds like a good title to me…it’s showing that they are prepared to help businesses move forward in this negative economy.
On Jul 11, 2009, Trademark Law Blogger said:
>>it’s showing that they are prepared to help businesses move forward in this negative economy.
Then I’d suggest using the word “VALUE”….or “working harder or you”. “Synchronizing commerce” is a long way from helping business advance.
>>UPS does a lot more than deliver parcels.
I wish their tagline could explain this in tangible language.
The Fed, FTC, or electronic funds transfers might “synchronize commerce” — UPS still seems to deliver goods efficiently.
On Jul 16, 2009, Tungsten said:
This sounds more like a mission statement than a good tagline. There’s a difference between being accurate/descriptive and being inspiring/motivational. The tagline is meant to capture the essence of the brand. So I would agree that this doesn’t posses the “wow” factor like Nike’s “Just Do It” or the old “Coke Adds Life.”
On Mar 6, 2010, Anonymous said:
I guess “we synch world commerce” wouldn’t make it, especially on UPS ships.
On Jul 4, 2010, Design babe Brisbane said:
they do lots of different things, they are great