Slogan

Anyone remember the Trash Bash jingle? How about "Baltimore Sparkle?" Or Trash ball? Those rubber garbage cans embellished with "Believe"? A stroll down memory lane, in Baltimore's case, is littered with failed cleanup initiatives. As it is everywhere. Ever since that lone tear rolled down the Indian's cheek in the famous 1970s commercial, national and local campaigns have used guilt, humor, bullying, goofy slogans, goofier mascots and celebrity endorsements in an attempt to get it through America's slovenly skull that littering is bad, garbage cans are good.

Maryland needs revenue from slots After reading new Comptroller Peter Franchot's comments about slot machines, I think he missed the point big-time ("Comptroller Franchot sworn in," Jan. 23). I thought the idea behind slots was revenue for the state. Our rainy-day fund has now been greatly reduced. Education, road repair and health insurance for uninsured Marylanders are just a few of the items that need the attention of our state now. We can't rely on the federal government. Our federal debt and the baby boomer generation's Social Security needs are going to cost trillions.

BOSTON -- It's safe to say that Bob Nardelli was never confused with Bob the Builder, the cartoon character who teaches teamwork to the kids: "Can we fix it? Yes we can!" The Home Depot has a similar slogan - "You can do it. We can help" - but the former CEO was more of a do-it-for-himself kind of guy. By the time Bob the Un-Builder hung up his orange apron, Home Depot stock had gone down 6 percent in six years. Nevertheless, he left with $210 million in his pocket. The money Robert L. Nardelli got just for going was over and above his annual compensation, a number that hit $38.1 million in 2005, roughly $100,000 a day. This is not going to be a rant about CEO salaries, although a rant is in order.

For nine seasons (1965-73), Roy Hilton policed the right side of the Baltimore Colts? defensive line. For the past 20 years, he has been a campus security officer at Johns Hopkins University. Hilton, 63, a defensive end and starter on the Colts? 1970 NFL championship team, has patrolled the Hopkins? athletic center. A grandson, Marquis Sullivan, attends Loyola College, where he stars in basketball. Give the edge to the Ravens on Saturday, Hilton says. ?Physically, they will manhandle the Colts,?

`Army Strong' slogan of new ad campaign WASHINGTON -- The Army, in an effort to increase its appeal to recruiting-age Americans, is replacing its main ad slogan, "An Army of One," with "Army Strong." The new approach, the fruit of a $200 million-a-year contract with a major advertising agency, was announced yesterday by Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey. He said "Army Strong" will be the centerpiece of a multimedia ad campaign to begin Nov. 9, timed to coincide with Veterans Day weekend.

TAMPA, Fla. -- The most hardcore Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans are a hardy bunch - you would be, too, if you walked around Raymond James Stadium looking like an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean - but even they give way for "The Sign Man." "The Sign Man," aka Russ Barner, has developed a reputation as the organization's No. 1 loyalist. The 63-year-old chiropractor has created hundreds of signs supporting the team. He also has sent the players and coaches off on their road contests and has stood outside the airport as early as 5 a.m. to greet them on their return flights.

Stephan W. Fogleman, a local attorney with little name recognition or city courtroom experience, entered the Baltimore state's attorney's race at the last minute. And he knows he has an uphill battle trying to defeat Patricia C. Jessamy, who has held the post for 11 years and handily won two previous elections.

Online opinion on Baltimore's new slogan has been pervasive and harsh. Bloggers seem to be having a hard time getting in on it. Reaction has ranged from outrage over the $500,000 price tag to confusion over the meaning. And while no one slogan could be expected to satisfy everyone in the city, "Get in on it" doesn't seem to satisfy anyone at first blush. For some, it gave an opportunity to lambaste the city, listing problems no slogan, no matter how clever or popular, could affect. "Sloganeering for a dying city, where industry and commerce are fleeing to the suburbs and to the higher-rent DC metro area?

Let's see if I got this straight. The city decides it needs a new slogan. We hire a hot-shot West Coast consulting firm to come up with one, because apparently we're just a bunch of dumb yokels who can't come up with one on our own. We pay this hot-shot firm $500,000. The firm's hot-shot creative people sip designer water and stare out their windows at the Golden Gate Bridge and peck at their laptops for nine months until they finally come up with something. And that something is: "Baltimore -- Get In On It?"

Nine months and half a million dollars later, Baltimore has a new slogan. Drumroll, please: "Baltimore - Get In On It." The preposition-rich slogan is set to be announced next week as the centerpiece of Charm City's new effort to sell itself to tourists and visitors, according to sources familiar with the lengthy and secretive process. "Get in on what?" asked Baltimore City Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector, after repeating it aloud three times. "I've seen some dumb ones in the past, but this is the dumbest," said former Mayor/former Gov./Comptroller William Donald Schaefer through his spokesman.