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March 19, 2009

Wartime Slogan "Carries On" as Modernized Tagline

A sixty-year-old wartime poster is now gracing the walls of the US embassy in Belgium and will likely appear on a t-shirt near you soon.

The poster reads "Keep Calm and Carry On" and its affiliated web site is selling reproductions by the tens of thousands.

One academic says that it appeals to people in these troubled times because "It is a quiet, calm, authoritative, no-bullshit voice of reason."

Another blogger sees it as a work of "genius," while others are having a bit of fun with it.

Boing Boing has posted a response that reads "Get Excited and Make Stuff."

Other motivational variations include "No More Boom and Bust" and "Keep Calm and Carry On Shopping."

While some are even becoming a bit edgy with t-shirts that read, "Now Panic and Freak Out" and "Drink Beer and Carry On."

Yet there are still those that wonder if keeping calm is really the thing to do when things go wrong.

I like this slogan because of the faint resonance between calm and on and the simple graphics behind it.

Yes, Americans don't really use the phrase "carry on" (except when it comes to airplane luggage), but it is exactly what we need to do nowadays. We need to all take a deep breath and just get on with it.

The British used to be the masters of "carrying on" and showing a stiff upper lip when thinks got kind of crazy.

I am specifically reminded of Winston Churchill flatly saying that he would "keep buggering on" through his so called Wilderness Years in the 1930s when his political career seemed finished. He even shortened it to KBO when responding to any major setback with a gruff: "Right. KBO."

Phrases often fall out of favor, but sometimes those ones that really resonate manage to make a comeback. This particular one has found its way to the office door of at least one of my colleagues.

A "cool reminder of what's past is prologue."

Technorati Tags: Wartime Slogan, Popular Tagline, Keep Calm and Carry On, Winston Churchill, KBO

Posted by William Lozito at March 19, 2009 10:19 AM
Posted to Slogans | Taglines

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