The Art of a Slogan

While on a recent trip to Philadelphia, I came across a restaurant known for its delicious cheesesteaks called Delessandro’s.  Although this tiny restaurant produces the most flavorful cheesesteaks in the lower Philadelphia area, the thing I remember most about this restaurant was the slogan: "If it doesn't taste like Delessandro’s steaks and hoagies, then its not."

While this slogan is short and sweet, it simply does not make sense.  Printed on all the paper menus, each customer will have an opportunity to read this slogan. I will admit, the slogan adds a kitschy local charm to the business, but it does not make complete grammatical sense.

The sentence is incomplete as it is missing a second portion of the sentence. “Then it is not” does not have enough ground to stand on its own and thus is a dependent clause.

If I had power to help the Delessandro’s restaurant, I would change the slogan to “If it doesn't taste like Delessandro’s steaks and hoagies, then it’s not the original." While this change is small and only adds two words, it completes the sentence. It makes sense to the reader while maintaining the same local feel of the slogan.

I believe the catchy slogan undoubtedly helps brand recognition of the popular restaurant, but to improve professionalism and credibility, the slogan should definitely be changed.