IT remains one of the most successful and well known advertising rebrands in history, but as it nears its 40th anniversary, a corrupted version of the “Glasgow’s Miles Better” slogan has been trending online.
Glasgow’s Miles Better?
It launched in the summer of 1983, after Glasgow’s Lord Provost told Scottish advertising agency, Struthers, that he wanted a campaign in the vein of “I Love New York” to boost Glasgow’s morale and the global perception of the city.
And so…?
The simple slogan “Glasgow’s Miles Better”, in black letters against a white background, with a jolly yellow Mr Happy in place of the “O”, was born.
It was an instant hit?
Until that point, Glasgow had largely been viewed as a working-class, gang-ridden city, rather than a tourism destination, finding itself further weighed down by the decline in its key industries. The campaign - which focused on Glasgow’s culture - helped change the way it was seen by city residents, as well as by the rest of the world. Within a week of its launch, more than 25,000 car bumper stickers had been distributed and a different, upbeat and vibrant picture of the city began to be painted.
So what’s happening online?
A number of Twitter users, posting images of Glasgow scenes ranging from overflowing rubbish bins to overgrown weeds, began using the phrase “Glasgow’s miles dirtier”. One Twitter user wrote: “Glasgow is a pigsty. Please use this hashtag to highlight the state the city is in #glasgowsmilesdirtier”.
The council disagree?
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow's SNP council, was interviewed on STV by Bernard Ponsonby who asked her, “Can you seriously say you are happy with the state of the streets in Glasgow?” Before adding: “I’ve lived here 58 years, I’ve never seen it as filthy”. Ms Aitken said, “There have always been challenges in Glasgow” and added that in her view it was not filthy, but “Glasgow needs a spruce up as we emerge from Covid”.
This didn’t go down that well with all?
Online responses verged from “more like a major deep clean…I have never seen the city so run-down”, to “If Susan Aitken thinks Glasgow just needs a ‘spruce up’ I wouldn’t like to see the inside of her house”.
Despite what’s going on now…?
The old campaign lives on, with memorabilia still trading hands online and outlets such as the Braw Wee Emporium online selling badges with the famous slogan and Mr Happy to “show your appreciation of this wonderful city and wear the badge with pride”.
Across the Atlantic?
New York has fallen on some hard times, with a mass exodus of wealthy residents during the pandemic and crime rates up. But “I Love New York” also endures. The slogan, created back in 1976, that sees the “love” replaced by a red heart and the letters NY used to represent the city, also had an instant impact and is still used to this day.
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