Great advertising slogans bypass the rational brain and create emotional resonance. They don’t need to make sense or withstand rational scrutiny. Nike told us to “Just Do It” – what, with whom, and to what end is immaterial. Apple told us to “Think Different” and proceeded to become the choice of conformist creatives everywhere.

My all-time favourite piece of (very Germanic) marketing sloganry belongs to confectionery brand Ritter: “Square. Practical. Good.” I really love the chocolate and the slogan gives my lizard brain a little tingle.

Tough climate: Deputy Liberal leader Ted O’Brien, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“Net Zero by 2050” is also a slogan, though it’s not owned by a team of advertising creatives who burnish their CVs with it. An explainer from the Australian National University attributes its origins to environmental lawyer and climate negotiator, Farhana Yamin. “In our lifetime, emissions have to go to zero,” the activist is quoted as saying. “That’s a message people understand.”

When the slogan was coined, “in our lifetime” seemed a lifetime away. Given the average “life sentence” imposed in the Australian court system is about 13 years, it would have been several lifetimes away when first uttered. Now it’s just a couple of lifetimes away, questions are becoming more urgent about how net zero can be achieved. Importantly, the goal was based on what scientists said needed to happen to minimise climate change caused by humans, not on the practicalities of getting emissions down to that level.

In 2025, the........

© Brisbane Times