2023-10-04 18:16:54
An Apex town sign touting their “Peak of Good Living” slogan and their national accolades.
APEX
Crafting a county or municipal motto is a bit like writing an epitaph: Few words, great meaning,
Luckily, mottos usually aren’t carved in stone, so they can be updated to reflect the way communities change and the images they want to project.
This week, Durham unveiled the slogan for its newest promotional campaign: “Do it in Durham.” The slightly suggestive invitation made us wonder what other pithy branding messages have been employed around North Carolina through the years.
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Here are some marketing efforts worth mentioning.
State motto: Be funny
North Carolina adopted a Latin phrase, “Esse quam videri,” meaning, “To be rather than to seem,” as its official state motto in the late 1800s.
But in 2014 then-Gov. Pat McCrory’s Department of Commerce got money from the state legislature to develop a fresh slogan with more marketing potential.
With $1.5 million in tax money and help from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business, it came up with a longleaf pine squished between the letters “N” and “C” over the phrase, “Nothing Compares.”
The next summer, when it was splashed onto 75 highway billboards across the state, some pundits agreed, saying the logo stood alone in its lameness.
Home: We live here
Some slogans used by North Carolina cities and towns seem to strive so hard to capture everything about a place, they end up saying nothing.
Consider these noncommittal fortune-cookie-style slogans:
▪ Alamance County: “Pro Bono Publico.” More Latin, meaning, “For the public good.”
▪ City of Albemarle: “Water. Air. Land. Opportunity.”
▪ Alexander County: “A wonderful place to live, work and play.”
▪ Alleghany County: “Authentically Alleghany.”
▪ Anson County: “Inform. Serve. Promote.” At one time, Anson County also claimed to be “The Bluebird Kingdom of the World,” which is hard to prove but fun to imagine.
▪ Avery County: “Together…We are Avery County.”
▪ Town of Bladenboro: “Small town living. Hometown proud.”
▪ Cabarrus County: “America Thrives Here.” This one replaced an earlier slogan, “The Center of American Motorsports.”
▪ Camden County: “Boundless Opportunities.”
▪ City of Fayetteville: “Distinctly Fayetteville.” That sets it apart from the Fayettvilles in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, New York and Ohio.
▪ Lee County: “Committed Today for a Better Tomorrow.”
Your Business Name Here
Some slogans reflect their origins at a weekend retreat of the local economic development commission. Borrowing from Las Vegas’ old motto – “What Happens Here, Stays Here,” some of these could have stayed in committee.
▪ Burke County: “All About Advancing.”
▪ Bertie County: “Simplifying Business.”
▪ Brunswick County: “Bid on Brunswick.”
▪ Gaston County: “Local Strengths. Global Success.”
▪ Harnett County: “Strong Roots, New Growth.”
▪ Thomasville: “The Seat of Global Opportunity,” a play on the city’s furniture-manufacturing history.
Pretty as a postcard
These cities and counties play up their best features — usually their natural beauty or geography — in their marketing slogans.
▪ Apex: “The Peak of Good Living,” which city leaders said was a nod to a good way of life and the town’s location on the highest point of a 30-mile stretch of rail line.
▪ Ashe County: “The coolest corner,” a reference to the comparatively chilly clime of this mountain county, its location at the intersection of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, and its flourishing arts community.
▪ City of Sanford: “Well-Centered.” The town may well be emotionally balanced but this is a reference to its placement near the geographic middle of the state.
▪ City of Rocky Mount: “The Center of it All.” Sanford would like to offer city leaders a North Carolina map.
▪ Raleigh: “The City of Oaks,” though during periods of rapid development this is sometimes revised by visitors to “The City of Stumps.”
This is Asheville. No, this is.
Asheville changes slogans the way some towns swap out their holiday decorations.
Some might remember the “Land of the Sky” campaign, referring to Asheville’s elevation, along with “Altitude affects attitude,” which some thought acknowledged a certain amount of recreational substance use. At one point, the city encouraged visitors and residents to “Let your spirit run free.” Now it celebrates life “Any way you like it.”
Charlotte: We’re full of it
The Queen City’s motto, “Charlotte’s got a lot,” captures the city’s over-the-top nature, with its intense residential and commercial development, its importance as a business hub, its nightlife and its rich arts community. But the motto also invites snarky improv anytime the metro area’s underside comes to light, as in, “Charlotte’s got a lot of crime,” and, “Charlotte’s got a lot of nerve.”
From our founding mothers
Emerald Isle has one of our favorite town slogans, both a gentle boast and a reminder to be kind. The beach town’s motto, on signs along N.C. Highway 58 in town, is “Nice matters.”
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