Tag that line, sell that slogan, catch that phrase

TAN Sri Tony Fernandes, our world-famous king of low cost carriers, is on the move, literally, with his latest venture.

His company, Capital A Bhd, formerly known as AirAsia Group Bhd, has renamed its digital travel platform airasia SuperApp to airasia MOVE, in order to, said Fernandes, transform it into a travel and lifestyle business.

“Why MOVE? That’s our main business – we move people,” he was quoted as saying, and his company sent out a very friendly email to his massive customer database in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia – I got it – explaining what MOVE is about and inviting participants from these four countries to take part in a contest for the best tagline for the platform.

Now this is the man behind the immensely memorable tagline for AirAsia: “Now everyone can fly”. In his email, he says he came up with it when he was in the shower – I know, try not to imagine the scene – to show how inspiration can come from anywhere.

Indeed, that is a very inspired tagline. It probably ranks among the world’s most effective business slogans. It’s right up there with Nike’s “Just do it”; KFC’s “It’s finger-lickin’ good”, and De Beers’ “A diamond is forever”.

According to activecampaign.com, “A catchy company slogan captures what makes a brand or product different (and better) than the competition. It answers, ‘Why should I choose you?’ Done right, company slogans become as integral to the brand as the logo and brand name. When you hear the slogan, the product comes to mind immediately. (And when you see the product, you might hear the slogan in your head.)”

Many companies spend huge amounts of money to find that perfect slogan or tagline for their brands, and the best gauge of success is when it becomes part of popular culture.

That is exactly what “Now everyone can fly” has done for AirAsia and why Fernandes is searching for a tagline for MOVE.

It’s not only businesses that love taglines; governments and politicians do too. Our tourism motto, “Malaysia, truly Asia”, has served us well since 1999 and let’s hope it stays that way.

When it comes to government and political slogans, Malaysians have experienced plenty.

This propensity for sloganeering really started with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he was our fourth prime minister. During his first 22-year PMship, he wowed us with his “Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah” (Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy) promise of a government that ultimately left much to be desired. Then there was “Kepimpinan Melalui Teladan” (Leadership by Example), which wasn’t very exemplary after all. “Bangsa Malaysia” (which he has now completely disavowed) was indeed an inclusive and noble goal that was never aimed for, and the farsighted, visionary “Wawasan 2020” (Vision 2020) got blinkered.

Another PM, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, gave us “Islam Hadhari” (Civilisational Islam) that didn’t take root; Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s initially cool “1Malaysia” concept was flamed out by the hot potato of 1MDB. Dr M’s second term started with “Malaysia Baharu” (New Malaysia), which ended before it could even get old.

PMs after that also didn’t stay in office long enough to make anything much of their slogans: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s “Malaysia Prihatin” (Caring Malaysia) and Datuk Seri Ismail’s Sabri’s “Keluarga Malaysia” (Malaysian Family). And now we have Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s ambitious “Malaysia Madani”.

While it is becoming a familiar catchphrase with the public, for me, it still doesn’t evoke a clear, distinct image of what it is about nor can I describe what it means in a few powerful words. Experts say a strong tagline is supposed to create an emotional connection with its audience. It should resonate with the public if it is succinct, simple to recall, presenting a vision of optimism and hope. So far, I am not feeling it from the present muddle-headed government.

Inquirer.net columnist Gideon Lasco in his op-ed entitled “Slogans over substance” points out if a government is obsessed with new logos and slogans to merely “project a false sense of novelty and achievement”, then what it is doing is “actually masking old and problematic ways of thinking and doing”.

This Filipino writer speaks for me, a retired Malaysian journalist, when he adds, “Like our roads that are constantly being repaired, slogans and logos can then end up symbolising not transformation but superficiality, shortsightedness, pettiness (ie, government officials wanting to make a mark on their agencies), and wastefulness (ie, millions spent on unnecessary exercises) – if not outright corruption”.

But amidst all this, there is actually a very adaptable tagline that Malaysians have that works well when we need to trumpet a moment of national glory or when we want to vent frustration or cynicism over an embarrassing scandal: It’s “Malaysia Boleh!”

Milo apparently first used it in the 1980s, and it was then picked up by the Olympic Council of Malaysia in the 1990s as a rallying cry to encourage our athletes.

“Boleh” translates to “can do it” which is really a strong, uplifting word signifying resilience and persistence. We may think it is uniquely Malaysian, but this boleh, or can do spirit, actually has its roots in Old Blighty.

I stumbled across this fascinating connection thanks to a post on Quora by Yusrin Faidz Yusoff who traced how Boleh was the name of a 1949 junk yacht owned and designed by Naval Commander Robin Kilroy DSC and built by Malay shipwrights from Terengganu headed by Embong Salleh at the British Naval Base in Loyang, Singapore.

Kilroy went on to write a book entitled Boleh covering the construction of the 40-foot boat – that was challenging because of its unique design with influences from the dhow, junk and perahu – that was built with Malayan chengal hardwood and the vessel’s subsequent 22,530km voyage to Salcombe, England.

He recounted how whenever they ran into a problem during its construction, Embong would insist “mustee boleh!” (sure can!).

Damaged by fire in 1978, Boleh underwent a seven-year restoration from 2008 to 2015 financed by the UK’s Heritage Lottery Fund. Today, the vessel is based at Portsmouth Harbour and is under the volunteer-run Boleh Trust that provides sailing experiences for disadvantaged people of all ages.

As it is explained on the website, bolehproject.com, “Boleh means ‘can do’ in Malay and it is this ‘can do’ philosophy which has driven the project, first to restore Boleh and now to put her back to work, restoring self-confidence, developing teamwork and rebuilding lives”.

What a powerful and inspiring testimony to the true meaning of the word boleh. I wonder whether “Malaysia mesti boleh!” (Malaysia really can do it!) would serve as a better battle cry to unite and rally the citizens of this nation now.

As for Fernandes’ tagline contest, I would have put on my thinking cap in the shower if the grand prize was more generous than a paltry RM6,000 worth of travel vouchers valid for a year. Also, Tan Sri might want to get someone to relook the T&C page that has confusing conditions, glaring grammar mistakes and typos. Tsk! Tsk!

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.