"Metronatural" Actually an Improvement on Something!

No, not "Say WA." Popular opinion seems to be split, but we firmly believe that "Say WA" was better than "metronatural," just like Carmen Electra is a better actress than Paris Hilton.

Metronatural, however, sounds positively Joycean compared to "See"-@-L.

You remember "See"-@-L, right? Right? Our prior city slogan? Unveiled in 1999? Gave "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" a run for its money?

The only kind of marketing slogan lamer than a made-up frankenword is a cop-out, use-the-alphabet rebus, so good job improving on that, Convention and Visitors Bureau.

(Apparently some people, like Stephanie Clifford at Inc., believe we were crazy enough to replace "The Emerald City" with the "bewildering and meaningless" "metronatural." The Emerald City is actually our official nickname, not our meaningless tourist slogan, and for now remains safe from the predations of branding professionals.)

Seattle tourism's been going well -- 2005 saw a record 9.1 million overnight visitors. CVB probably claims credit for that. But we suspect that "See"-@-L at best had no effect on those numbers, and at worst inspired a few people to shun Seattle for cities or states with cooler slogans. Expect more of the same from metronatural.

Ed Cone, a wise man in Greensboro, North Carolina, to sums up our opinion: "From where I sit, Seattle already has a brand, which is 'Seattle,' and the tagline doesn't really matter much."

If Exclaim can earn $200,000 a word for "metronatural," Mr. Cone should get at least $100,000 for his 100% word-free insight.