MSNBC is hoping that a new tagline for the cable news network will build brand awareness similar to that of Fox News’  “Fair and Balanced” that has helped propel it to the top of the cable news rankings.

From the New York Times

MSNBC, once the also-ran but now the No. 2 cable news channel, has a new tagline that embraces its progressive political identity.

The tagline, “Lean Forward,” will be publicly announced Tuesday, opening a planned two-year advertising campaign intended to raise awareness of the channel among viewers, advertisers and distributors.

The tagline “defines us and defines our competition,” said Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, his implication being that the Fox News Channel, which is No. 1 in cable news and a home for conservatives, is leaning backward. Fox’s best-known tagline is “Fair and Balanced.”

Some of the new MSNBC ads include shots of President Obama on his election night; others, directed by the filmmaker Spike Lee, showcase hosts like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow preparing for their nightly programs; and still others feature quotes like “the future belongs to the fearless.”

The multimillion-dollar campaign is a long time coming for the 14-year-old MSNBC, and particularly for Mr. Griffin, who has complained for years about not having more money to market the channel. With “Lean Forward,” MSNBC is following other cable channels that have found success by building easy-to-identify brands — like Bravo, TBS, HBO or, Mr. Griffin freely acknowledges, Fox News.

“When you’re clear about who you are, you actually make money,” said Sharon Otterman, the chief marketing officer for MSNBC, who started work there one year ago.

MSNBC’s brand was unclear for its first full decade. A creation of NBC News and Microsoft in 1996, the channel bounced from one programming idea to another before Mr. Olbermann, the host of “Countdown,” and Chris Matthews, the host of “Hardball,” seized on antiwar, anti-Republican sentiments in the latter part of the Bush administration.

The channel identified itself as “The Place for Politics” — a catchphrase that it will continue to use alongside “Lean Forward” — and added liberal hosts like Ms. Maddow and Ed Schultz, and a lively morning show, “Morning Joe.”

Starting next Tuesday, the commercials will be shown on MSNBC, but more important, they will also be shown on NBC Universal’s other channels, and on outside channels as well. In addition, ads will appear at train stations, bus shelters and phone kiosks in the Northeast; in newspapers, including The New York Times; and on Slate, The Daily Beast and other Web sites.

Mr. Obama is shown only briefly in the two 60-second commercials. He is both seen and heard in a video about the ad campaign that was screened for MSNBC employees on Monday, coincidentally summing up the channel’s progressive message.

“We can go backward, or we can keep moving forward,” the president was shown saying in a June speech at Carnegie Mellon University. “And I don’t know about you, but I want to move forward.”

I don’t know how much money MSNBC spent on coming up with this tagline but whatever the amount it was a colossal waste.  Do they actually think that anyone is going to understand what they mean by “lean forward” and associate it with the network?

Also they are taking a huge risk by using Obama’s image at a time when his popularity has sagged even among the left which is the audience that MSNBC strives to attract.

They would have been better off with something like “Home of the Left”  or “News for Liberals” which would have been far more accurate and understandable though maybe it would scare away a few advertisers.

If I were MSNBC I wouldn’t get too excited about their new ad campaign to promote their network.  This tagline is about as innovative as the name for the new CNN show “Parker-Spitzer” and about as popular.

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

1 Comment for MSNBC to “Lean Forward”