Steve Lackmeyer has a really strange article over at NewsOK.com. It's quite short, yet all over the map and doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. At the beginning of the article, Lackmeyer reveals that he's part of an e-mail list that features "Oklahoma City's wealthiest and most powerful residents." Strangely, we at The Lost Ogle have yet to be invited to join this list, so if one of the rich and powerful out there could drop us a line, that'd be great.
Apparently the genesis of this e-mail list was the desire to come up with a catchphrase for OKC, a way of attracting out-of-staters to the city. This is, of course, a horrible idea. Nicknames and slogans cannot be invented like this. They have to be organic, not forced. Chicago is called the Windy City, and to this day historians debate whether this is because of the actual wind or politicians who wouldn't shut up.
The first suggestion from one of these OKC power-players was: "Oklahoma City: The best of what America used to be... and can be again." This is perhaps the worst idea for a slogan that I have ever heard in my life. It's at least seven or eight words too long, makes it sound like OKC hasn't moved into the 21st century, and has a friggin' pause in the middle of it. When coming up with a catchphrase, I've found that it is generally beneficial to have it actually be catchy, and also it's better not to be incredibly condescending to the rest of the country.
The other suggestions were not much better: "Oklahoma -- The Essence of America," "Oklahoma -- Home of the American Dream," "Oklahoma -- America at it's Best," and "The Big Friendly" have absolutely zero chance of becoming household nicknames like "The Big Apple" or "The City of Brotherly Love" or "Biggest Little City in the World."
I figured that we here at The Lost Ogle and our incredibly attractive and intelligent readers could come up with many better ideas for Oklahoma City catchphrases. Here are a few ideas:
Oklahoma City: We're a Major League City. Really, I promise. We are. Please, please acknowledge this.
Oklahoma: Like the Musical, Only With More Tornadoes
Oklahoma City: Only One Local Coach Caught Up In An Illegal Pyramid Scheme!
Oklahoma: If You're A Corporate Raider Named T. Boone, This May Be The State For You
OKC: Gary England. Do You Really Need Another Reason To Move Here?
I know our readers can come up with some even better suggestions. Please post them in the comments.
